Hydrogenosomes in the diplomonad Spironucleus salmonicida.

Jerlström-Hultqvist J, Einarsson E, Xu F, Hjort K, Ek B, Steinhauf D, Hultenby K, Bergquist J, Andersson JO, Svärd SG

Nat Commun 4 (-) 2493 [2013-09-18; online 2013-09-18]

Acquisition of the mitochondrion is a key event in the evolution of the eukaryotic cell, but diversification of the organelle has occurred during eukaryotic evolution. One example of such mitochondria-related organelles (MROs) are hydrogenosomes, which produce ATP by substrate-level phosphorylation with hydrogen as a byproduct. The diplomonad parasite Giardia intestinalis harbours mitosomes, another type of MRO. Here we identify MROs in the salmon parasite Spironucleus salmonicida with similar protein import and Fe-S cluster assembly machineries as in Giardia mitosomes. We find that hydrogen production is prevalent in the diplomonad genus Spironucleus, and that S. salmonicida MROs contain enzymes characteristic of hydrogenosomes. Evolutionary analyses of known hydrogenosomal components indicate their presence in the diplomonad ancestor, and subsequent loss in Giardia. Our results suggest that hydrogenosomes are metabolic adaptations predating the split between parabasalids and diplomonads, which is deeper than the split between animals and fungi in the eukaryotic tree.

Mass Spectrometry-based Proteomics, Uppsala

PubMed 24042146

DOI 10.1038/ncomms3493

Crossref 10.1038/ncomms3493

pii: ncomms3493
pmc: PMC3778541


Publications 9.5.0