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The Mitochondrion-Related Organelles of Blastocystis

Tsaousis, Anastasios D and Yarlett, Nigel and Tan, Kevin S. W. (2019) The Mitochondrion-Related Organelles of Blastocystis. In: Tachezy, Jan, ed. Hydrogenosomes and Mitosomes: Mitochondria of Anaerobic Eukaryotes. Springer. ISBN 978-3-540-76733-6. (Access to this publication is currently restricted. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:75868)

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Abstract

Blastocystis is an anaerobic microbial eukaryote that inhabits the gut of various animals. While it was considered to be a parasite, its pathogenicity is controversial, since recent estimations suggest that Blastocystis could be present in more than one billion humans. Blastocystis belongs to the stramenopiles (heterokonts), a diverse group of eukaryotes that also include unicellular diatoms and giant multicellular kelps. The Blastocystis cell lacks typical features of other stramenopiles, its genome has laterally acquired many genes from other prokaryotes and eukaryotes, resulting in having exceptional biochemistry and unique adaptations of its mitochondria. For example, Blastocystis mitochondrion-related organelles (MROs) have characteristics of typical mitochondria, including Complex I and II from electron transport chain, mitochondrial DNA, Fe-S cluster assembly and amino acid metabolism, but also proteins that are typically present in obligate anaerobes including FeFe-Hydrogenase, pyruvate metabolism and alternative oxidase. Some of the pathways have been localized and biochemically characterized, providing a better understanding on the functions of these organelles. In this chapter, we will present and examine the status quo regarding the biology and morphology of Blastocystis MROs and we will discuss future avenues on exploring even further adaptations of these organelles.

Item Type: Book section
Uncontrolled keywords: Blastocystis, mitochondria
Subjects: Q Science > QR Microbiology
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Natural Sciences > Biosciences
Depositing User: Anastasios Tsaousis
Date Deposited: 19 Aug 2019 12:10 UTC
Last Modified: 21 Aug 2019 10:09 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/75868 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Tsaousis, Anastasios D.

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5424-1905
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