A protein linked to mitochondrion development in Trypanosoma brucei

The use of the two-hybrid system in yeast allowed us to isolate a new mitochondrial protein of Trypanosoma brucei, termed PIE8, for putative protein interacting with ESAG8. This protein was found to localize progressively in the single mitochondrion of the parasite during the mitochondrial reactivation needed to adapt the parasite from the glycolysis-based metabolism in the mammalian host, to the cytochrome-mediated respiration in the fly vector. Once this reactivation is established, PIE8 is lost from the mitochondrion. Thus, the temporary presence of PIE8 in the mitochondrion is linked to mitochondrial reactivation.