Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 5, 2026

Isolation of F1-ATPase from the Parasitic Protist Trypanosoma brucei
Published on: January 22, 2019
A putative novel nuclear-encoded subunit of the cytochrome c oxidase complex in trypanosomatids
Dmitri A Maslov1, Alena Zíková, Iveta Kyselová
1Department of Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA. maslov@ucrac1.ucr.edu
Abstract:
A relatively large nuclear-encoded polypeptide, designated trCOIV, is found in the cytochrome c oxidase (CO) complex of trypanosomatids. In order to determine if this polypeptide represents a bona fide subunit of the complex, we have characterized the cDNA and the gene for this polypeptide in Leishmania tarentolae. Its nuclear gene has no sequence similarity to mammalian COIV. The trCOIV preprotein has a long mitochondrial targeting sequence of 31 residues. The mature polypeptide cofractionates with kinetoplast-mitochondria and its preferential mitochondrial localization was confirmed by immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy. Based on the hydropathy plot analysis, the protein lacks pronounced transmembrane domains and likely occupies a peripheral position within the CO complex. The corresponding genes are also present in the sequenced portions of the Trypanosoma cruzi, Trypanosoma brucei and Leishmania major genomes, and the same polypeptide is found in cytochrome oxidase isolated from procyclic T. brucei and promastigote Leishmania mexicana amazonensis. However, the trCOIV gene, the mRNA and the polypeptide could not be detected in a respiration-deficient trypanosomatid Phytomonas serpens.
More Related Videos
14:26Purification of Extracellular Trypanosomes, Including African, from Blood by Anion-Exchangers (Diethylaminoethyl-cellulose Columns)
Published on: April 6, 2019
09:38Identification of Nucleolar Factors During HIV-1 Replication Through Rev Immunoprecipitation and Mass Spectrometry
Published on: June 26, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Electron Transport Chains
The ETC is comprised of...
Electron Transport Chain: Complex I and II
ROS generation is regulated and maintained at moderate levels necessary...
ATP Synthase: Mechanism
The Supercomplexes in the Crista Membrane
Mitochondrial Protein Sorting
Most of these mitochondrial proteins are encoded by the nucleus and imported to the mitochondria as unfolded or loosely folded precursors. Mitochondrial precursors...
Electron Transport Chain: Complex III and IV