Evidence for Golgi bodies in proposed 'Golgi-lacking' lineages

Golgi bodies are nearly ubiquitous in eukaryotic cells. The apparent lack of such structures in certain eukaryotic lineages might be taken to mean that these protists evolved prior to the acquisition of the Golgi, and it raises questions of how these organisms function in the absence of this crucial organelle. Here, we report gene sequences from five proposed 'Golgi-lacking' organisms (Giardia intestinalis, Spironucleus barkhanus, Entamoeba histolytica, Naegleria gruberi and Mastigamoeba balamuthi). BLAST and phylogenetic analyses show these genes to be homologous to those encoding components of the retromer, coatomer and adaptin complexes, all of which have Golgi-related functions in mammals and yeast. This is, to our knowledge, the first molecular evidence for Golgi bodies in two major eukaryotic lineages (the pelobionts and heteroloboseids). This substantiates the suggestion that there are no extant primitively 'Golgi-lacking' lineages, and that this apparatus was present in the last common eukaryotic ancestor, but has been altered beyond recognition several times.