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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Adaptation at the Extremes of Life: Experimental Evolution with the Extremophile Archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius
Published on: June 14, 2024
Acidocalcisomes - conserved from bacteria to man
Roberto Docampo1, Wanderley de Souza, Kildare Miranda
1Department of Cellular Biology and Center for Tropical and Global Emerging Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA. rdocampo@cb.uga.edu
Abstract:
Recent work has shown that acidocalcisomes, which are electron-dense acidic organelles rich in calcium and polyphosphate, are the only organelles that have been conserved during evolution from prokaryotes to eukaryotes. Acidocalcisomes were first described in trypanosomatids and have been characterized in most detail in these species. Acidocalcisomes have been linked with several functions, including storage of cations and phosphorus, polyphosphate metabolism, calcium homeostasis, maintenance of intracellular pH homeostasis and osmoregulation. Here, we review acidocalcisome ultrastructure, composition and function in different trypanosomatids and other organisms.
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