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Evolutionary conservation and in vitro reconstitution of microsporidian iron-sulfur cluster biosynthesis

Sven-A Freibert1, Alina V Goldberg2, Christian Hacker3,4

  • 1Institut für Zytobiologie und Zytopathologie, Philipps-Universität, Robert-Koch-Strasse 6, Marburg 35032, Germany.

Nature Communications
|January 5, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Mitosomes in Trachipleistophora hominis are essential for iron-sulfur cluster assembly, a vital function despite their reduced structure. This finding reveals insights into parasite biology and eukaryotic evolution.

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Parasitology
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Microsporidians are obligate intracellular parasites with highly reduced genomes and organelles.
  • Mitosomes, a type of mitochondrion found in microsporidians, are known for their simplified structure.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the function of mitosomes in Trachipleistophora hominis.
  • To determine the role of mitosomes in iron-sulfur cluster (ISC) assembly within these parasites.

Main Methods:

  • Cell fractionation and fluorescence imaging.
  • Immunoelectron microscopy.
  • Biochemical reconstitution of the ISC pathway using purified proteins and in vitro spectroscopic analysis of the Cfd1-Nbp35 complex.

Main Results:

  • Mitosomes of T. hominis host a complete pathway for [2Fe-2S] cluster biosynthesis.
  • The cytosolic iron-sulfur protein assembly (CIA) pathway in T. hominis includes the Cfd1-Nbp35 scaffold complex, which assembles a [4Fe-4S] cluster.
  • Phylogenetic analysis indicates bacterial origins for ISC and CIA pathways, but archaeal origins for target Fe/S proteins.

Conclusions:

  • Mitosomes are essential for ISC assembly in T. hominis.
  • The mixed evolutionary origin of ISC and CIA pathways supports the chimeric ancestry of eukaryotes.
  • Conserved ISC and CIA pathways in reduced parasites highlight their ancient importance.

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