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Convergent pathways of reductive mitochondrial evolution characterized with hypercubic inference.

Robert C Glastad1, Iain G Johnston1,2

  • 1Department of Mathematics, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.

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|September 24, 2025
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Mitochondria can lose functions, evolving into reduced organelles (MROs) convergently. Two main evolutionary pathways explain MRO diversity, involving distinct losses of mitochondrial complexes and metabolic pathways.

Keywords:
convergent evolutioneukaryotic evolutionmetabolismmitochondriamitochondrion-related organellesreductive evolution

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Cell biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Mitochondria exhibit diverse functions beyond ATP generation, including mitochondrion-related organelles (MROs).
  • MROs represent reduced mitochondrial forms that have undergone significant loss of function and structure, such as electron transport chain complexes and oxidative phosphorylation.
  • Mitochondrial reduction is a widespread phenomenon, observed across eukaryotic kingdoms as a striking example of convergent evolution.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the evolutionary pathways of convergent mitochondrial reduction across eukaryotes.
  • To explain the diversity of MROs using evolutionary accumulation modeling.
  • To connect evolutionary pathways with metabolic impacts.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized hypercubic inference, a method from evolutionary accumulation modeling.
  • Employed metabolic modeling to analyze the consequences of evolutionary changes.
  • Analyzed diverse eukaryotic clades, including ciliates and apicomplexans.

Main Results:

  • Most MRO diversity is explained by two distinct convergent evolutionary pathways.
  • These pathways initiate with the loss of either Complex I or Complexes III/IV/TCA cycle steps.
  • Different eukaryotic clades exemplify specific instances of these identified pathways, occurring over characteristic timescales.

Conclusions:

  • Convergent mitochondrial reduction follows predictable evolutionary pathways driven by metabolic pressures.
  • Understanding these pathways provides insights into the functional and genetic reduction of mitochondria.
  • Metabolic modeling elucidates the adaptive significance of reductive evolution in mitochondria.