Nearly all eukaryotic cells synthesize carbohydrate reserves, such as glycogen, starch, or low-molecular-weight oligosaccharides. However, a number of parasitic protists have lost this capacity while others have lost, and subsequently evolved, entirely new pathways. Recent studies suggest that retention, loss, or acquisition of these pathways in different protists is intimately linked to their lifestyle. In particular, parasites with carbohydrate reserves often establish long-lived chronic infections and/or produce environmental cysts, whereas loss of these pathways is associated with parasites that have highly proliferative and metabolically active life-cycle stages. The evolution of mannogen biosynthesis in Leishmania and related parasites indicates that these pathways have played a role in defining the host range and niches occupied by some protists.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2021.06.005 | DOI Listing |
Environ Microbiol
January 2025
Department of Biology and Biotechnology, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
The Hepatincolaceae (Alphaproteobacteria) are a group of bacteria that inhabit the gut of arthropods and other ecdysozoans, associating extracellularly with microvilli. Previous phylogenetic studies, primarily single-gene analyses, suggested their relationship to the Holosporales, which includes intracellular bacteria in protist hosts. However, the genomics of Hepatincolaceae is still in its early stages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Microbiol
January 2025
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
The Canadian province of Alberta contains substantial oilsands reservoirs, consisting of bitumen, clay and sand. Extracting oil involves separating bitumen from inorganic particles using hot water and chemical diluents, resulting in liquid tailings waste with ecotoxicologically significant compounds. Ongoing efforts aim to reclaim tailings-affected areas, with protist colonisation serving as one assessment method of reclamation progress.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Biol
January 2025
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA. Electronic address:
Ochrophyta is a vast and morphologically diverse group of algae with complex plastids, including familiar taxa with fundamental ecological importance (diatoms or kelp) and a wealth of lesser-known and obscure organisms. The sheer diversity of ochrophytes poses a challenge for reconstructing their phylogeny, with major gaps in sampling and an unsettled placement of particular taxa yet to be tackled. We sequenced transcriptomes from 25 strategically selected representatives and used these data to build the most taxonomically comprehensive ochrophyte-centered phylogenomic supermatrix to date.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Microbiol
January 2025
Research Group Insect Gut Microbiology and Symbiosis, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany.
Cellulolytic flagellates are essential for the symbiotic digestion of lignocellulose in the gut of lower termites. Most species are associated with host-specific consortia of bacterial symbionts from various phyla. 16S rRNA-based diversity studies and taxon-specific fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed a termite-specific clade of Actinomycetales that colonise the cytoplasm of Trichonympha spp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiology (Basel)
November 2024
Laboratory of Parasitic Worms and Protists, Zoological Institute RAS, Universitetskaya Embankment 1, Saint-Petersburg 199034, Russia.
is an enigmatic parasitic barnacle from the family Mycetomorphidae, known for its unclear phylogenetic position within Rhizocephala. Specimens of were collected from infected shrimps near the South Kuril Islands. Detailed morphological studies were conducted using histological techniques and scanning electron microscopy, and 18S rDNA sequences were used to resolve the phylogenetic position of within Rhizocephala.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!