Trypanosoma brucei is an important human pathogen. In this study, we have focused on the characterization of FtsH protease, ATP-dependent membrane-bound mitochondrial enzyme important for regulation of protein abundance. We have determined localization and orientation of all six putative T.brucei FtsH homologs in the inner mitochondrial membrane by in silico analyses, by immunofluorescence, and with protease assay. The evolutionary origin of these homologs has been tested by comparative phylogenetic analysis. Surprisingly, some kinetoplastid FtsH proteins display inverted orientation in the mitochondrial membrane compared to related proteins of other examined eukaryotes. Moreover, our data strongly suggest that during evolution the orientation of FtsH protease in T. brucei varied due to both loss and acquisition of the transmembrane domain.
- MeSH
- Arabidopsis klasifikace enzymologie genetika MeSH
- Euglena gracilis klasifikace enzymologie genetika MeSH
- Euglena longa klasifikace enzymologie genetika MeSH
- exprese genu MeSH
- fylogeneze MeSH
- izoenzymy chemie genetika metabolismus MeSH
- konzervovaná sekvence MeSH
- Leishmania major klasifikace enzymologie genetika MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mitochondriální membrány chemie enzymologie MeSH
- mitochondriální proteiny chemie genetika metabolismus MeSH
- mitochondrie enzymologie genetika MeSH
- molekulární evoluce * MeSH
- myši MeSH
- proteasy chemie genetika metabolismus MeSH
- proteinové domény MeSH
- protozoální proteiny chemie genetika metabolismus MeSH
- Saccharomyces cerevisiae klasifikace enzymologie genetika MeSH
- Trypanosoma brucei brucei klasifikace enzymologie genetika MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- myši MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
Euglena longa, a close relative of the photosynthetic model alga Euglena gracilis, possesses an enigmatic non-photosynthetic plastid. Its genome has retained a gene for the large subunit of the enzyme RuBisCO (rbcL). Here we provide new data illuminating the putative role of RuBisCO in E. longa. We demonstrated that the E. longa RBCL protein sequence is extremely divergent compared to its homologs from the photosynthetic relatives, suggesting a possible functional shift upon the loss of photosynthesis. Similarly to E. gracilis, E. longa harbors a nuclear gene encoding the small subunit of RuBisCO (RBCS) as a precursor polyprotein comprising multiple RBCS repeats, but one of them is highly divergent. Both RBCL and the RBCS proteins are synthesized in E. longa, but their abundance is very low compared to E. gracilis. No RBCS monomers could be detected in E. longa, suggesting that processing of the precursor polyprotein is inefficient in this species. The abundance of RBCS is regulated post-transcriptionally. Indeed, blocking the cytoplasmic translation by cycloheximide has no immediate effect on the RBCS stability in photosynthetically grown E. gracilis, but in E. longa, the protein is rapidly degraded. Altogether, our results revealed signatures of evolutionary degradation (becoming defunct) of RuBisCO in E. longa and suggest that its biological role in this species may be rather unorthodox, if any.
