“BaSk” is a clade of anaerobic protists that branches as sister to all known Fornicata within the Metamonada. A–D Differential interference contrast micrographs of lineages of the skoliomonad Skoliomonas litria. Credit: Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50991-w
An international team of geneticists and molecular biologists has discovered the first known free-living eukaryote to have lost its mitochondria. In their study, published in Nature CommunicationsThe group discovered the eukaryote by studying the patterns and processes of genome and mitochondrial-related organelle evolution in metamonads in water samples collected from saltwater lakes and shallow marine environments.
Mitochondria are organelles found in almost every living eukaryotic cell on Earth. They are responsible for producing the energy that allows creatures to grow and move. Mitochondria have a double membrane and use aerobic respiration to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the fuel that provides energy for the cell. Eukaryotes fall into one of four types: plants, animals, fungi, and protists.
Previous research has shown that some eukaryotes have evolved mitochondria to the point where they no longer have them, usually because they get their energy elsewhere. These creatures are able to gather energy by absorbing nutrients directly from another creature that has functioning mitochondria. Several of these have been found in the human gut, for example.
For this new research, the team studied the evolution of eukaryotes in metamonads, a type of microscopic eukaryote. They collected specimens from various locations and studied them in the lab. They found five that caught their attention: three found in salty sodium lake sediments and two in shallow ocean sediments.
One of them stands out from the other four because it has no mitochondria at all. The researchers named it Skoliomonas litria and noted that it is the first discovery of a free-living eukaryote that has lost its mitochondria. They also note that more work is needed to determine how the creature makes its ATP without using oxygen.
More information:
Shelby K. Williams et al., Extreme mitochondrial reduction in a new group of free-living metamonads, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50991-w
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