Eukaryotic Fe-hydrogenases -- old eukaryotic heritage or adaptive acquisitions?
All eukaryotes seem to possess proteins that most probably evolved from an ancestral Fe-hydrogenase. These proteins, known as NARF or Nar, do not produce hydrogen. Notably, a small group of rather unrelated unicellular anaerobes and a few algae possess Fe-hydrogenases, which produce hydrogen. In most, but not all organisms, hydrogen production occurs in membrane-bounded organelles, i.e. hydrogenosomes or plastids. Whereas plastids are monophyletic, hydrogenosomes evolved repeatedly and independently from mitochondria or mitochondria-like organelles. A systematic analysis of the various hydrogenosomes and their hydrogenases will contribute to an understanding of the evolution of the eukaryotic cell, and provide clues to the evolutionary origin(s) of the Fe-hydrogenase.
Hackstein
J H P
JH
Department of Evolutionary Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. j.hackstein@science.ru.nl
D005057:Eukaryotic Cells / Q000201:enzymology*; D006864:Hydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism*; D007506:Iron-Sulfur Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D010802:Phylogeny
D007506:Iron-Sulfur Proteins; C118830:iron hydrogenase; D006864:Hydrogenase