title: Apicomplexan mitochondrial metabolism: a story of gains, losses and retentions.
abstract: Apicomplexans form a large group of obligate intracellular parasites that occupy diverse environmental niches. To adapt to their hosts, these parasites have evolved sophisticated strategies to access host-cell nutrients and minimize exposure to the host's defence mechanisms. Concomitantly, they have drastically reshaped their own metabolic functions by retaining, losing or gaining genes for metabolic enzymes. Although several Apicomplexans remain experimentally intractable, bioinformatic analyses of their genomes have generated preliminary metabolic maps. Here, we compare the metabolic pathways of five Apicomplexans, focusing on their different mitochondrial functions, which highlight their adaptation to their individual intracellular habitats.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Parasitology, Institute for Biology, Humboldt University, Philippstr. 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Seeber
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Limenitakis
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Soldati-Favre
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D016782:Apicomplexa / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D008018:Life Cycle Stages / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism*; D011528:Protozoan Infections / Q000469:parasitology*