title: Stress management in cyst-forming free-living protists: programmed cell death and/or encystment.
abstract: In the face of harsh conditions and given a choice, a cell may (i) undergo programmed cell death, (ii) transform into a cancer cell, or (iii) enclose itself into a cyst form. In metazoans, the available evidence suggests that cellular machinery exists only to execute or avoid programmed cell death, while the ability to form a cyst was either lost or never developed. For cyst-forming free-living protists, here we pose the question whether the ability to encyst was gained at the expense of the programmed cell death or both functions coexist to counter unfavorable environmental conditions with mutually exclusive phenotypes.
authors: Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Aga Khan University, Karachi 74800, Pakistan.
authors: Naveed Ahmed
authors: NA
authors: Khan
authors: Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Aga Khan University, Karachi 74800, Pakistan.
authors: Junaid
authors: J
authors: Iqbal
authors: Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Aga Khan University, Karachi 74800, Pakistan.
authors: Ruqaiyyah
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9646-6208
authors: R
authors: Siddiqui
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D004777:Environment; D010271:Parasites / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D033761:Spores, Protozoan / Q000166:cytology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological
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