title: Aerobic mitochondria of parasitic protists: Diverse genomes and complex functions.
abstract: In this review the main features of the mitochondria of aerobic parasitic protists are discussed. While the best characterized organelles are by far those of kinetoplastid flagellates and Plasmodium, we also consider amoebae Naegleria and Acanthamoeba, a ciliate Ichthyophthirius and related lineages. The simplistic view of the mitochondrion as just a power house of the cell has already been abandoned in multicellular organisms and available data indicate that this also does not apply for protists. We discuss in more details the following mitochondrial features: genomes, post-transcriptional processing, translation, biogenesis of iron-sulfur complexes, heme metabolism and the electron transport chain. Substantial differences in all these core mitochondrial features between lineages are compatible with the view that aerobic protists harbor organelles that are more complex and flexible than previously appreciated.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic; University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic. Electronic address: azikova@paru.cas.cz.
authors.forename: Alena
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zíková
authors.affiliation: Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Science, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Vladimír
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hampl
authors.affiliation: Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Zdeněk
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Paris
authors.affiliation: Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Jiří
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Týč
authors.affiliation: Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic; University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic; Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Canada. Electronic address: jula@paru.cas.cz.
authors.forename: Julius
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lukeš
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004261:DNA Replication; D045222:Electron Transport Chain Complex Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D064349:Genome, Microbial; D056914:Genomic Structural Variation; D006418:Heme / Q000378:metabolism; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000069396:Mitochondrial Ribosomes / Q000378:metabolism; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism; D010271:Parasites / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017393:RNA Editing; D000077278:RNA, Mitochondrial; D013455:Sulfur / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D045222:Electron Transport Chain Complex Proteins; D000077278:RNA, Mitochondrial; D006418:Heme; D012313:RNA; D013455:Sulfur; D007501:Iron; D010100:Oxygen
keywords: Electron transport chain; Genomes; Heme; Iron–sulfur cluster; Mitochondrion; Protists; RNA editing; Replication; Ribosomes