1
|
Currie-Olsen D, Leander BS. Novel cytoskeletal traits in the intestinal parasites (Squirmida, Platyproteum vivax) of Pacific peanut worms (Sipuncula, Phascolosoma agassizii). J Eukaryot Microbiol 2024; 71:e13023. [PMID: 38402546 DOI: 10.1111/jeu.13023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 02/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/26/2024]
Abstract
The cytoskeletal organization of a squirmid, namely Platyproteum vivax, was investigated with confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) to refine inferences about convergent evolution among intestinal parasites of marine invertebrates. Platyproteum inhabits Pacific peanut worms (Phascolosoma agassizii) and has traits that are similar to other lineages of myzozoan parasites, namely gregarine apicomplexans within Selenidium, such as conspicuous feeding stages, called "trophozoites," capable of dynamic undulations. SEM and CLSM of P. vivax revealed an inconspicuous flagellar apparatus and a uniform array of longitudinal microtubules organized in bundles (LMBs). Extreme flattening of the trophozoites and a consistently oblique morphology of the anterior end provided a reliable way to distinguish dorsal and ventral surfaces. CLSM revealed a novel system of microtubules oriented in the flattened dorsoventral plane. Most of these dorsoventral microtubule bundles (DVMBs) had a punctate distribution and were evenly spaced along a curved line spanning the longitudinal axis of the trophozoites. This configuration of microtubules is inferred to function in maintaining the flattened shape of the trophozoites and facilitate dynamic undulations. The novel traits in Platyproteum are consistent with phylogenomic data showing that this lineage is only distantly related to Selenidium and other marine gregarine apicomplexans with dynamic intestinal trophozoites.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Danja Currie-Olsen
- Department of Zoology, Beaty Biodiversity Research Centre and Museum, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Hakai Institute, Heriot Bay, Quadra Island, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Brian S Leander
- Department of Zoology, Beaty Biodiversity Research Centre and Museum, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Mthethwa-Hlongwa NP, Amoah ID, Gomez A, Davison S, Reddy P, Bux F, Kumari S. Profiling pathogenic protozoan and their functional pathways in wastewater using 18S rRNA and shotgun metagenomics. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 912:169602. [PMID: 38154626 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023]
Abstract
Despite extensive research, little is known about the composition of eukaryotic protists in environmental samples. This is due to low parasite concentrations, the complexity of parasite diversity, and a lack of suitable reference databases and standardized protocols. To bridge this knowledge gap, this study used 18S rRNA short amplicon and shotgun metagenomic sequencing approaches to profile protozoan microbial communities as well as their functional pathways in treated and untreated wastewater samples collected from different regions of South Africa. Results demonstrated that protozoan diversity (Shannon index P-value = 0.03) and taxonomic composition (PERMANOVA, P-value = 0.02) was mainly driven by the type of wastewater samples (treated & untreated) and geographic location. However, these WWTPs were also found to contain a core community of protozoan parasites. The untreated wastewater samples revealed a predominant presence of free-living, parasitic, and potentially pathogenic protists typically found in humans and animals, ranging from Alveolata (27 %) phylum (Apicomplexa and Ciliophora) to Excavata (3.88 %) (Discoba and Parasalia) and Amoebozoa (2.84 %) (Entamoeba and Acanthamoeba). Shotgun metagenomics analyses in a subset of the untreated wastewater samples confirmed the presence of public health-importance protozoa, including Cryptosporidium species (3.48 %), Entamoeba hystolitica (6.58 %), Blastocystis hominis (2.91 %), Naegleria gruberi (2.37 %), Toxoplasma gondii (1.98 %), Cyclospora cayetanensis (1.30 %), and Giardia intestinalis (0.31 %). Virulent gene families linked to pathogenic protozoa, such as serine/threonine protein phosphatase and mucin-desulfating sulfatase were identified. Additionally, enriched pathways included thiamine diphosphate biosynthesis III, heme biosynthesis, Methylerythritol 4-Phosphate Pathway, methyl erythritol phosphate (MEP), and pentose phosphate pathways. These findings suggest that protozoan pathogens may possess metabolic and growth potential within WWTPs, posing a severe risk of transmission to humans and animals if inadequately disinfected before release. This study provides a baseline for the future investigation of diverse protozoal communities in wastewater, which are of public health importance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nonsikelelo P Mthethwa-Hlongwa
- Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4000, South Africa; Department Community Health Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4000, South Africa
| | - Isaac D Amoah
- Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4000, South Africa; Department of Environmental Science, The University of Arizona, Shantz Building Rm 4291177 E 4th St., Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Andres Gomez
- Department of Animal Science, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
| | - Sam Davison
- Department of Animal Science, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
| | - Poovendhree Reddy
- Department Community Health Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4000, South Africa
| | - Faizal Bux
- Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4000, South Africa
| | - Sheena Kumari
- Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4000, South Africa.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Description of an Enigmatic Alveolate, Platyproteum noduliferae n. sp., and Reconstruction of its Flagellar Apparatus. Protist 2022; 173:125878. [DOI: 10.1016/j.protis.2022.125878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2021] [Revised: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
|
4
|
Evolution of the centrosome, from the periphery to the center. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2020; 66:96-103. [PMID: 33242728 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2020.10.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Revised: 10/13/2020] [Accepted: 10/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Centrosomes are central organelles that organize microtubules (MTs) in animals, fungi and several other eukaryotic lineages. Despite an important diversity of structure, the centrosomes of different lineages share the same functions and part of their molecular components. To uncover how divergent centrosomes are related to each other, we need to trace the evolutionary history of MT organization. Careful assessment of cytoskeletal architecture in extant eukaryotic species can help us infer the ancestral state and identify the subsequent changes that took place during evolution. This led to the finding that the last common ancestor of all eukaryotes was very likely a biflagellate cell with a surprisingly complex cytoskeletal organization. Centrosomes are likely derived from the basal bodies of such flagellate, but when and how many times this happened remains unclear. Here, we discuss different hypotheses for how centrosomes evolved in a eukaryotic lineage called Amorphea, to which animals, fungi and amoebozoans belong.
Collapse
|
5
|
Jentzsch J, Sabri A, Speckner K, Lallinger-Kube G, Weiss M, Ersfeld K. Microtubule polyglutamylation is important for regulating cytoskeletal architecture and motility in Trypanosoma brucei. J Cell Sci 2020; 133:jcs248047. [PMID: 32843576 DOI: 10.1242/jcs.248047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2020] [Accepted: 07/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The shape of kinetoplastids, such as Trypanosoma brucei, is precisely defined during the stages of the life cycle and governed by a stable subpellicular microtubule cytoskeleton. During the cell cycle and transitions between life cycle stages, this stability has to transiently give way to a dynamic behaviour to enable cell division and morphological rearrangements. How these opposing requirements of the cytoskeleton are regulated is poorly understood. Two possible levels of regulation are activities of cytoskeleton-associated proteins and microtubule post-translational modifications (PTMs). Here, we investigate the functions of two putative tubulin polyglutamylases in T. brucei, TTLL6A and TTLL12B. Depletion of both proteins leads to a reduction in tubulin polyglutamylation in situ and is associated with disintegration of the posterior cell pole, loss of the microtubule plus-end-binding protein EB1 and alterations of microtubule dynamics. We also observe a reduced polyglutamylation of the flagellar axoneme. Quantitative motility analysis reveals that the PTM imbalance correlates with a transition from directional to diffusive cell movement. These data show that microtubule polyglutamylation has an important role in regulating cytoskeletal architecture and motility in the parasite T. bruceiThis article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jana Jentzsch
- Molecular Parasitology, Department of Biology, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Adal Sabri
- Experimental Physics I, Department of Physics, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Konstantin Speckner
- Experimental Physics I, Department of Physics, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Gertrud Lallinger-Kube
- Molecular Parasitology, Department of Biology, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Matthias Weiss
- Experimental Physics I, Department of Physics, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Klaus Ersfeld
- Molecular Parasitology, Department of Biology, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Wang Y, Lu L, Zheng G, Zhang X. Microenvironment-Controlled Micropatterned Microfluidic Model (MMMM) for Biomimetic In Situ Studies. ACS NANO 2020; 14:9861-9872. [PMID: 32701267 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c02701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Attachment of trophozoites to the intestine is an indispensable step for Giardia's survival and pathogenicity in almost 280 million infections worldwide each year. However, the analysis of the attachment mechanism is difficult due to the lack of methods that can create a favorable microaerobic atmosphere. Herein, we developed an osmotic-pressure, pH, excretion, nutrition, gas, ionic-strength, flow-rate, and temperature microenvironment-controlled micropatterned microfluidic model to simulate the in vivo microenvironment to study in situ the stress applied to Giardia in the intestinal tract. We designed three nonbiological surfaces with stagger arrangement manners and integrated them with a resistance microfluidic network to split Giardia-attaching forces ingeniously and developed the term "attaching contribution rate" (ACR) to describe their corresponding contributions. Our study shows that the total attaching force measured is 49.58 Pa, with three components being 22.66 Pa (suction force), 12.52 Pa (clutching force), and 14.4 Pa (combined electrostatic and van der Waals force), respectively, with ACRs being 46%, 25%, and 29%, respectively. By decomposing the attaching force and analyzing each force component and their structure and composition basis, whole profiles of the attachment mechanisms were revealed. Our method enables the analysis of the surface attachment mechanisms and their ACRs for Giardia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yunhua Wang
- John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
- Environmental Micro Total Analysis Lab, Dalian University, 116622, Dalian, China
| | - Ling Lu
- Environmental Micro Total Analysis Lab, Dalian University, 116622, Dalian, China
| | - Guoxia Zheng
- Environmental Micro Total Analysis Lab, Dalian University, 116622, Dalian, China
| | - Xingcai Zhang
- John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
- School of Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Dos Santos Pacheco N, Tosetti N, Koreny L, Waller RF, Soldati-Favre D. Evolution, Composition, Assembly, and Function of the Conoid in Apicomplexa. Trends Parasitol 2020; 36:688-704. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2020.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2020] [Revised: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 05/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
|
8
|
Novel Lineages of Oxymonad Flagellates from the Termite Porotermes adamsoni (Stolotermitidae): the Genera Oxynympha and Termitimonas. Protist 2019; 170:125683. [DOI: 10.1016/j.protis.2019.125683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2019] [Revised: 10/09/2019] [Accepted: 10/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
|
9
|
Tůmová P, Dluhošová J, Weisz F, Nohýnková E. Unequal distribution of genes and chromosomes refers to nuclear diversification in the binucleated Giardia intestinalis. Int J Parasitol 2019; 49:463-470. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2019.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2018] [Revised: 01/18/2019] [Accepted: 01/27/2019] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
|
10
|
Molecular and Morphological Diversity of the Oxymonad Genera Monocercomonoides and Blattamonas gen. nov. Protist 2018; 169:744-783. [DOI: 10.1016/j.protis.2018.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2017] [Revised: 04/27/2018] [Accepted: 06/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
|
11
|
Nosala C, Hagen KD, Dawson SC. 'Disc-o-Fever': Getting Down with Giardia's Groovy Microtubule Organelle. Trends Cell Biol 2017; 28:99-112. [PMID: 29153830 DOI: 10.1016/j.tcb.2017.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2017] [Revised: 10/14/2017] [Accepted: 10/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Protists have evolved a myriad of highly specialized cytoskeletal organelles that expand known functional capacities of microtubule (MT) polymers. One such innovation - the ventral disc - is a cup-shaped MT organelle that the parasite Giardia uses to attach to the small intestine of its host. The molecular mechanisms underlying the generation of suction-based forces by overall conformational changes of the disc remain unclear. The elaborate disc architecture is defined by novel proteins and complexes that decorate almost all disc MT protofilaments, and vary in composition and conformation along the length of the MTs. Future genetic, biochemical, and functional analyses of disc-associated proteins will be central toward understanding not only disc architecture and assembly, but also the overall disc conformational dynamics that promote attachment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Nosala
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, One Shields Avenue, UC Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Kari D Hagen
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, One Shields Avenue, UC Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Scott C Dawson
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, One Shields Avenue, UC Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Yubuki N, Huang SS, Leander BS. Comparative Ultrastructure of Fornicate Excavates, Including a Novel Free-living Relative of Diplomonads: Aduncisulcus paluster gen. et sp. nov. Protist 2016; 167:584-596. [DOI: 10.1016/j.protis.2016.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2016] [Revised: 09/23/2016] [Accepted: 10/10/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|
13
|
Yubuki N, Zadrobílková E, Čepička I. Ultrastructure and Molecular Phylogeny of Iotanema spirale gen. nov. et sp. nov., a New Lineage of Endobiotic Fornicata with Strikingly Simplified Ultrastructure. J Eukaryot Microbiol 2016; 64:422-433. [PMID: 27749017 DOI: 10.1111/jeu.12376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2016] [Revised: 09/30/2016] [Accepted: 10/12/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Fornicata (Metamonada) is a group of Excavata living in low-oxygen environments and lacking conventional mitochondria. It includes free-living Carpediemonas-like organisms from marine habitats and predominantly parasitic/commensal retortamonads and diplomonads. Current modest knowledge of biodiversity of Fornicata limits our ability to draw a complete picture of the evolutionary history in this group. Here, we report the discovery of a novel fornicate, Iotanema spirale gen. nov. et sp. nov., obtained from fresh feces of the gecko Phelsuma madagascariensis. Our phylogenetic analyses of the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene demonstrate that I. spirale is closely related to the free-living, marine strain PCS and the Carpediemonas-like organism Hicanonectes teleskopos within Fornicata. Iotanema spirale exhibits several features uncommon to fornicates, such as a single flagellum, a highly reduced cytoskeletal system, and the lack of the excavate ventral groove, but shares these characters with the poorly known genus Caviomonas. Therefore, I. spirale is accommodated within the family Caviomonadidae, which represents the third known endobiotic lineage of Fornicata. This study improves our understanding of character evolution within Fornicata when placed within the molecular phylogenetic context.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Naoji Yubuki
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Vinicna 7, Prague, 128 44, Czech Republic
| | - Eliška Zadrobílková
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Vinicna 7, Prague, 128 44, Czech Republic.,Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology, National Institute of Public Health, Srobarova 48, Prague, 100 42, Czech Republic
| | - Ivan Čepička
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Vinicna 7, Prague, 128 44, Czech Republic
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Tekle YI, Williams JR. Cytoskeletal architecture and its evolutionary significance in amoeboid eukaryotes and their mode of locomotion. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2016; 3:160283. [PMID: 27703691 PMCID: PMC5043310 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.160283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2016] [Accepted: 08/30/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The cytoskeleton is the hallmark of eukaryotic evolution. The molecular and architectural aspects of the cytoskeleton have been playing a prominent role in our understanding of the origin and evolution of eukaryotes. In this study, we seek to investigate the cytoskeleton architecture and its evolutionary significance in understudied amoeboid lineages belonging to Amoebozoa. These amoebae primarily use cytoplasmic extensions supported by the cytoskeleton to perform important cellular processes such as movement and feeding. Amoeboid structure has important taxonomic significance, but, owing to techniques used, its potential significance in understanding diversity of the group has been seriously compromised, leading to an under-appreciation of its value. Here, we used immunocytochemistry and confocal microscopy to study the architecture of microtubules (MTs) and F-actin in diverse groups of amoebae. Our results demonstrate that all Amoebozoa examined are characterized by a complex cytoskeletal array, unlike what has been previously thought to exist. Our results not only conclusively demonstrate that all amoebozoans possess complex cytoplasmic MTs, but also provide, for the first time, a potential synapomorphy for the molecularly defined Amoebozoa clade. Based on this evidence, the last common ancestor of amoebozoans is hypothesized to have had a complex interwoven MT architecture limited within the granular cell body. We also generate several cytoskeleton characters related to MT and F-actin, which are found to be robust for defining groups in deep and shallow nodes of Amoebozoa.
Collapse
|