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Santos R, Ástvaldsson Á, Pipaliya SV, Zumthor JP, Dacks JB, Svärd S, Hehl AB, Faso C. Combined nanometric and phylogenetic analysis of unique endocytic compartments in Giardia lamblia sheds light on the evolution of endocytosis in Metamonada. BMC Biol 2022; 20:206. [PMID: 36127707 PMCID: PMC9490929 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-022-01402-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Giardia lamblia, a parasitic protist of the Metamonada supergroup, has evolved one of the most diverged endocytic compartment systems investigated so far. Peripheral endocytic compartments, currently known as peripheral vesicles or vacuoles (PVs), perform bulk uptake of fluid phase material which is then digested and sorted either to the cell cytosol or back to the extracellular space. Results Here, we present a quantitative morphological characterization of these organelles using volumetric electron microscopy and super-resolution microscopy (SRM). We defined a morphological classification for the heterogenous population of PVs and performed a comparative analysis of PVs and endosome-like organelles in representatives of phylogenetically related taxa, Spironucleus spp. and Tritrichomonas foetus. To investigate the as-yet insufficiently understood connection between PVs and clathrin assemblies in G. lamblia, we further performed an in-depth search for two key elements of the endocytic machinery, clathrin heavy chain (CHC) and clathrin light chain (CLC), across different lineages in Metamonada. Our data point to the loss of a bona fide CLC in the last Fornicata common ancestor (LFCA) with the emergence of a protein analogous to CLC (GlACLC) in the Giardia genus. Finally, the location of clathrin in the various compartments was quantified. Conclusions Taken together, this provides the first comprehensive nanometric view of Giardia’s endocytic system architecture and sheds light on the evolution of GlACLC analogues in the Fornicata supergroup and, specific to Giardia, as a possible adaptation to the formation and maintenance of stable clathrin assemblies at PVs. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12915-022-01402-3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Santos
- Institute of Parasitology, University of Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 266a, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland.,Institute of Anatomy, University of Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Ásgeir Ástvaldsson
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Uppsala, Husargatan 3, 752 37, Uppsala, Sweden.,Department of Microbiology, National Veterinary Institute, 751 23, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Shweta V Pipaliya
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.,School of Life Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Jon Paulin Zumthor
- Amt für Lebensmittelsicherheit und Tiergesundheit Graubünden, Chur, Switzerland
| | - Joel B Dacks
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.,Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, CAS, v.v.i., Branisovska 31, 370 05, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Staffan Svärd
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Uppsala, Husargatan 3, 752 37, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Adrian B Hehl
- Institute of Parasitology, University of Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 266a, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Carmen Faso
- Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. .,Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases, Vetsuisse, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
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Handrich MR, Garg SG, Sommerville EW, Hirt RP, Gould SB. Characterization of the BspA and Pmp protein family of trichomonads. Parasit Vectors 2019; 12:406. [PMID: 31426868 PMCID: PMC6701047 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-019-3660-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2019] [Accepted: 08/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Trichomonas vaginalis is a human-infecting trichomonad and as such the best studied and the only for which the full genome sequence is available considering its parasitic lifestyle, T. vaginalis encodes an unusually high number of proteins. Many gene families are massively expanded and some genes are speculated to have been acquired from prokaryotic sources. Among the latter are two gene families that harbour domains which share similarity with proteins of Bacteroidales/Spirochaetales and Chlamydiales: the BspA and the Pmp proteins, respectively. Results We sequenced the transcriptomes of five trichomonad species and screened for the presence of BspA and Pmp domain-containing proteins and characterized individual candidate proteins from both families in T. vaginalis. Here, we demonstrate that (i) BspA and Pmp domain-containing proteins are universal to trichomonads, but specifically expanded in T. vaginalis; (ii) in line with a concurrent expansion of the endocytic machinery, there is a high number of BspA and Pmp proteins which carry C-terminal endocytic motifs; and (iii) both families traffic through the ER and have the ability to increase adhesion performance in a non-virulent T. vaginalis strain and Tetratrichomonas gallinarum by a so far unknown mechanism. Conclusions Our results initiate the functional characterization of these two broadly distributed protein families and help to better understand the origin and evolution of BspA and Pmp domains in trichomonads. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13071-019-3660-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria R Handrich
- Institute for Molecular Evolution, Heinrich-Heine-University, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Sriram G Garg
- Institute for Molecular Evolution, Heinrich-Heine-University, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Ewen W Sommerville
- Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK
| | - Robert P Hirt
- Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK
| | - Sven B Gould
- Institute for Molecular Evolution, Heinrich-Heine-University, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.
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Abstract
The protist Tritrichomonas foetus (Excavata, Parabasalia) is a parasite that causes bovine and feline trichomonosis. Bovine trichomonosis is a venereal disease that leads to abortion and reproductive problems in herds. Feline trichomonosis affects domestic cats. Here, we report the genome sequence of the T. foetus K strain, isolated in Brazil.
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