MI64CH22-Johnson ARI 5 August 2010 18:59 Mitochondrion-Related Organelles in Eukaryotic Protists April M. Shiflett and Patricia J. Johnson Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095-1489; email:
[email protected] Annu. Rev. Microbiol. 2010. 64:409–29 Key Words First published online as a Review in Advance on hydrogenosome, mitosome, evolution, microaerophilic protists, June 9, 2010 biogenesis The Annual Review of Microbiology is online at micro.annualreviews.org Abstract This article’s doi: The discovery of mitochondrion-type genes in organisms thought to 10.1146/annurev.micro.62.081307.162826 lack mitochondria led to the demonstration that hydrogenosomes share Copyright c 2010 by Annual Reviews. a common ancestry with mitochondria, as well as the discovery of mi- All rights reserved by University of Massachusetts - Amherst on 02/02/12. For personal use only. tosomes in multiple eukaryotic lineages. No examples of examined eu- 0066-4227/10/1013-0409$20.00 Annu. Rev. Microbiol. 2010.64:409-429. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org karyotes lacking a mitochondrion-related organelle exist, implying that the endosymbiont that gave rise to the mitochondrion was present in the first eukaryote. These organelles, known as hydrogenosomes, mi- tosomes, or mitochondrion-like organelles, are typically reduced, both structurally and biochemically, relative to classical mitochondria. How- ever, despite their diversification and adaptation to different niches, all appear to play a role in Fe-S cluster assembly, as observed for mitochon- dria. Although evidence supports the use of common protein targeting mechanisms in the biogenesis of these diverse organelles, divergent fea- tures are also apparent.