| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
Genetics and Molecular Biology |
Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, PO Box 22002, Albany, NY 12201-2002, USA1
Author for correspondence: Guan Zhu. Tel: +1 518 474 2187. Fax: +1 518 473 6150. e-mail: zhug{at}wadsworth.org
Surprisingly, unlike most Apicomplexa, Cryptosporidium parvum appears to lack a plastid genome. Primers based upon the highly conserved plastid small- or large-subunit rRNA (SSU/LSU rRNA) and the tufA-tRNAPhe genes of other members of the phylum Apicomplexa failed to amplify products from intracellular stages of C. parvum, whereas products were obtained from the plastid-containing apicomplexans Eimeria bovis and Toxoplasma gondii, as well as the plants Allium stellatum and Spinacia oleracea. Dot-blot hybridization of sporozoite genomic DNA (gDNA) supported these PCR results. A T. gondii plastid-specific set of probes containing SSU/LSU rRNA and tufA-tRNAPhe genes strongly hybridized to gDNA from a diverse group of plastid-containing organisms including three Apicomplexa, two plants, and Euglena gracilis, but not to those without this organelle including C. parvum, three kinetoplastids, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, mammals and the eubacterium Escherichia coli. Since the origin of the plastid in other apicomplexans is postulated to be the result of a secondary symbiogenesis of either a red or a green alga, the most parsimonious explanation for its absence in C. parvum is that it has been secondarily lost. If confirmed, this would indicate an alternative evolutionary fate for this organelle in one member of the Apicomplexa. It also suggests that unlike the situation with other diseases caused by members of the Apicomplexa, drug development against cryptosporidiosis targeting a plastid genome or metabolic pathways associated with it may not be useful.
Keywords: Cryptosporidium parvum, plastid genome, apicoplast, chloroplast
Abbreviations: FAS, fatty acid synthase; gDNA, genomic DNA; LSU, large subunit; SSU, small subunit
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  T. L. Eggleston, E. Fitzpatrick, and K. M. Hager Parasitology as a Teaching Tool: Isolation of Apicomplexan Cysts from Store-bought Meat CBE Life Sci Educ, June 1, 2008; 7(2): 184 - 192. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T. A. Donovan, M. Schrenzel, T. A. Tucker, A. P. Pessier, and I. H. Stalis Hepatic hemorrhage, hemocoelom, and sudden death due to Haemoproteus infection in passerine birds: eleven cases J Vet Diagn Invest, May 1, 2008; 20(3): 304 - 313. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. Mazumdar and B. Striepen Make It or Take It: Fatty Acid Metabolism of Apicomplexan Parasites Eukaryot. Cell, October 1, 2007; 6(10): 1727 - 1735. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Slapeta and J. S. Keithly Cryptosporidium parvum Mitochondrial-Type HSP70 Targets Homologous and Heterologous Mitochondria Eukaryot. Cell, April 1, 2004; 3(2): 483 - 494. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. Madern, X. Cai, M. S. Abrahamsen, and G. Zhu Evolution of Cryptosporidium parvum Lactate Dehydrogenase from Malate Dehydrogenase by a Very Recent Event of Gene Duplication Mol. Biol. Evol., March 1, 2004; 21(3): 489 - 497. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. T. Bankier, H. F. Spriggs, B. Fartmann, B. A. Konfortov, M. Madera, C. Vogel, S. A. Teichmann, A. Ivens, and P. H. Dear Integrated Mapping, Chromosomal Sequencing and Sequence Analysis of Cryptosporidium parvum Genome Res., August 1, 2003; 13(8): 1787 - 1799. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 B. Striepen, M. J. Crawford, M. K. Shaw, L. G. Tilney, F. Seeber, and D. S. Roos The Plastid of Toxoplasma gondii Is Divided by Association with the Centrosomes J. Cell Biol., December 18, 2000; 151(7): 1423 - 1434. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| INT J SYST EVOL MICROBIOL | MICROBIOLOGY | J GEN VIROL |
| J MED MICROBIOL | ALL SGM JOURNALS | |
