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A photosynthetic alveolate closely related to apicomplexan parasites
Citation
Moore, RB and Obornik, M and Janouskovec, J and Chrudimsky, T and Vancova, M and Green, DH and Wright, SW and Davies, NW and Bolch, CJS and Slapeta, J and Hoegh-Guldberg, O and Logsdon, JM and Carter, DA and Heimann, K, A photosynthetic alveolate closely related to apicomplexan parasites, Nature, 451, (7181) pp. 959-963. ISSN 0028-0836 (2008) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
© 2008 Nature Publishing Group
Official URL: http://www.nature.com
Abstract
Many parasitic Apicomplexa, such as Plasmodium falciparum, contain an unpigmented chloroplast remnant termed the apicoplast, which is a target for malaria treatment. However, no close relative of apicomplexans with a functional
photosynthetic plastid has yet been described. Here we describe a newly cultured organism that has ultrastructural features typical for alveolates, is phylogenetically related to apicomplexans, and contains a photosynthetic plastid. The plastid is surrounded by four membranes, is pigmented by chlorophyll a, and uses the codon UGA to encode tryptophan in the psbA
gene. This genetic feature has been found only in coccidian apicoplasts and various mitochondria. The UGA-Trp codon and phylogenies of plastid and nuclear ribosomal RNA genes indicate that the organism is the closest known photosynthetic relative to apicomplexan parasites and that its plastid shares an origin with the apicoplasts. The discovery of this organism
provides a powerful model with which to study the evolution of parasitism in Apicomplexa.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
---|---|
Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
Research Group: | Evolutionary biology |
Research Field: | Phylogeny and comparative analysis |
Objective Division: | Expanding Knowledge |
Objective Group: | Expanding knowledge |
Objective Field: | Expanding knowledge in the environmental sciences |
UTAS Author: | Davies, NW (Associate Professor Noel Davies) |
UTAS Author: | Bolch, CJS (Associate Professor Christopher Bolch) |
ID Code: | 50351 |
Year Published: | 2008 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 326 |
Deposited By: | Central Science Laboratory |
Deposited On: | 2008-07-31 |
Last Modified: | 2009-11-11 |
Downloads: | 2 View Download Statistics |
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