Opperdoes 2024 BMC Genomics
| Opperdoes FR, Záhonová K, Škodová-Sveráková I, Bučková B, Chmelová Ľ, Lukeš J, Yurchenko V (2024) In silico prediction of the metabolism of Blastocrithidia nonstop, a trypanosomatid with non-canonical genetic code. BMC Genomics 25:184. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-024-10094-8 |
Opperdoes Fred R, Zahonova Kristina, Skodova-Sverakova Ingrid, Buckova Barbora, Chmelova Lubomira, Lukes Julius, Yurchenko Vyacheslav (2024) BMC Genomics
Abstract: Almost all extant organisms use the same, so-called canonical, genetic code with departures from it being very rare. Even more exceptional are the instances when a eukaryote with non-canonical code can be easily cultivated and has its whole genome and transcriptome sequenced. This is the case of Blastocrithidia nonstop, a trypanosomatid flagellate that reassigned all three stop codons to encode amino acids.
We in silico predicted the metabolism of B. nonstop and compared it with that of the well-studied human parasites Trypanosoma brucei and Leishmania major. The mapped mitochondrial, glycosomal and cytosolic metabolism contains all typical features of these diverse and important parasites. We also provided experimental validation for some of the predicted observations, concerning, specifically presence of glycosomes, cellular respiration, and assembly of the respiratory complexes.
In an unusual comparison of metabolism between a parasitic protist with a massively altered genetic code and its close relatives that rely on a canonical code we showed that the dramatic differences on the level of nucleic acids do not seem to be reflected in the metabolisms. Moreover, although the genome of B. nonstop is extremely AT-rich, we could not find any alterations of its pyrimidine synthesis pathway when compared to other trypanosomatids. Hence, we conclude that the dramatic alteration of the genetic code of B. nonstop has no significant repercussions on the metabolism of this flagellate. • Keywords: Blastocrithidia, In silico, Metabolic predictions, Non-canonical genetic code, Trypanosomatid • Bioblast editor: Plangger M
Labels: MiParea: Respiration
Organism: Protists
Preparation: Isolated mitochondria, Intact cells
Coupling state: LEAK, ROUTINE, OXPHOS, ET
Pathway: S
HRR: Oxygraph-2k
2024-02
