Pochodzenie i ewolucja genomu mitochondrialnego

• Authors: Paweł Golik

Title variants

EN

The origin and evolution of the mitochondrial genome

• Languages of publication: PL EN

Abstracts

EN

The origin of the eukaryotic cellular organisation was one of the most important evolutionary breakthroughs. Current models closely tie the origin of the eukaryotic cell to the endosymbiotic acquisition of mitochondria, that descent from the eubacterial lineage. Currently existing amitochondriate eukaryotes have organelles that appear to be degenerate mitochondria, deprived of the respiratory function, suggesting that the last common ancestor of Eukaryotes did contain a mitochondrial symbiont. In the course of evolution the organellar genome lost most of its informational content, most likely due to the degenerative effect acting on isolated asexual populations, known as the Müller's ratchet. In modern eukaryotes it encodes only a handful of proteins, while the majority of the mitochondrial proteome is encoded in the nucleus. Mitochondrial proteins are encoded partly by ancient eubacterial endosymbiont's genes that were transferred to the nucleus, partly by host's genes descended from the archaebacterial ancestor, and partly by genes of other origins, like the mitochondrial RNA polymerase genes, derived from bacteriophages. Why the mitochondria still retain their rudimentary genome, that requires a considerable expense to maintain and express, is not clear. Several explanations were put forward, linking the persistence of the mitochondrial genome to the particular biophysical properties of the proteins it encodes, or to its role in adaptation to the requirements of the environment.

• Journal: Kosmos
• Year: 2009
• Volume: 58
• Issue: 3-4
• Pages: 547-554

Dates

published

2009

Contributors

author

Paweł Golik

• Instytut Genetyki i Biotechnologii, Wydział Biologii, Uniwersytet Warszawski, Pawińskiego 5A, 02-106 Warszawa, Polska

References

• Allen J. F., Puthiyaveetil S., Ström J., Allen C. A., 2005. Energy transduction anchors genes in organelles. Bioessays 27, 426-435.
• Andersson S. G., Kurland C. G., 1998. Reductive evolution of resident genomes. Trends Microbiol. 6, 263-268.
• Andersson S. G., Zomorodipour A., Andersson J. O., Sicheritz-ponten T., Alsmark U. C., Podowski R. M., Naslund A. K., Eriksson,a. S., Winkler H. H., Kurland C. G., 1998. The genome sequence of Rickettsia prowazekii and the origin of mitochondria. Nature 396, 133-140.
• Burger G., Gray M. W., Lang B. F., 2003. Mitochondrial genomes: anything goes. Trends Genet. 19, 709-716.
• De Grey A. D. N. J., 2005. Forces maintaining organellar genomes: is any as strong as genetic code disparity or hydrophobicity? Bioessays 27, 436-446.
• Embley T. M., Martin W., 2006. Eukaryotic evolution, changes and challenges. Nature 440, 623-630.
• Kurland C. G., Andersson S. G. E., 2000 Origin and evolution of the mitochondrial proteome. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 64, 786-820.
• Lang B. F., Burger G., O'kelly C. J., Cedergren R., Golding G. B., Lemieux C., Sankoff D., Turmel M., Gray M. W., 1997. An ancestral mitochondrial DNA resembling a eubacterial genome in miniature. Nature 387, 493-497.
• Lang B. F., Gray M. W., Burger G., 1999. Mitochondrial genome evolution and the origin of eukaryotes. Annu. Rev. Genet. 33, 351-397.
• Lill R., Fekete Z., Sipos K., Rotte C., 2005. Is there an answer? Why are mitochondria essential for life? IUBMB Life 57, 701-703.
• Margulis L., 1970. Origin of eukariotic cells. Yale University Press, New Haven.
• Martin W., Müller M., 1998. The hydrogen hypothesis for the first eukaryote. Nature 392, 37-41.
• Rousvoal S., Oudot M., Fontaine J., Kloareg B., Goër S. L., 1998. Witnessing the evolution of transcription in mitochondria: the mitochondrial genome of the primitive brown alga Pylaiella littoralis (L.) Kjellm. Encodes a T7-like RNA polymerase. J. Mol. Biol. 277, 1047-1057.
• Shutt T. E., Gray M. W., 2006. Bacteriophage origins of mitochondrial replication and transcription proteins. Trends Genet. 22, 90-95.
• Wallace D. C., 2007. Why do we still have a maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA? Insights from evolutionary medicine. Annu. Rev. Biochem. 76, 781-821.