@article {pmid36964263,
year = {2023},
author = {Jablonski, D and Ribeiro-Júnior, MA and Simonov, E and Šoltys, K and Meiri, S},
title = {A new, rare, small-ranged, and endangered mountain snake of the genus Elaphe from the Southern Levant.},
journal = {Scientific reports},
volume = {13},
number = {1},
pages = {4839},
pmid = {36964263},
issn = {2045-2322},
mesh = {Animals ; Phylogeny ; *Colubridae ; Mitochondria/genetics ; Lebanon ; Syria ; DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics ; },
abstract = {The genus Elaphe Fitzinger, 1833 includes 17 species of charismatic, large-sized, non-venomous, Eurasian snakes. In the Western Palearctic, the genus is represented by three species from the Elaphe quatuorlineata group ranging from the Apennine peninsula to Central Asia. The southernmost population of this group is distributed in the mountains of the Southern Levant, with more than 400 km gap to other Elaphe populations. This population has been known to science for only 50 years and is virtually unstudied due to its extreme rarity. We studied these snakes' morphological and genetic variation from the three countries where they are known to occur, i.e., Israel (Hermon, the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights), Lebanon, and Syria. We used nine mitochondrial and nuclear genes, complete mitogenome sequences, and a comprehensive morphological examination including published data, our own field observations, and museum specimens, to study its relationship to other species in the group. The three currently recognized species of the group (E. quatuorlineata, E. sauromates, E. urartica), and the Levant population, form four deeply divergent, strongly supported clades. Three of these clades correspond to the abovementioned species while the Southern Levant clade, which is genetically and morphologically distinct from all named congeners, is described here as a new species, Elaphe druzei sp. nov. The basal divergence of this group is estimated to be the Late Miocene with subsequent radiation from 5.1 to 3.9 Mya. The revealed biogeography of the E. quatuorlineata group supports the importance of the Levant as a major center of endemism and diversity of biota in Eurasia. The new species is large-sized and is one of the rarest snakes in the Western Palearctic. Because of its small mountain distribution range, in an area affected by land use and climate change, the new Elaphe urgently needs strict protection. Despite political issues, we hope this will be based on the cooperation of all countries where the new species occurs.},
}

Animals
Phylogeny
*Colubridae
Mitochondria/genetics
Lebanon
Syria
DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics

@article {pmid36889655,
year = {2023},
author = {Zhu, X and Liu, T and He, A and Zhang, L and Li, J and Li, T and Miao, X and You, M and You, S},
title = {Diversity of Wolbachia infection and its influence on mitochondrial DNA variation in the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella.},
journal = {Molecular phylogenetics and evolution},
volume = {182},
number = {},
pages = {107751},
doi = {10.1016/j.ympev.2023.107751},
pmid = {36889655},
issn = {1095-9513},
mesh = {Animals ; *Moths/genetics ; *Wolbachia/genetics ; Phylogeny ; DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics ; Mitochondria/genetics ; },
abstract = {Plutella xylostella is a pest that severely damages cruciferous vegetables worldwide and has been shown to be infected with the maternally inherited bacteria Wolbachia, with the main infected strain was plutWB1. In this study, we performed a large-scale global sampling of P. xylostella and amplified 3 mtDNA genes of P. xylostella and 6 Wolbachia genes to analyze the infection status, diversity of Wolbachia in P. xylostella, and its effect on mtDNA variation in P. xylostella. This study provides a conservative estimate of Wolbachia infection rates in P. xylostella, which was found to be 7% (104/1440). The ST 108 (plutWB1) was shared among butterfly species and the moth species P. xylostella, revealing that Wolbachia strain plutWB1 acquisition in P. xylostella may be through horizontal transmission. The Parafit analyses indicated a significant association between Wolbachia and Wolbachia-infected P. xylostella individuals, and individuals infected with plutWB1 tended to cluster in the basal positions of the phylogenetic tree based on the mtDNA data. Additionally, Wolbachia infections were associated with increased mtDNA polymorphism in the infected P. xylostella population. These data suggest that Wolbachia endosymbionts may have a potential effect on mtDNA variation of P. xylostella.},
}

Animals
*Moths/genetics
*Wolbachia/genetics
Phylogeny
DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics
Mitochondria/genetics

@article {pmid36773750,
year = {2023},
author = {Taite, M and Fernández-Álvarez, FÁ and Braid, HE and Bush, SL and Bolstad, K and Drewery, J and Mills, S and Strugnell, JM and Vecchione, M and Villanueva, R and Voight, JR and Allcock, AL},
title = {Genome skimming elucidates the evolutionary history of Octopoda.},
journal = {Molecular phylogenetics and evolution},
volume = {182},
number = {},
pages = {107729},
doi = {10.1016/j.ympev.2023.107729},
pmid = {36773750},
issn = {1095-9513},
mesh = {Animals ; *Octopodiformes/genetics ; Phylogeny ; Bayes Theorem ; Mitochondria/genetics ; *Genome, Mitochondrial ; RNA, Transfer ; },
abstract = {Phylogenies for Octopoda have, until now, been based on morphological characters or a few genes. Here we provide the complete mitogenomes and the nuclear 18S and 28S ribosomal genes of twenty Octopoda specimens, comprising 18 species of Cirrata and Incirrata, representing 13 genera and all five putative families of Cirrata (Cirroctopodidae, Cirroteuthidae, Grimpoteuthidae, Opisthoteuthidae and Stauroteuthidae) and six families of Incirrata (Amphitretidae, Argonautidae, Bathypolypodidae, Eledonidae, Enteroctopodidae, and Megaleledonidae) which were assembled using genome skimming. Phylogenetic trees were built using Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference with several alignment matrices. All mitochondrial genomes had the 'typical' genome composition and gene order previously reported for octopodiforms, except Bathypolypus ergasticus, which appears to lack ND5, two tRNA genes that flank ND5 and two other tRNA genes. Argonautoidea was revealed as sister to Octopodidae by the mitochondrial protein-coding gene dataset, however, it was recovered as sister to all other incirrate octopods with strong support in an analysis using nuclear rRNA genes. Within Cirrata, our study supports two existing classifications suggesting neither is likely in conflict with the true evolutionary history of the suborder. Genome skimming is useful in the analysis of phylogenetic relationships within Octopoda; inclusion of both mitochondrial and nuclear data may be key.},
}

Animals
*Octopodiformes/genetics
Phylogeny
Bayes Theorem
Mitochondria/genetics
*Genome, Mitochondrial
RNA, Transfer

@article {pmid36966978,
year = {2023},
author = {Edera, AA and Howell, KA and Nevill, PG and Small, I and Virginia Sanchez-Puerta, M},
title = {Evolution of cox2 introns in angiosperm mitochondria and efficient splicing of an elongated cox2i691 intron.},
journal = {Gene},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {147393},
doi = {10.1016/j.gene.2023.147393},
pmid = {36966978},
issn = {1879-0038},
abstract = {In angiosperms, the mitochondrial cox2 gene harbors up to two introns, commonly referred to as cox2i373 and cox2i691. We studied the cox2 from 222 fully-sequenced mitogenomes from 30 angiosperm orders and analyzed the evolution of its introns. Unlike cox2i373, cox2i691 shows a distribution among plants that is shaped by frequent intron loss events driven by localized retroprocessing. In addition, cox2i691 exhibits sporadic elongations, presumably in domain IV of the intron. Such elongations are poorly related to repeat content and two of them showed the presence of LINE transposons, suggesting that increasing intron size is very likely due to nuclear intracelular DNA transfer followed by incorporation into the mitochondrial DNA. Surprisingly, we found that cox2i691 is erroneously annotated as absent in 30 mitogenomes deposited in public databases. Although each of the cox2 introns is ∼1.5 kb in length, a cox2i691 of 4.2 kb has been reported in Acacia ligulata (Fabaceae). It is still unclear whether its unusual length is due to a trans-splicing arrangement or the loss of functionality of the interrupted cox2. Through analyzing short-read RNA sequencing of Acacia with a multi-step computational strategy, we found that the Acacia cox2 is functional and its long intron is spliced in cis in a very efficient manner despite its length.},
}

@article {pmid36965057,
year = {2023},
author = {Speijer, D},
title = {How mitochondria showcase evolutionary mechanisms and the importance of oxygen.},
journal = {BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {e2300013},
doi = {10.1002/bies.202300013},
pmid = {36965057},
issn = {1521-1878},
abstract = {Darwinian evolution can be simply stated: natural selection of inherited variations increasing differential reproduction. However, formulated thus, links with biochemistry, cell biology, ecology, and population dynamics remain unclear. To understand interactive contributions of chance and selection, higher levels of biological organization (e.g., endosymbiosis), complexities of competing selection forces, and emerging biological novelties (such as eukaryotes or meiotic sex), we must analyze actual examples. Focusing on mitochondria, I will illuminate how biology makes sense of life's evolution, and the concepts involved. First, looking at the bacterium - mitochondrion transition: merging with an archaeon, it lost its independence, but played a decisive role in eukaryogenesis, as an extremely efficient aerobic ATP generator and internal ROS source. Second, surveying later mitochondrion adaptations and diversifications illustrates concepts such as constructive neutral evolution, dynamic interactions between endosymbionts and hosts, the contingency of life histories, and metabolic reprogramming. Without oxygen, mitochondria disappear; with (intermittent) oxygen diversification occurs in highly complex ways, especially upon (temporary) phototrophic substrate supply. These expositions show the Darwinian model to be a highly fruitful paradigm.},
}

@article {pmid36951086,
year = {2023},
author = {Sloan, DB and DeTar, RA and Warren, JM},
title = {Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase evolution within the dynamic tripartite translation system of plant cells.},
journal = {Genome biology and evolution},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1093/gbe/evad050},
pmid = {36951086},
issn = {1759-6653},
abstract = {Eukaryotes maintain separate protein translation systems for nuclear and organellar genes, including distinct sets of tRNAs and aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs). In animals, mitochondrial-targeted aaRSs are expressed at lower levels and are less conserved in sequence than cytosolic aaRSs involved in translation of nuclear mRNAs, likely reflecting lower translational demands in mitochondria. In plants, translation is further complicated by the presence of plastids, which share most aaRSs with mitochondria. In addition, plant mitochondrial tRNA pools have a dynamic history of gene loss and functional replacement by tRNAs from other compartments. To investigate the consequences of these distinctive features of translation in plants, we analyzed sequence evolution in angiosperm aaRSs. In contrast to previously studied eukaryotic systems, we found that plant organellar and cytosolic aaRSs exhibit only a small difference in expression levels, and organellar aaRSs are slightly more conserved than cytosolic aaRSs. We hypothesize that these patterns result from high translational demands associated with photosynthesis in mature chloroplasts. We also investigated aaRS evolution in Sileneae, an angiosperm lineage with extensive mitochondrial tRNA replacement and aaRS retargeting. We predicted positive selection for changes in aaRS sequence resulting from these recent changes in subcellular localization and tRNA substrates but found little evidence for accelerated sequence divergence. Overall, the complex tripartite translation system in plant cells appears to have imposed more constraints on the long-term evolutionary rates of organellar aaRSs compared to other eukaryotic lineages, and plant aaRS protein sequences appear largely robust to more recent perturbations in subcellular localization and tRNA interactions.},
}

@article {pmid36948470,
year = {2023},
author = {Cayuela, H and Gaillard, JM and Vieira, C and Ronget, V and Gippet, JMW and Garcia, TC and Marais, GAB and Lemaître, JF},
title = {Sex differences in adult lifespan and aging rate across mammals: a test of the 'Mother Curse hypothesis'.},
journal = {Mechanisms of ageing and development},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {111799},
doi = {10.1016/j.mad.2023.111799},
pmid = {36948470},
issn = {1872-6216},
abstract = {In many animal species, including humans, males have shorter lifespan and show faster survival aging than females. This differential increase in mortality between sexes could result from the accumulation of deleterious mutations in the mitochondrial genome of males due to the maternal mode of mtDNA inheritance. To date, empirical evidence supporting the existence of this mechanism - called the Mother Curse hypothesis - remains largely limited to a few study cases in humans and Drosophila. In this study, we tested whether the Mother Curse hypothesis accounts for sex differences in lifespan and aging rate across 128 populations of mammals (60 and 68 populations studied in wild and captive conditions, respectively) encompassing 104 species. We found that adult lifespan decreases with increasing mtDNA neutral substitution rate in both sexes in a similar way in the wild - but not in captivity. Moreover, the aging rate marginally increased with neutral substitution rate in males and females in the wild. Overall, these results indicate that the Mother Curse hypothesis is not supported across mammals. We further discuss the implication of these findings for our understanding of the evolution of sex differences in mortality and aging.},
}

@article {pmid36948134,
year = {2023},
author = {Celik, A and Orfany, A and Dearling, J and Del Nido, PJ and McCully, JD and Bakar-Ates, F},
title = {Mitochondrial transplantation: Effects on chemotherapy in prostate and ovarian cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.},
journal = {Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie},
volume = {161},
number = {},
pages = {114524},
doi = {10.1016/j.biopha.2023.114524},
pmid = {36948134},
issn = {1950-6007},
abstract = {Prostate and ovarian cancers affect the male and female reproductive organs and are among the most common cancers in developing countries. Previous studies have demonstrated that cancer cells have a high rate of aerobic glycolysis that is present in nearly all invasive human cancers and persists even under normoxic conditions. Aerobic glycolysis has been correlated with chemotherapeutic resistance and tumor aggressiveness. These data suggest that mitochondrial dysfunction may confer a significant proliferative advantage during the somatic evolution of cancer. In this study we investigated the effect of direct mitochondria transplantation on cancer cell proliferation and chemotherapeutic sensitivity in prostate and ovarian cancer models, both in vitro and in vivo. Our results show that the transplantation of viable, respiration competent mitochondria has no effect on cancer cell proliferation but significantly decreases migration and alters cell cycle checkpoints. Our results further demonstrate that mitochondrial transplantation significantly increases chemotherapeutic sensitivity, providing similar apoptotic levels with low-dose chemotherapy as that achieved with high-dose chemotherapy. These results suggest that mitochondria transplantation provides a novel approach for early prostate and ovarian cancer therapy, significantly increasing chemotherapeutic sensitivity in in vitro and in vivo murine models.},
}

@article {pmid36944988,
year = {2023},
author = {Yu, X and Wei, P and Chen, Z and Li, X and Zhang, W and Yang, Y and Liu, C and Zhao, S and Li, X and Liu, X},
title = {Comparative analysis of the organelle genomes of three Rhodiola species provide insights into their structural dynamics and sequence divergences.},
journal = {BMC plant biology},
volume = {23},
number = {1},
pages = {156},
pmid = {36944988},
issn = {1471-2229},
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Plant organelle genomes are a valuable resource for evolutionary biology research, yet their genome architectures, evolutionary patterns and environmental adaptations are poorly understood in many lineages. Rhodiola species is a type of flora mainly distributed in highland habitats, with high medicinal value. Here, we assembled the organelle genomes of three Rhodiola species (R. wallichiana, R. crenulata and R. sacra) collected from the Qinghai-Tibet plateau (QTP), and compared their genome structure, gene content, structural rearrangements, sequence transfer and sequence evolution rates.

RESULTS: The results demonstrated the contrasting evolutionary pattern between plastomes and mitogenomes in three Rhodiola species, with the former possessing more conserved genome structure but faster evolutionary rates of sequence, while the latter exhibiting structural diversity but slower rates of sequence evolution. Some lineage-specific features were observed in Rhodiola mitogenomes, including chromosome fission, gene loss and structural rearrangement. Repeat element analysis shows that the repeats occurring between the two chromosomes may mediate the formation of multichromosomal structure in the mitogenomes of Rhodiola, and this multichromosomal structure may have recently formed. The identification of homologous sequences between plastomes and mitogenomes reveals several unidirectional protein-coding gene transfer events from chloroplasts to mitochondria. Moreover, we found that their organelle genomes contained multiple fragments of nuclear transposable elements (TEs) and exhibited different preferences for TEs insertion type. Genome-wide scans of positive selection identified one gene matR from the mitogenome. Since the matR is crucial for plant growth and development, as well as for respiration and stress responses, our findings suggest that matR may participate in the adaptive response of Rhodiola species to environmental stress of QTP.

CONCLUSION: The study analyzed the organelle genomes of three Rhodiola species and demonstrated the contrasting evolutionary pattern between plastomes and mitogenomes. Signals of positive selection were detected in the matR gene of Rhodiola mitogenomes, suggesting the potential role of this gene in Rhodiola adaptation to QTP. Together, the study is expected to enrich the genomic resources and provide valuable insights into the structural dynamics and sequence divergences of Rhodiola species.},
}

@article {pmid36939357,
year = {2023},
author = {Macher, JN and Coots, NL and Poh, YP and Girard, EB and Langerak, A and Muñoz-Gómez, SA and Sinha, SD and Jirsová, D and Vos, R and Wissels, R and Gile, GH and Renema, W and Wideman, JG},
title = {Single-Cell Genomics Reveals the Divergent Mitochondrial Genomes of Retaria (Foraminifera and Radiolaria).},
journal = {mBio},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {e0030223},
doi = {10.1128/mbio.00302-23},
pmid = {36939357},
issn = {2150-7511},
abstract = {Mitochondria originated from an ancient bacterial endosymbiont that underwent reductive evolution by gene loss and endosymbiont gene transfer to the nuclear genome. The diversity of mitochondrial genomes published to date has revealed that gene loss and transfer processes are ongoing in many lineages. Most well-studied eukaryotic lineages are represented in mitochondrial genome databases, except for the superphylum Retaria-the lineage comprising Foraminifera and Radiolaria. Using single-cell approaches, we determined two complete mitochondrial genomes of Foraminifera and two nearly complete mitochondrial genomes of radiolarians. We report the complete coding content of an additional 14 foram species. We show that foraminiferan and radiolarian mitochondrial genomes contain a nearly fully overlapping but reduced mitochondrial gene complement compared to other sequenced rhizarians. In contrast to animals and fungi, many protists encode a diverse set of proteins on their mitochondrial genomes, including several ribosomal genes; however, some aerobic eukaryotic lineages (euglenids, myzozoans, and chlamydomonas-like algae) have reduced mitochondrial gene content and lack all ribosomal genes. Similar to these reduced outliers, we show that retarian mitochondrial genomes lack ribosomal protein and tRNA genes, contain truncated and divergent small and large rRNA genes, and contain only 14 or 15 protein-coding genes, including nad1, -3, -4, -4L, -5, and -7, cob, cox1, -2, and -3, and atp1, -6, and -9, with forams and radiolarians additionally carrying nad2 and nad6, respectively. In radiolarian mitogenomes, a noncanonical genetic code was identified in which all three stop codons encode amino acids. Collectively, these results add to our understanding of mitochondrial genome evolution and fill in one of the last major gaps in mitochondrial sequence databases. IMPORTANCE We present the reduced mitochondrial genomes of Retaria, the rhizarian lineage comprising the phyla Foraminifera and Radiolaria. By applying single-cell genomic approaches, we found that foraminiferan and radiolarian mitochondrial genomes contain an overlapping but reduced mitochondrial gene complement compared to other sequenced rhizarians. An alternative genetic code was identified in radiolarian mitogenomes in which all three stop codons encode amino acids. Collectively, these results shed light on the divergent nature of the mitochondrial genomes from an ecologically important group, warranting further questions into the biological underpinnings of gene content variability and genetic code variation between mitochondrial genomes.},
}

@article {pmid36916992,
year = {2023},
author = {Monné, M and Cianciulli, A and Panaro, MA and Calvello, R and De Grassi, A and Palmieri, L and Mitolo, V and Palmieri, F},
title = {New Insights into the Evolution and Gene Structure of the Mitochondrial Carrier Family Unveiled by Analyzing the Frequent and Conserved Intron Positions.},
journal = {Molecular biology and evolution},
volume = {40},
number = {3},
pages = {},
pmid = {36916992},
issn = {1537-1719},
mesh = {Humans ; Introns ; Phylogeny ; *Mitochondria/genetics/metabolism ; *Membrane Transport Proteins/genetics ; Eukaryota/genetics ; Evolution, Molecular ; Conserved Sequence ; },
abstract = {Mitochondrial carriers (MCs) belong to a eukaryotic protein family of transporters that in higher organisms is called the solute carrier family 25 (SLC25). All MCs have characteristic triplicated sequence repeats forming a 3-fold symmetrical structure of a six-transmembrane α-helix bundle with a centrally located substrate-binding site. Biochemical characterization has shown that MCs altogether transport a wide variety of substrates but can be divided into subfamilies, each transporting a few specific substrates. We have investigated the intron positions in the human MC genes and their orthologs of highly diversified organisms. The results demonstrate that several intron positions are present in numerous MC sequences at the same specific points, of which some are 3-fold symmetry related. Many of these frequent intron positions are also conserved in subfamilies or in groups of subfamilies transporting similar substrates. The analyses of the frequent and conserved intron positions in MCs suggest phylogenetic relationships not only between close but also distant homologs as well as a possible involvement of the intron positions in the evolution of the substrate specificity diversification of the MC family members.},
}

Humans
Introns
Phylogeny
*Mitochondria/genetics/metabolism
*Membrane Transport Proteins/genetics
Eukaryota/genetics
Evolution, Molecular
Conserved Sequence

@article {pmid36602189,
year = {2023},
author = {Delling, B and Thörn, F and Norén, M and Irestedt, M},
title = {Museomics reveals the phylogenetic position of the extinct Moroccan trout Salmo pallaryi.},
journal = {Journal of fish biology},
volume = {102},
number = {3},
pages = {619-627},
doi = {10.1111/jfb.15299},
pmid = {36602189},
issn = {1095-8649},
mesh = {Animals ; Phylogeny ; *Trout/genetics ; *DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics ; Mitochondria/genetics ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; },
abstract = {The authors used museomics to reconstruct the mitochondrial genome from two individuals of the Moroccan, endemic and extinct trout, Salmo pallaryi. They further obtained partial data from 21 nuclear genes previously used for trout phylogenetic analyses. Phylogenetic analyses, including publicly available data from the mitochondrial control region and the cytochrome b gene, and the 21 nuclear genes, place S. pallaryi among other North African trouts. mtDNA places S. pallaryi close to Salmo macrostigma within a single North African clade. Although the nuclear coverage of the genome was low, both specimens were independently positioned as sisters to one of two distantly related North African clades, viz. the Atlas clade with the Dades trout, Salmo multipunctatus. Phylogenetic discordance between mtDNA and nuclear DNA phylogenies is briefly discussed. As several specimens that were extracted failed to produce DNA of sufficient quality, the authors discuss potential reasons for the failure. They suggest that museum specimens in poor physical condition may be better for DNA extraction compared to better-preserved ones, possibly related to the innovation of formalin as a fixative before ethanol storage in the early 20th century.},
}

Animals
Phylogeny
*Trout/genetics
*DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics
Mitochondria/genetics
Sequence Analysis, DNA

@article {pmid36146890,
year = {2023},
author = {Pierszalowski, SP and Steel, DJ and Gabriele, CM and Neilson, JL and Vanselow, PBS and Cedarleaf, JA and Straley, JM and Baker, CS},
title = {mtDNA heteroplasmy gives rise to a new maternal lineage in North Pacific humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae).},
journal = {The Journal of heredity},
volume = {114},
number = {1},
pages = {14-21},
pmid = {36146890},
issn = {1465-7333},
mesh = {Animals ; Female ; Cattle ; *Humpback Whale/genetics ; DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics ; Heteroplasmy ; Mitochondria/genetics ; Cetacea/genetics ; },
abstract = {Heteroplasmy in the mitochondrial genome offers a rare opportunity to track the evolution of a newly arising maternal lineage in populations of non-model species. Here, we identified a previously unreported mitochondrial DNA haplotype while assembling an integrated database of DNA profiles and photo-identification records from humpback whales in southeastern Alaska (SEAK). The haplotype, referred to as A8, was shared by only 2 individuals, a mature female with her female calf, and differed by only a single base pair from a common haplotype in the North Pacific, referred to as A-. To investigate the origins of the A8 haplotype, we reviewed n = 1,089 electropherograms (including replicate samples) of n = 710 individuals with A- haplotypes from an existing collection. From this review, we found 20 individuals with clear evidence of heteroplasmy for A-/A8 (parental/derived) haplotypes. Of these, 15 were encountered in SEAK, 4 were encountered on the Hawaiian breeding ground (the primary migratory destination for whales in SEAK), and 1 was encountered in the northern Gulf of Alaska. We used genotype exclusion and likelihood to identify one of the heteroplasmic females as the likely mother of the A8 cow and grandmother of the A8 calf, establishing the inheritance and germ-line fixation of the new haplotype from the parental heteroplasmy. The mutation leading to this heteroplasmy and the fixation of the A8 haplotype provide an opportunity to document the population dynamics and regional fidelity of a newly arising maternal lineage in a population recovering from exploitation.},
}

Animals
Female
Cattle
*Humpback Whale/genetics
DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics
Heteroplasmy
Mitochondria/genetics
Cetacea/genetics

@article {pmid36938916,
year = {2023},
author = {Jiao, J and Wang, X and Wei, C and Zhao, Y},
title = {Bioinspired Electrode for the Production and Timely Separation of Nitrile and Hydrogen.},
journal = {Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {e2208044},
doi = {10.1002/smll.202208044},
pmid = {36938916},
issn = {1613-6829},
abstract = {Replacing electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with amine oxidation reaction is adopted to boost clean and environment-friendly energy source hydrogen (H2) in water. However, the electrocatalytic reaction is severely restricted by the strong adsorption of product on the catalyst surface. Inspired by the cooperation of flavin adenine dinucleotide and mitochondria membrane in biological system, the catalysis-separation complex electrodes are introduced to promote the desorption of product and hinder its readsorption by applying polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-separation membrane on the one side of electrode, which is benefit for the cleanness of active sites on the catalyst surface for the continuous production and timely separation of nitrile and hydrogen. With the intermolecular force between PTFE and nitrile, the nitrile droplets can be quickly desorbed and separated from catalyst surface of anode, and the size of nitrile droplets on the catalyst surface is only 0.23% to that without PTFE. As a result, the current at 1.49 VRHE from the catalyst with PTFE membrane is about 33 times to that of catalyst without PTFE after long-term operation. Moreover, the cathode with PTFE membrane also achieves the rapid desorption of H2 bubbles and stable cathodic current because of the strong absorption of PTFE to H2 .},
}

@article {pmid36929911,
year = {2023},
author = {Biot-Pelletier, D and Bettinazzi, S and Gagnon-Arsenault, I and Dubé, AK and Bédard, C and Nguyen, THM and Fiumera, HL and Breton, S and Landry, CR},
title = {Evolutionary trajectories are contingent on mitonuclear interactions.},
journal = {Molecular biology and evolution},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1093/molbev/msad061},
pmid = {36929911},
issn = {1537-1719},
abstract = {Critical mitochondrial functions, including cellular respiration, rely on frequently interacting components expressed from both the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes. The fitness of eukaryotic organisms depends on a tight collaboration between both genomes. In the face of an elevated rate of evolution in mtDNA, current models predict that maintenance of mitonuclear compatibility relies on compensatory evolution of the nuclear genome. Mitonuclear interactions would therefore exert an influence on evolutionary trajectories. One prediction from this model is that the same nuclear genome evolving with different mitochondrial haplotypes would follow distinct molecular paths towards higher fitness. To test this prediction, we submitted 1344 populations derived from seven mitonuclear genotypes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to more than 300 generations of experimental evolution in conditions that either select for a mitochondrial function, or that do not strictly require respiration for survival. Performing high-throughput phenotyping and whole-genome sequencing on independently evolved individuals, we identified numerous examples of gene-level evolutionary convergence among populations with the same mitonuclear background. Phenotypic and genotypic data on strains derived from this evolution experiment identify the nuclear genome and the environment as the main determinants of evolutionary divergence, but also show a modulating role for the mitochondrial genome exerted both directly and via interactions with the two other components. We finally recapitulated a subset of prominent loss-of-function alleles in the ancestral backgrounds and confirmed a generalized pattern of mitonuclear-specific and highly epistatic fitness effects. Together, these results demonstrate how mitonuclear interactions can dictate evolutionary divergence of populations with identical starting nuclear genotypes.},
}

@article {pmid36921696,
year = {2023},
author = {Lee, C and Ruhlman, TA and Jansen, RK},
title = {Rate accelerations in plastid and mitochondrial genomes of Cyperaceae occur in the same clades.},
journal = {Molecular phylogenetics and evolution},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {107760},
doi = {10.1016/j.ympev.2023.107760},
pmid = {36921696},
issn = {1095-9513},
abstract = {Cyperaceae, the second largest family in the monocot order Poales, comprises more than 5,500 species and includes the genus Eleocharis with ∼ 250 species. A previous study of complete plastomes of two Eleocharis species documented extensive structural heteroplasmy, gene order changes, high frequency of dispersed repeats along with gene losses and duplications. To better understand the phylogenetic distribution of gene and intron content as well as rates and patterns of sequence evolution within and between mitochondrial and plastid genomes of Eleocharis and Cyperaceae, an additional 29 Eleocharis organelle genomes were sequenced and analyzed. Eleocharis experienced extensive gene loss in both genomes while loss of introns was mitochondria-specific. Eleocharis has higher rates of synonymous (dS) and nonsynonymous (dN) substitutions in the plastid and mitochondrion than most sampled angiosperms, and the pattern was distinct from other eudicot lineages with accelerated rates. Several clades showed higher dS and dN in mitochondrial genes than in plastid genes. Furthermore, nucleotide substitution rates of mitochondrial genes were significantly accelerated on the branch leading to Cyperaceae compared to most angiosperms. Mitochondrial genes of Cyperaceae exhibited dramatic loss of RNA editing sites and a negative correlation between RNA editing and dS values was detected among angiosperms. Mutagenic retroprocessing and dysfunction of DNA replication, repair and recombination genes are the most likely cause of striking rate accelerations and loss of edit sites and introns in Eleocharis and Cyperaceae organelle genomes.},
}

@article {pmid36915058,
year = {2023},
author = {Zumkeller, S and Knoop, V},
title = {Categorizing 161 plant (streptophyte) mitochondrial group II introns into 29 families of related paralogues finds only limited links between intron mobility and intron-borne maturases.},
journal = {BMC ecology and evolution},
volume = {23},
number = {1},
pages = {5},
pmid = {36915058},
issn = {2730-7182},
mesh = {Introns/genetics ; *Evolution, Molecular ; *Mitochondria/genetics ; Plants/genetics ; Cell Nucleus ; },
abstract = {Group II introns are common in the two endosymbiotic organelle genomes of the plant lineage. Chloroplasts harbor 22 positionally conserved group II introns whereas their occurrence in land plant (embryophyte) mitogenomes is highly variable and specific for the seven major clades: liverworts, mosses, hornworts, lycophytes, ferns, gymnosperms and flowering plants. Each plant group features "signature selections" of ca. 20-30 paralogues from a superset of altogether 105 group II introns meantime identified in embryophyte mtDNAs, suggesting massive intron gains and losses along the backbone of plant phylogeny. We report on systematically categorizing plant mitochondrial group II introns into "families", comprising evidently related paralogues at different insertion sites, which may even be more similar than their respective orthologues in phylogenetically distant taxa. Including streptophyte (charophyte) algae extends our sampling to 161 and we sort 104 streptophyte mitochondrial group II introns into 25 core families of related paralogues evidently arising from retrotransposition events. Adding to discoveries of only recently created intron paralogues, hypermobile introns and twintrons, our survey led to further discoveries including previously overlooked "fossil" introns in spacer regions or e.g., in the rps8 pseudogene of lycophytes. Initially excluding intron-borne maturase sequences for family categorization, we added an independent analysis of maturase phylogenies and find a surprising incongruence between intron mobility and the presence of intron-borne maturases. Intriguingly, however, we find that several examples of nuclear splicing factors meantime characterized simultaneously facilitate splicing of independent paralogues now placed into the same intron families. Altogether this suggests that plant group II intron mobility, in contrast to their bacterial counterparts, is not intimately linked to intron-encoded maturases.},
}

Introns/genetics
*Evolution, Molecular
*Mitochondria/genetics
Plants/genetics
Cell Nucleus

@article {pmid36913593,
year = {2023},
author = {Swainsbury, DJK and Hawkings, FR and Martin, EC and Musiał, S and Salisbury, JH and Jackson, PJ and Farmer, DA and Johnson, MP and Siebert, CA and Hitchcock, A and Hunter, CN},
title = {Cryo-EM structure of the four-subunit Rhodobacter sphaeroides cytochrome bc1 complex in styrene maleic acid nanodiscs.},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
volume = {120},
number = {12},
pages = {e2217922120},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.2217922120},
pmid = {36913593},
issn = {1091-6490},
mesh = {*Rhodobacter sphaeroides/chemistry ; Cytochromes c ; Cytochromes b ; Styrene ; Cryoelectron Microscopy ; Quinones ; Lipids ; Electron Transport Complex III ; Oxidation-Reduction ; },
abstract = {Cytochrome bc1 complexes are ubiquinol:cytochrome c oxidoreductases, and as such, they are centrally important components of respiratory and photosynthetic electron transfer chains in many species of bacteria and in mitochondria. The minimal complex has three catalytic components, which are cytochrome b, cytochrome c1, and the Rieske iron-sulfur subunit, but the function of mitochondrial cytochrome bc1 complexes is modified by up to eight supernumerary subunits. The cytochrome bc1 complex from the purple phototrophic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides has a single supernumerary subunit called subunit IV, which is absent from current structures of the complex. In this work we use the styrene-maleic acid copolymer to purify the R. sphaeroides cytochrome bc1 complex in native lipid nanodiscs, which retains the labile subunit IV, annular lipids, and natively bound quinones. The catalytic activity of the four-subunit cytochrome bc1 complex is threefold higher than that of the complex lacking subunit IV. To understand the role of subunit IV, we determined the structure of the four-subunit complex at 2.9 Å using single particle cryogenic electron microscopy. The structure shows the position of the transmembrane domain of subunit IV, which lies across the transmembrane helices of the Rieske and cytochrome c1 subunits. We observe a quinone at the Qo quinone-binding site and show that occupancy of this site is linked to conformational changes in the Rieske head domain during catalysis. Twelve lipids were structurally resolved, making contacts with the Rieske and cytochrome b subunits, with some spanning both of the two monomers that make up the dimeric complex.},
}

*Rhodobacter sphaeroides/chemistry
Cytochromes c
Cytochromes b
Styrene
Cryoelectron Microscopy
Quinones
Lipids
Electron Transport Complex III
Oxidation-Reduction

@article {pmid36883279,
year = {2023},
author = {García Pascual, B and Nordbotten, JM and Johnston, IG},
title = {Cellular and environmental dynamics influence species-specific extents of organelle gene retention.},
journal = {Proceedings. Biological sciences},
volume = {290},
number = {1994},
pages = {20222140},
pmid = {36883279},
issn = {1471-2954},
mesh = {Species Specificity ; *Mitochondria ; *Eukaryotic Cells ; Eukaryota ; },
abstract = {Mitochondria and plastids rely on many nuclear-encoded genes, but retain small subsets of the genes they need to function in their own organelle DNA (oDNA). Different species retain different numbers of oDNA genes, and the reasons for these differences are not completely understood. Here, we use a mathematical model to explore the hypothesis that the energetic demands imposed by an organism's changing environment influence how many oDNA genes it retains. The model couples the physical biology of cell processes of gene expression and transport to a supply-and-demand model for the environmental dynamics to which an organism is exposed. The trade-off between fulfilling metabolic and bioenergetic environmental demands, and retaining genetic integrity, is quantified for a generic gene encoded either in oDNA or in nuclear DNA. Species in environments with high-amplitude, intermediate-frequency oscillations are predicted to retain the most organelle genes, whereas those in less dynamic or noisy environments the fewest. We discuss support for, and insight from, these predictions with oDNA data across eukaryotic taxa, including high oDNA gene counts in sessile organisms exposed to day-night and intertidal oscillations (including plants and algae) and low counts in parasites and fungi.},
}

Species Specificity
*Mitochondria
*Eukaryotic Cells
Eukaryota

@article {pmid36882771,
year = {2023},
author = {Bu, XL and Zhao, WS and Li, WX and Zou, H and Wu, SG and Li, M and Wang, GT},
title = {Mitochondrial metabolism of the facultative parasite Chilodonella uncinata (Alveolata, Ciliophora).},
journal = {Parasites & vectors},
volume = {16},
number = {1},
pages = {92},
pmid = {36882771},
issn = {1756-3305},
mesh = {Animals ; *Alveolata ; *Parasites ; Phylogeny ; *Ciliophora/genetics ; Mitochondria ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Chilodonella uncinata is an aerobic ciliate capable of switching between being free-living and parasitic on fish fins and gills, causing tissue damage and host mortality. It is widely used as a model organism for genetic studies, but its mitochondrial metabolism has never been studied. Therefore, we aimed to describe the morphological features and metabolic characteristics of its mitochondria.

METHODS: Fluorescence staining and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to observe the morphology of mitochondria. Single-cell transcriptome data of C. uncinata were annotated by the Clusters of Orthologous Genes (COG) database. Meanwhile, the metabolic pathways were constructed based on the transcriptomes. The phylogenetic analysis was also made based on the sequenced cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COX1) gene.

RESULTS: Mitochondria were stained red using Mito-tracker Red staining and were stained slightly blue by DAPI dye. The cristae and double membrane structures of the mitochondria were observed by TEM. Besides, many lipid droplets were evenly distributed around the macronucleus. A total of 2594 unigenes were assigned to 23 functional classifications of COG. Mitochondrial metabolic pathways were depicted. The mitochondria contained enzymes for the complete tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, fatty acid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and cytochrome-based electron transport chain (ETC), but only partial enzymes involved in the iron-sulfur clusters (ISCs).

CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that C. uncinata possess typical mitochondria. Stored lipid droplets inside mitochondria may be the energy storage of C. uncinata that helps its transmission from a free-living to a parasitic lifestyle. These findings also have improved our knowledge of the mitochondrial metabolism of C. uncinata and increased the volume of molecular data for future studies of this facultative parasite.},
}

Animals
*Alveolata
*Parasites
Phylogeny
*Ciliophora/genetics
Mitochondria

@article {pmid36469010,
year = {2023},
author = {Penter, L and Ten Hacken, E and Southard, J and Lareau, CA and Ludwig, LS and Li, S and Neuberg, DS and Livak, KJ and Wu, CJ},
title = {Mitochondrial DNA Mutations as Natural Barcodes for Lineage Tracing of Murine Tumor Models.},
journal = {Cancer research},
volume = {83},
number = {5},
pages = {667-672},
pmid = {36469010},
issn = {1538-7445},
support = {R01 CA216273/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States ; P01 CA206978/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States ; R01 CA155010/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States ; R50 CA251956/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States ; R21 CA267527/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States ; },
mesh = {Animals ; Mice ; *DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics ; Mitochondria/genetics ; Chromatin ; Mutation ; *Neoplasms/genetics ; },
abstract = {UNLABELLED: Murine models are indispensable tools for functional genomic studies and preclinical testing of novel therapeutic approaches. Mitochondrial single-cell assay for transposase-accessible chromatin using sequencing (mtscATAC-seq) enables the dissection of cellular heterogeneity and clonal dynamics by capturing chromatin accessibility, copy-number variations (CNV), and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations, yet its applicability to murine studies remains unexplored. By leveraging mtscATAC-seq in novel chronic lymphocytic leukemia and Richter syndrome mouse models, we report the detection of mtDNA mutations, particularly in highly proliferative murine cells, alongside CNV and chromatin state changes indicative of clonal evolution upon secondary transplant. This study thus demonstrates the feasibility and utility of multi-modal single-cell and natural barcoding approaches to characterize murine cancer models.

SIGNIFICANCE: mtDNA mutations can serve as natural barcodes to enable lineage tracing in murine cancer models, which can be used to provide new insights into disease biology and to identify therapeutic vulnerabilities.},
}

Animals
Mice
*DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics
Mitochondria/genetics
Chromatin
Mutation
*Neoplasms/genetics

@article {pmid36860172,
year = {2023},
author = {Cantó-Santos, J and Valls-Roca, L and Tobías, E and García-García, FJ and Guitart-Mampel, M and Esteve-Codina, A and Martín-Mur, B and Casado, M and Artuch, R and Solsona-Vilarrasa, E and Fernandez-Checa, JC and García-Ruiz, C and Rentero, C and Enrich, C and Moreno-Lozano, PJ and Milisenda, JC and Cardellach, F and Grau-Junyent, JM and Garrabou, G},
title = {Unravelling inclusion body myositis using a patient-derived fibroblast model.},
journal = {Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1002/jcsm.13178},
pmid = {36860172},
issn = {2190-6009},
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Inclusion body myositis (IBM) is an inflammatory myopathy clinically characterized by proximal and distal muscle weakness, with inflammatory infiltrates, rimmed vacuoles and mitochondrial changes in muscle histopathology. There is scarce knowledge on IBM aetiology, and non-established biomarkers or effective treatments are available, partly due to the lack of validated disease models.

METHODS: We have performed transcriptomics and functional validation of IBM muscle pathological hallmarks in fibroblasts from IBM patients (n = 14) and healthy controls (n = 12), paired by age and sex. The results comprise an mRNA-seq, together with functional inflammatory, autophagy, mitochondrial and metabolic changes between patients and controls.

RESULTS: Gene expression profile of IBM vs control fibroblasts revealed 778 differentially expressed genes (P-value adj < 0.05) related to inflammation, mitochondria, cell cycle regulation and metabolism. Functionally, an increased inflammatory profile was observed in IBM fibroblasts with higher supernatant cytokine secretion (three-fold increase). Autophagy was reduced considering basal protein mediators (18.4% reduced), time-course autophagosome formation (LC3BII 39% reduced, P-value < 0.05), and autophagosome microscopic evaluation. Mitochondria displayed reduced genetic content (by 33.9%, P-value < 0.05) and function (30.2%-decrease in respiration, 45.6%-decline in enzymatic activity (P-value < 0.001), 14.3%-higher oxidative stress, 135.2%-increased antioxidant defence (P-value < 0.05), 11.6%-reduced mitochondrial membrane potential (P-value < 0.05) and 42.8%-reduced mitochondrial elongation (P-value < 0.05)). In accordance, at the metabolite level, organic acid showed a 1.8-fold change increase, with conserved amino acid profile. Correlating to disease evolution, oxidative stress and inflammation emerge as potential markers of prognosis.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings confirm the presence of molecular disturbances in peripheral tissues from IBM patients and prompt patients' derived fibroblasts as a promising disease model, which may eventually be exported to other neuromuscular disorders. We additionally identify new molecular players in IBM associated with disease progression, setting the path to deepen in disease aetiology, in the identification of novel biomarkers or in the standardization of biomimetic platforms to assay new therapeutic strategies for preclinical studies.},
}

@article {pmid36858654,
year = {2023},
author = {Rubio-Tomás, T and Sotiriou, A and Tavernarakis, N},
title = {The interplay between selective types of (macro)autophagy: Mitophagy and xenophagy.},
journal = {International review of cell and molecular biology},
volume = {374},
number = {},
pages = {129-157},
doi = {10.1016/bs.ircmb.2022.10.003},
pmid = {36858654},
issn = {1937-6448},
abstract = {Autophagy is a physiological response, activated by a myriad of endogenous and exogenous cues, including DNA damage, perturbation of proteostasis, depletion of nutrients or oxygen and pathogen infection. Upon sensing those stimuli, cells employ multiple non-selective and selective autophagy pathways to promote fitness and survival. Importantly, there are a variety of selective types of autophagy. In this review we will focus on autophagy of bacteria (xenophagy) and autophagy of mitochondria (mitophagy). We provide a brief introduction to bulk autophagy, as well as xenophagy and mitophagy, highlighting their common molecular factors. We also describe the role of xenophagy and mitophagy in the detection and elimination of pathogens by the immune system and the adaptive mechanisms that some pathogens have developed through evolution to escape the host autophagic response. Finally, we summarize the recent articles (from the last five years) linking bulk autophagy with xenophagy and/or mitophagy in the context on developmental biology, cancer and metabolism.},
}

@article {pmid36858653,
year = {2023},
author = {Degli Esposti, M},
title = {The bacterial origin of mitochondria: Incorrect phylogenies and the importance of metabolic traits.},
journal = {International review of cell and molecular biology},
volume = {374},
number = {},
pages = {1-35},
doi = {10.1016/bs.ircmb.2022.11.001},
pmid = {36858653},
issn = {1937-6448},
abstract = {This article provides an updated review on the evolution of mitochondria from bacteria, which were likely related to extant alphaproteobacteria. Particular attention is given to the timeline of oxygen history on Earth and the entwined phases of eukaryotic evolution that produced the animals that still populate our planet. Mitochondria of early-branching unicellular eukaryotes and plants appear to retain partial or vestigial traits that were directly inherited from the alphaproteobacterial ancestors of the organelles. Most of such traits define the current aerobic physiology of mitochondria. Conversely, the anaerobic traits that would be essential in the syntrophic associations postulated for the evolution of eukaryotic cells are scantly present in extant alphaproteobacteria, and therefore cannot help defining from which bacterial lineage the ancestors of mitochondria originated. This question has recently been addressed quantitatively, reaching the novel conclusion that marine bacteria related to Iodidimonas may be the living relatives of protomitochondria. Additional evidence is presented that either support or does not contrast this novel view of the bacterial origin of mitochondria.},
}

@article {pmid36835385,
year = {2023},
author = {Yang, JX and Dierckxsens, N and Bai, MZ and Guo, YY},
title = {Multichromosomal Mitochondrial Genome of Paphiopedilum micranthum: Compact and Fragmented Genome, and Rampant Intracellular Gene Transfer.},
journal = {International journal of molecular sciences},
volume = {24},
number = {4},
pages = {},
pmid = {36835385},
issn = {1422-0067},
mesh = {*Genome, Mitochondrial ; DNA, Mitochondrial ; Mitochondria/genetics ; *Magnoliopsida/genetics ; *Orchidaceae/genetics ; Phylogeny ; },
abstract = {Orchidaceae is one of the largest families of angiosperms. Considering the large number of species in this family and its symbiotic relationship with fungi, Orchidaceae provide an ideal model to study the evolution of plant mitogenomes. However, to date, there is only one draft mitochondrial genome of this family available. Here, we present a fully assembled and annotated sequence of the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Paphiopedilum micranthum, a species with high economic and ornamental value. The mitogenome of P. micranthum was 447,368 bp in length and comprised 26 circular subgenomes ranging in size from 5973 bp to 32,281 bp. The genome encoded for 39 mitochondrial-origin, protein-coding genes; 16 tRNAs (three of plastome origin); three rRNAs; and 16 ORFs, while rpl10 and sdh3 were lost from the mitogenome. Moreover, interorganellar DNA transfer was identified in 14 of the 26 chromosomes. These plastid-derived DNA fragments represented 28.32% (46,273 bp) of the P. micranthum plastome, including 12 intact plastome origin genes. Remarkably, the mitogenome of P. micranthum and Gastrodia elata shared 18% (about 81 kb) of their mitochondrial DNA sequences. Additionally, we found a positive correlation between repeat length and recombination frequency. The mitogenome of P. micranthum had more compact and fragmented chromosomes compared to other species with multichromosomal structures. We suggest that repeat-mediated homologous recombination enables the dynamic structure of mitochondrial genomes in Orchidaceae.},
}

*Genome, Mitochondrial
DNA, Mitochondrial
Mitochondria/genetics
*Magnoliopsida/genetics
*Orchidaceae/genetics
Phylogeny

@article {pmid36720422,
year = {2023},
author = {Baltazar-Soares, M and Karell, P and Wright, D and Nilsson, JÅ and Brommer, JE},
title = {Bringing to light nuclear-mitochondrial insertions in the genomes of nocturnal predatory birds.},
journal = {Molecular phylogenetics and evolution},
volume = {181},
number = {},
pages = {107722},
doi = {10.1016/j.ympev.2023.107722},
pmid = {36720422},
issn = {1095-9513},
mesh = {Animals ; Phylogeny ; *Mitochondria/genetics ; DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics ; *Genome, Mitochondrial ; Birds/genetics ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Cell Nucleus/genetics ; },
abstract = {Mito-nuclear insertions, or NUMTs, relate to genetic material of mitochondrial origin that have been transferred to the nuclear DNA molecule. The increasing amounts of genomic data currently being produced presents an opportunity to investigate this type of patterns in genome evolution of non-model organisms. Identifying NUMTs across a range of closely related taxa allows one to generalize patterns of insertion and maintenance in autosomes, which is ultimately relevant to the understanding of genome biology and evolution. Here we collected existing pairwise genome-mitogenome data of the order Strigiformes, a group that includes all the nocturnal bird predators. We identified NUMTs by applying percent similarity thresholds after blasting mitochondrial genomes against nuclear genome assemblies. We identified NUMTsin all genomes with numbers ranging from 4 in Bubo bubo to 24 in Ciccaba nigrolineata. Statistical analyses revealed NUMT size to negatively correlate with NUMT's sequence similarity to with original mtDNA region. Lastly, characterizing these nuclear insertions of mitochondrial origin in a comparative genomics framework produced variable phylogenetic patterns, suggesting in some cases that insertions might pre-date speciation events within Strigiformes.},
}

Animals
Phylogeny
*Mitochondria/genetics
DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics
*Genome, Mitochondrial
Birds/genetics
Sequence Analysis, DNA
Cell Nucleus/genetics

@article {pmid36838260,
year = {2023},
author = {Fuerst, PA},
title = {The Status of Molecular Analyses of Isolates of Acanthamoeba Maintained by International Culture Collections.},
journal = {Microorganisms},
volume = {11},
number = {2},
pages = {},
doi = {10.3390/microorganisms11020295},
pmid = {36838260},
issn = {2076-2607},
abstract = {Acanthamoeba is among the most ubiquitous protistan groups in nature. Knowledge of the biological diversity of Acanthamoeba comes in part from the use of strains maintained by the major microbial culture collections, ATCC and CCAP. Standard strains are vital to ensure the comparability of research. The diversity of standard strains of Acanthamoeba in the culture collections is reviewed, emphasizing the extent of genotypic studies based on DNA sequencing of the small subunit ribosomal RNA from the nucleus (18S rRNA gene; Rns) or the mitochondria (16S-like rRNA gene; rns). Over 170 different strains have been maintained at some time by culture centers. DNA sequence information is available for more than 70% of these strains. Determination of the genotypic classification of standard strains within the genus indicates that frequencies of types within culture collections only roughly mirror that from clinical or environmental studies, with significant differences in the frequency of some genotypes. Culture collections include the type of isolate from almost all named species of Acanthamoeba, allowing an evaluation of the validity of species designations. Multiple species are found to share the same Sequence Type, while multiple Sequence Types have been identified for different strains that share the same species name. Issues of sequence reliability and the possibility that a small number of standard strains have been mislabeled when studied are also examined, leading to potential problems for comparative analyses. It is important that all species have reliable genotype designations. The culture collections should be encouraged to assist in completing the molecular inventory of standard strains, while workers in the Acanthamoeba research community should endeavor to ensure that strains representative of genotypes that are missing from the culture collection are provided to the culture centers for preservation.},
}

@article {pmid36831240,
year = {2023},
author = {Fang, Y and Zhang, F and Zhan, Y and Lu, M and Xu, D and Wang, J and Li, Q and Zhao, L and Su, Y},
title = {RpS3 Is Required for Spermatogenesis of Drosophila melanogaster.},
journal = {Cells},
volume = {12},
number = {4},
pages = {},
doi = {10.3390/cells12040573},
pmid = {36831240},
issn = {2073-4409},
abstract = {Ribosomal proteins (RPs) constitute the ribosome, thus participating in the protein biosynthesis process. Emerging studies have suggested that many RPs exhibit different expression levels across various tissues and function in a context-dependent manner for animal development. Drosophila melanogaster RpS3 encodes the ribosomal protein S3, one component of the 40S subunit of ribosomes. We found that RpS3 is highly expressed in the reproductive organs of adult flies and its depletion in male germline cells led to severe defects in sperm production and male fertility. Immunofluorescence staining showed that RpS3 knockdown had little effect on early germ cell differentiation, but strongly disrupted the spermatid elongation and individualization processes. Furthermore, we observed abnormal morphology and activity of mitochondrial derivatives in the elongating spermatids of RpS3-knockdown testes, which could cause the failure of axoneme elongation. We also found that RpS3 RNAi inhibited the formation of the individualization complex that takes charge of disassociating the spermatid bundle. In addition, excessive apoptotic cells were detected in the RpS3-knockdown testes, possibly to clean the defective spermatids. Together, our data demonstrated that RpS3 plays an important role in regulating spermatid elongation and individualization processes and, therefore, is required for normal Drosophila spermatogenesis.},
}

@article {pmid36822346,
year = {2023},
author = {Cheng, A and Zhang, Y and Sun, J and Huang, D and Sulaiman, JE and Huang, X and Wu, L and Ye, W and Wu, C and Lam, HN and Shi, Y and Qian, PY},
title = {Pterosin sesquiterpenoids from Pteris laeta Wall. ex Ettingsh. Protect cells from glutamate excitotoxicity by modulating mitochondrial signals.},
journal = {Journal of ethnopharmacology},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {116308},
doi = {10.1016/j.jep.2023.116308},
pmid = {36822346},
issn = {1872-7573},
abstract = {The genus Pteris (Pteridaceae) has been used as a traditional herb for a long time. In particular, Pteris laeta Wall. ex Ettingsh. has been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat nervous system diseases and some pterosin sesquiterpenes from Pteris show neuroprotective bioactivity, but their underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Therefore, to investigate the neuroprotective activity and working mechanism of pterosin sesquiterpenes from P. laeta Wall. ex Ettingsh. will provide a better understanding and guidance in using P. laeta Wall. ex Ettingsh. as a traditional Chinese medicine.

AIM OF THE STUDY: We aim to develop effective treatments for neurodegenerative diseases from pterosin sesquiterpenes by evaluating their neuroprotective activity and investigating their working mechanisms.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Primary screening on the glutamate-induced excitotoxicity cell model was assessed by 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide (MTT) assay. Fluorescent-activated cell sorting (FACS) was used to analyze the activation level of glutamate receptors and mitochondria membrane potential after treatment. Transcriptomics and proteomics analysis was performed to identify possible targets of pterosin B. The key pathways were enriched by the Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis through the Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID). The core targets were visualized by a protein-protein interaction network using STRING. The mRNA and protein expressions were evaluated using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) and western blot, respectively. Immunocytochemistry was performed to monitor mitochondrial and apoptotic proteins. Cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured by ROS assay, and Ca[2+] was stained with Fluo-4 AM to quantify intracellular Ca[2+] levels.

RESULTS: We found pterosin B from Pteris laeta Wall. ex Ettingsh. showed significant neuroprotective activity against glutamate excitotoxicity, enhancing cell viability from 43.8% to 105% (p-value: <0.0001). We demonstrated that pterosin B worked on the downstream signaling pathways of glutamate excitotoxicity rather than directly blocking the activation of glutamate receptors. Pterosin B restored mitochondria membrane potentials, alleviated intracellular calcium overload from 107.4% to 95.47% (p-value: 0.0006), eliminated cellular ROS by 36.55% (p-value: 0.0143), and partially secured cells from LPS-induced inflammation by increasing cell survival from 46.75% to 58.5% (p-value: 0.0114). Notably, pterosin B enhanced the expression of nuclear factor-erythroid factor 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) by 2.86-fold (p-value: 0.0006) and 4.24-fold (p-value: 0.0012), and down-regulated Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (KEAP1) expression by 2.5-fold (p-value: 0.0107), indicating that it possibly promotes mitochondrial biogenesis and mitophagy to maintain mitochondria quality control and homeostasis, and ultimately inhibits apoptotic cell death.

CONCLUSIONS: Our work revealed that pterosin B protected cells from glutamate excitotoxicity by targeting the downstream mitochondrial signals, making it a valuable candidate for developing potential therapeutic agents in treating neurodegenerative diseases.},
}

@article {pmid36810648,
year = {2023},
author = {Li, Y and Chen, L and Si, L and Yang, Y and Zhou, C and Yu, F and Xia, G and Wang, H},
title = {Triphenylamine-equipped 1,8-naphthaolactam: a versatile scaffold for the custom design of efficient subcellular imaging agents.},
journal = {Journal of materials chemistry. B},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1039/d2tb02528k},
pmid = {36810648},
issn = {2050-7518},
abstract = {Fluorescence imaging has enabled much progress in biological fields, while the evolution of commercially available dyes has lagged behind their advanced applications. Herein, we launch triphenylamine-equipped 1,8-naphthaolactam (NP-TPA) as a versatile scaffold for the custom design of an efficient subcellular imaging agent (NP-TPA-Tar), given its bright and constant emissions in various states, significant Stokes shifts, and facile modifiability. The resultant four NP-TPA-Tars maintain excellent emission behavior with targeted modifications and can map the spatial distribution of lysosomes, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, and plasma membrane in Hep G2 cells. Compared to its commercial counterpart, NP-TPA-Tar has a 2.8-25.2 fold increase in Stokes shift, a 1.2-1.9 fold increase in photostability, enhanced targeting capability, and comparable imaging efficiency even at low concentrations of 50 nM. This work will help to accelerate the update of current imaging agents and super-resolution and real-time imaging in biological applications.},
}

@article {pmid36806940,
year = {2023},
author = {Rivera-Colón, AG and Rayamajhi, N and Fazal Minhas, B and Madrigal, G and Bilyk, KT and Yoon, V and Hüne, M and Gregory, S and Cheng, CC and Catchen, JM},
title = {Genomics of Secondarily Temperate Adaptation in the Only Non-Antarctic Icefish.},
journal = {Molecular biology and evolution},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1093/molbev/msad029},
pmid = {36806940},
issn = {1537-1719},
abstract = {White-blooded Antarctic icefishes, a family within the adaptive radiation of Antarctic notothenioid fishes, are an example of extreme biological specialization to both the chronic cold of the Southern Ocean and life without hemoglobin. As a result, icefishes display derived physiology that limits them to the cold and highly oxygenated Antarctic waters. Against these constraints, remarkably one species, the pike icefish Champsocephalus esox, successfully colonized temperate South American waters. To study the genetic mechanisms underlying secondarily temperate adaptation in icefishes, we generated chromosome-level genome assemblies of both C. esox and its Antarctic sister species, Champsocephalus gunnari. The C. esox genome is similar in structure and organization to that of its Antarctic congener; however, we observe evidence of chromosomal rearrangements coinciding with regions of elevated genetic divergence in pike icefish populations. We also find several key biological pathways under selection, including genes related to mitochondria and vision, highlighting candidates behind temperate adaptation in C. esox. Substantial antifreeze glycoprotein (AFGP) pseudogenization has occurred in the pike icefish, likely due to relaxed selection following ancestral escape from Antarctica. The canonical AFGP locus organization is conserved in C. esox and C. gunnari, but both show a translocation of two AFGP copies to a separate locus, previously unobserved in cryonotothenioids. Altogether, the study of this secondarily temperate species provides an insight into the mechanisms underlying adaptation to ecologically disparate environments in this otherwise highly specialized group.},
}

@article {pmid36795453,
year = {2023},
author = {Dong, LF and Rohlena, J and Zobalova, R and Nahacka, Z and Rodriguez, AM and Berridge, MV and Neuzil, J},
title = {Mitochondria on the move: Horizontal mitochondrial transfer in disease and health.},
journal = {The Journal of cell biology},
volume = {222},
number = {3},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1083/jcb.202211044},
pmid = {36795453},
issn = {1540-8140},
mesh = {Animals ; Phylogeny ; *Mitochondria/metabolism ; *Neoplasms/genetics/metabolism ; Energy Metabolism ; Mammals ; },
abstract = {Mammalian genes were long thought to be constrained within somatic cells in most cell types. This concept was challenged recently when cellular organelles including mitochondria were shown to move between mammalian cells in culture via cytoplasmic bridges. Recent research in animals indicates transfer of mitochondria in cancer and during lung injury in vivo, with considerable functional consequences. Since these pioneering discoveries, many studies have confirmed horizontal mitochondrial transfer (HMT) in vivo, and its functional characteristics and consequences have been described. Additional support for this phenomenon has come from phylogenetic studies. Apparently, mitochondrial trafficking between cells occurs more frequently than previously thought and contributes to diverse processes including bioenergetic crosstalk and homeostasis, disease treatment and recovery, and development of resistance to cancer therapy. Here we highlight current knowledge of HMT between cells, focusing primarily on in vivo systems, and contend that this process is not only (patho)physiologically relevant, but also can be exploited for the design of novel therapeutic approaches.},
}

Animals
Phylogeny
*Mitochondria/metabolism
*Neoplasms/genetics/metabolism
Energy Metabolism
Mammals

@article {pmid36327950,
year = {2023},
author = {Filimonova, S},
title = {Fine structure of the posterior midgut in the mite Anystis baccarum (L.).},
journal = {Arthropod structure & development},
volume = {72},
number = {},
pages = {101218},
doi = {10.1016/j.asd.2022.101218},
pmid = {36327950},
issn = {1873-5495},
mesh = {Animals ; *Mites/ultrastructure ; Phylogeny ; Digestive System/ultrastructure ; *Arachnida ; Epithelial Cells ; },
abstract = {Homology of the posterior midgut regions (PMG) in different phylogenetic lineages of acariform mites (superorder Acariformes) remains unresolved. In the order Trombidiformes, the ultrastructure of the PMG is known primarily in derived groups; thus this study focuses on species belonging to a relatively basal trombidiform family. PMG of Anystis baccarum consists of the colon and postcolon separated by a small intercolon. The fine structure of the colon and postcolon is close to that of the corresponding organs of sarcoptiform mites with the epithelium showing absorptive and endocytotic activity. The epithelial cells produce a variety of excretory vacuoles and a peritrophic matrix around the feces. Morover, the epithelium of the postcolon is characterized by the highest apical brush border and especially numerous mitochondria suggesting involvement in water and ion absorption. The intercolon functions as a sphincter lined with an epithelium capable of producing excretory granules. A pair of short blind extensions arises assimmetrically from the intercolon into the body cavity. Ultrastructurally, these extensions are similar to the arachnid Malpighian tubules and may be their reduced version. Rare endocrine-like cells have been observed in the colon and postcolon.},
}

Animals
*Mites/ultrastructure
Phylogeny
Digestive System/ultrastructure
*Arachnida
Epithelial Cells

@article {pmid36797268,
year = {2023},
author = {Preston, AJ and Rogers, A and Sharp, M and Mitchell, G and Toruno, C and Barney, BB and Donovan, LN and Bly, J and Kennington, R and Payne, E and Iovino, A and Furukawa, G and Robinson, R and Shamloo, B and Buccilli, M and Anders, R and Eckstein, S and Fedak, EA and Wright, T and Maley, CC and Kiso, WK and Schmitt, D and Malkin, D and Schiffman, JD and Abegglen, LM},
title = {Elephant TP53-RETROGENE 9 induces transcription-independent apoptosis at the mitochondria.},
journal = {Cell death discovery},
volume = {9},
number = {1},
pages = {66},
pmid = {36797268},
issn = {2058-7716},
abstract = {Approximately 20 TP53 retrogenes exist in the African and Asian elephant genomes (Loxodonta Africana, Elephas Maximus) in addition to a conserved TP53 gene that encodes a full-length protein. Elephant TP53-RETROGENE 9 (TP53-R9) encodes a p53 protein (p53-R9) that is truncated in the middle of the canonical DNA binding domain. This C-terminally truncated p53 retrogene protein lacks the nuclear localization signals and oligomerization domain of its full-length counterpart. When expressed in human osteosarcoma cells (U2OS), p53-R9 binds to Tid1, the chaperone protein responsible for mitochondrial translocation of human p53 in response to cellular stress. Tid1 expression is required for p53-R9-induced apoptosis. At the mitochondria, p53-R9 binds to the pro-apoptotic BCL-2 family member Bax, which leads to caspase activation, cytochrome c release, and cell death. Our data show, for the first time, that expression of this truncated elephant p53 retrogene protein induces apoptosis in human cancer cells. Understanding the molecular mechanism by which the additional elephant TP53 retrogenes function may provide evolutionary insight that can be utilized for the development of therapeutics to treat human cancers.},
}

@article {pmid36789533,
year = {2023},
author = {Nagarajan-Radha, V and Beekman, M},
title = {G × G × E effect on phenotype expression in a non-conventional model organism, the unicellular slime mould Physarum polycephalum.},
journal = {Biology letters},
volume = {19},
number = {2},
pages = {20220494},
doi = {10.1098/rsbl.2022.0494},
pmid = {36789533},
issn = {1744-957X},
mesh = {*Physarum polycephalum/genetics ; DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics ; Mitochondria/genetics ; Plasmids ; Phenotype ; },
abstract = {In metazoans, the expression of key phenotypic traits is sensitive to two- and three-way interactions between variation in mitochondrial DNA, nuclear DNA and the external environment. Whether gene-by-environment interactions affect phenotypes in single-celled eukaryotes is poorly studied, except in a few species of yeast and fungi. We developed a genetic panel of the unicellular slime mould, Physarum polycephalum containing strains differing in mitochondrial and nuclear DNA haplotypes. The panel also included two strains harbouring a selfishly replicating mitochondrial-fusion (mF) plasmid that could affect phenotype expression. We assayed movement and growth rate differences among the strains across two temperature regimes: 24° and 28°C. We found that the slime mould's growth rate, but not movement, is affected by G × G × E interactions. Predictably, mtDNA × nDNA interactions significantly affected both traits. The inter-trait correlation across the strains in each temperature regime was positive. Surprisingly, the mF plasmid had no negative effects on our chosen traits. Our study is the first to demonstrate genetic regulation of phenotype expression in a unicellular slime mould. The genetic effect on phenotypes manifests via epistatic interactions with the thermal environment, thus shedding new light on the role of G × G × E interactions in trait evolution in protists.},
}

*Physarum polycephalum/genetics
DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics
Mitochondria/genetics
Plasmids
Phenotype

@article {pmid36787792,
year = {2022},
author = {Broccard, N and Silva, NM and Currat, M},
title = {Simulated patterns of mitochondrial diversity are consistent with partial population turnover in Bronze Age Central Europe.},
journal = {American journal of biological anthropology},
volume = {177},
number = {1},
pages = {134-146},
pmid = {36787792},
issn = {2692-7691},
support = {31003A_182577/SNSF_/Swiss National Science Foundation/Switzerland ; 31003A_156853/SNSF_/Swiss National Science Foundation/Switzerland ; },
mesh = {*Mitochondria/genetics ; Europe ; *DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics ; Emigration and Immigration ; Biological Evolution ; DNA, Ancient ; },
abstract = {OBJECTIVES: The analysis of ancient mitochondrial DNA from osteological remains has challenged previous conclusions drawn from the analysis of mitochondrial DNA from present populations, notably by revealing an absence of genetic continuity between the Neolithic and modern populations in Central Europe. Our study investigates how to reconcile these contradictions at the mitochondrial level using a modeling approach.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used a spatially explicit computational framework to simulate ancient and modern DNA sequences under various evolutionary scenarios of post Neolithic demographic events and compared the genetic diversity of the simulated and observed mitochondrial sequences. We investigated which-if any-scenarios were able to reproduce statistics of genetic diversity similar to those observed, with a focus on the haplogroup N1a, associated with the spread of early Neolithic farmers.

RESULTS: Demographic fluctuations during the Neolithic transition or subsequent demographic collapses after this period, that is, due to epidemics such as plague, are not sufficient to explain the signal of population discontinuity detected on the mitochondrial DNA in Central Europe. Only a scenario involving a substantial genetic input due to the arrival of migrants after the Neolithic transition, possibly during the Bronze Age, is compatible with observed patterns of genetic diversity.

DISCUSSION: Our results corroborate paleogenomic studies, since out of the alternative hypotheses tested, the best one that was able to recover observed patterns of mitochondrial diversity in modern and ancient Central European populations was one were immigration of populations from the Pontic steppes during the Bronze Age was explicitly simulated.},
}

*Mitochondria/genetics
Europe
*DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics
Emigration and Immigration
Biological Evolution
DNA, Ancient

@article {pmid36790303,
year = {2023},
author = {Sokolova, IM},
title = {Ectotherm mitochondrial economy and responses to global warming.},
journal = {Acta physiologica (Oxford, England)},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {e13950},
doi = {10.1111/apha.13950},
pmid = {36790303},
issn = {1748-1716},
abstract = {Temperature is a key abiotic factor affecting ecology, biogeography and evolution of species. Alterations of energy metabolism play an important role in adaptations and plastic responses to temperature shifts on different time scales. Mitochondrial metabolism plays a key role in bioenergetics and redox balance making these organelles an important determinant of organismal performances such as growth, locomotion or development. Here I analyze the impacts of environmental temperature on the mitochondrial functions (including oxidative phosphorylation, proton leak, production of reactive oxygen species and ATP synthesis) of ectotherms and discuss the mechanisms underlying negative shifts in the mitochondrial energy economy caused by supraoptimal temperatures. Due to the differences in the thermal sensitivity of different mitochondrial processes, elevated temperatures (beyond the species- and population-specific optimal range) cause reallocation of the electron flux and the protonmotive force (Δp) in a way that decreases ATP synthesis efficiency, elevates the relative cost of the mitochondrial maintenance, causes excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and raises energy cost for antioxidant defense. These shifts in the mitochondrial energy economy might have negative consequences for the organismal fitness traits such as the thermal tolerance or growth. Correlation between the thermal sensitivity indices of the mitochondria and the whole organism indicate that these traits experience similar selective pressures but further investigations are needed to establish whether there is a cause-effect relationship between the mitochondrial failure and loss of organismal performance during temperature change.},
}

@article {pmid36790104,
year = {2023},
author = {Onuț-Brännström, I and Stairs, CW and Campos, KIA and Hiltunen Thorén, M and Ettema, TJG and Keeling, PJ and Bass, D and Burki, F},
title = {A mitosome with distinct metabolism in the uncultured protist parasite Paramikrocytos canceri (Rhizaria, Ascetosporea).},
journal = {Genome biology and evolution},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1093/gbe/evad022},
pmid = {36790104},
issn = {1759-6653},
abstract = {Ascetosporea are endoparasites of marine invertebrates that include economically important pathogens of aquaculture species. Owing to their often-minuscule cell sizes, strict intracellular lifestyle, lack of cultured representatives and minimal availability of molecular data, these unicellular parasites remain poorly studied. Here, we sequenced and assembled the genome and transcriptome of Paramikrocytos canceri, an endoparasite isolated from the European edible crab Cancer pagurus. Using bioinformatic predictions, we show that P. canceri likely possesses a mitochondrion-related organelle (MRO) with highly reduced metabolism, resembling the mitosomes of other parasites but with key differences. Like other mitosomes, this MRO is predicted to have reduced metabolic capacity and lack an organellar genome and function in iron-sulfur cluster (ISC) pathway-mediated Fe-S cluster biosynthesis. However, the MRO in P. canceri is uniquely predicted to produce ATP via a partial glycolytic pathway and synthesize phospholipids de novo through the CDP-DAG pathway. Heterologous gene expression confirmed that proteins from the ISC and CDP-DAG pathways retain mitochondrial targeting sequences that are recognized by yeast mitochondria. This represents a unique combination of metabolic pathways in an MRO, including the first reported case of a mitosome-like organelle able to synthesize phospholipids de novo. Some of these phospholipids, such as phosphatidylserine, are vital in other protist endoparasites that invade their host through apoptotic mimicry.},
}

@article {pmid36787420,
year = {2023},
author = {Zheng, Y and Ye, Z and Xiao, Y},
title = {Subtle Structural Translation Magically Modulates the Super-Resolution Imaging of Self-Blinking Rhodamines.},
journal = {Analytical chemistry},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1021/acs.analchem.2c05298},
pmid = {36787420},
issn = {1520-6882},
abstract = {The evolution of super-resolution imaging techniques is benefited from the ongoing competition for optimal rhodamine fluorophores. Yet, it seems blind to construct the desired rhodamine molecule matching the imaging need without the knowledge on imaging impact of even the minimum structural translation. Herein, we have designed a pair of self-blinking sulforhodamines (STMR and SRhB) with the bare distinction of methyl or ethyl substituents and engineered them with Halo protein ligands. Although the two possess similar spectral properties (λab, λfl, ϕ, etc.), they demonstrated unique single-molecule characteristics preferring to individual imaging applications. Experimentally, STMR with high emissive rates was qualified for imaging structures with rapid dynamics (endoplasmic reticulum, and mitochondria), and SRhB with prolonged on-times and photostability was suited for relatively "static" nuclei and microtubules. Using this new knowledge, the mitochondrial morphology during apoptosis and ferroptosis was first super-resolved by STMR. Our study highlights the significance of even the smallest structural modification to the modulation of super-resolution imaging performance and would provide insights for future fluorophore design.},
}

@article {pmid36782130,
year = {2023},
author = {Zhang, S and Wang, J and He, W and Kan, S and Liao, X and Jordan, DR and Mace, ES and Tao, Y and Cruickshank, AW and Klein, R and Yuan, D and Tembrock, LR and Wu, Z},
title = {Variation in mitogenome structural conformation in wild and cultivated lineages of sorghum corresponds with domestication history and plastome evolution.},
journal = {BMC plant biology},
volume = {23},
number = {1},
pages = {91},
pmid = {36782130},
issn = {1471-2229},
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Mitochondria are organelles within eukaryotic cells that are central to the metabolic processes of cellular respiration and ATP production. However, the evolution of mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) in plants is virtually unknown compared to animal mitogenomes or plant plastids, due to complex structural variation and long stretches of repetitive DNA making accurate genome assembly more challenging. Comparing the structural and sequence differences of organellar genomes within and between sorghum species is an essential step in understanding evolutionary processes such as organellar sequence transfer to the nuclear genome as well as improving agronomic traits in sorghum related to cellular metabolism.

RESULTS: Here, we assembled seven sorghum mitochondrial and plastid genomes and resolved reticulated mitogenome structures with multilinked relationships that could be grouped into three structural conformations that differ in the content of repeats and genes by contig. The grouping of these mitogenome structural types reflects the two domestication events for sorghum in east and west Africa.

CONCLUSIONS: We report seven mitogenomes of sorghum from different cultivars and wild sources. The assembly method used here will be helpful in resolving complex genomic structures in other plant species. Our findings give new insights into the structure of sorghum mitogenomes that provides an important foundation for future research into the improvement of sorghum traits related to cellular respiration, cytonuclear incompatibly, and disease resistance.},
}

@article {pmid36724679,
year = {2023},
author = {Rivero, J and Cutillas, C and Callejón, R},
title = {New genetic lineage of whipworm present in Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus).},
journal = {Veterinary parasitology},
volume = {315},
number = {},
pages = {109886},
doi = {10.1016/j.vetpar.2023.109886},
pmid = {36724679},
issn = {1873-2550},
mesh = {Animals ; *Camelus/parasitology ; Trichuris/genetics ; Bayes Theorem ; Phylogeny ; Mitochondria ; *Parasites ; },
abstract = {With a global population of around 35 million in 47 countries, camels play a crucial role in the economy of many marginal and desert areas of the world where they survive in harsh conditions. Nonetheless, there is insufficient knowledge regarding camels' parasite fauna which can reduce their milk and meat production. A molecular study for the Trichuris population of Camelus bactrianus from Spain is presented based on sequences of mitochondrial (cox1, cob, rrnL) and ribosomal (ITS1 and ITS2) DNA regions. Bayesian Inference and Maximum Likelihood methods were used to infer phylogenies for (i) each gene separately, (ii) the combined mitochondrial data, and (iii) the combined mitochondrial and ribosomal dataset. Molecular analyses revealed the existence of two different genetic lineages in the Trichuris parasites populations of C. bactrianus. Future studies should focus on whether there is a coevolution process corresponding to the wild or domestic character of C. bactrianus and Camelus dromedarius. Furthermore, it is necessary to increase integrative taxonomic studies on Trichuris spp. based on morphological, biometric, and molecular data, which will inevitably contribute to our knowledge of the etiology of trichuriasis.},
}

Animals
*Camelus/parasitology
Trichuris/genetics
Bayes Theorem
Phylogeny
Mitochondria
*Parasites

@article {pmid36657651,
year = {2023},
author = {Moreno-Carmona, M and Montaña-Lozano, P and Prada Quiroga, CF and Baeza, JA},
title = {Comparative analysis of mitochondrial genomes reveals family-specific architectures and molecular features in scorpions (Arthropoda: Arachnida: Scorpiones).},
journal = {Gene},
volume = {859},
number = {},
pages = {147189},
doi = {10.1016/j.gene.2023.147189},
pmid = {36657651},
issn = {1879-0038},
mesh = {Humans ; Animals ; Scorpions/genetics ; *Arachnida/genetics ; *Genome, Mitochondrial/genetics ; Phylogeny ; Mitochondria/genetics ; RNA, Transfer/genetics ; },
abstract = {Scorpions are a group of arachnids with great evolutionary success that comprise more than 2,000 described species. Mitochondrial genomes have been little studied in this clade. We describe and compare different scorpion mitochondrial genomes and analyze their architecture and molecular characteristics. We assembled eight new scorpion mitochondrial genomes from transcriptomic datasets, annotated them, predicted the secondary structures of tRNAs, and compared the nucleotide composition, codon usage, and relative synonymous codon usage of 16 complete scorpion mitochondrial genomes. Lastly, we provided a phylogeny based on all mitochondrial protein coding genes. We characterized the mitogenomes in detail and reported particularities such as dissimilar synteny in the family Buthidae compared to other scorpions, unusual tRNA secondary structures, and unconventional start and stop codons in all scorpions. Our comparative analysis revealed that scorpion mitochondrial genomes exhibit different architectures and features depending on taxonomic identity. We highlight the parvorder Buthida, particularly the family Buthidae, as it invariably exhibited different mitogenome features such as synteny, codon usage, and AT-skew compared to the parvorder Iurida that included the rest of the scorpion families we analyzed in this study. Our results provide a better understanding of the evolution of mitogenome features and phylogenetic relationships in scorpions.},
}

Humans
Animals
Scorpions/genetics
*Arachnida/genetics
*Genome, Mitochondrial/genetics
Phylogeny
Mitochondria/genetics
RNA, Transfer/genetics

@article {pmid36759539,
year = {2023},
author = {Kise, H and Iguchi, A and Ikegami, T and Onishi, Y and Goto, K and Tanaka, Y and Washburn, TW and Nishijima, M and Kunishima, T and Okamoto, N and Suzuki, A},
title = {Genetic population structures of common scavenging species near hydrothermal vents in the Okinawa Trough.},
journal = {Scientific reports},
volume = {13},
number = {1},
pages = {2348},
pmid = {36759539},
issn = {2045-2322},
mesh = {Animals ; *Hydrothermal Vents ; Phylogeny ; Genetics, Population ; *Decapoda ; Mitochondria/genetics ; Ecosystem ; },
abstract = {Deep-sea mining of hydrothermal deposits off the coast of Japan is currently under consideration, and environmental baseline studies of the area are required to understand possible impacts. The aim of this study is to clarify population structures of dominant benthic megafaunal species near hydrothermal vent fields in the Okinawa Trough, using a population genetics approach. We examined dominant deep-sea scavenging species including eels, several amphipods, and a decapod and performed population genetic analyses based on the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I region. Several sites were sampled within Okinawa Trough to examine intra-population diversity while two other locations 1400-2400 km away were chosen for inter-population comparisons. For synaphobranchid eels Simenchelys parasitica and Synaphobranchus kaupii, our results showed significant intra-population diversity but no inter-population genetic differentiation, suggesting strong genetic connectivity and/or large population sizes. In addition, single nucleotide polymorphism analysis also confirmed strong genetic connectivity for Simenchelys parasitica. Among scavenging amphipods, we detected seven putative species using molecular phylogenetic analysis. We evaluated population structures of the most abundant species of amphipods and a decapod species (Nematocarcinus lanceopes). Our results provide basic information on the genetic population structures of benthic megafaunal species near hydrothermal vent fields, which can be used to select candidate species for future connectivity analysis with high-resolution genetic markers and aid understanding of the potential population impacts of environmental disturbances.},
}

Animals
*Hydrothermal Vents
Phylogeny
Genetics, Population
*Decapoda
Mitochondria/genetics
Ecosystem

@article {pmid36750641,
year = {2023},
author = {Kayastha, P and Stec, D and Sługocki, Ł and Gawlak, M and Mioduchowska, M and Kaczmarek, Ł},
title = {Integrative taxonomy reveals new, widely distributed tardigrade species of the genus Paramacrobiotus (Eutardigrada: Macrobiotidae).},
journal = {Scientific reports},
volume = {13},
number = {1},
pages = {2196},
pmid = {36750641},
issn = {2045-2322},
mesh = {Animals ; *Tardigrada/genetics ; Phylogeny ; Mitochondria/genetics ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; RNA, Ribosomal, 18S/genetics ; },
abstract = {In a moss sample collected in Ribeiro Frio, Madeira, Paramacrobiotus gadabouti sp. nov. was found and described using the integrative taxonomy approach. The new species is described based on morphological and morphometric data from both phase-contrast light microscopy (PCM), as well as scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Moreover, four DNA markers, three nuclear (18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, ITS-2) and one mitochondrial (COI) markers, were used to elucidate the phylogenetic position of the new species within the family Macrobiotidae. The new species has a microplacoid that placed it within Parmacrobiotus richtersi group and exhibit richtersi-type eggs having processes terminated with cap-like structures. Paramacrobiotus gadabouti sp. nov. is most similar to Pam. alekseevi, Pam. filipi and Pam. garynahi, but differs from them mainly in details of egg morphology and morphometrics. Unlike other species from this group, which were confirmed as bisexual and showed limited distribution, Paramacrobiotus gadabouti sp. nov. is yet another parthenogenetic species with a wide distribution, demonstrating that at least some tardigrades confirm to the hypothesis of 'everything is everywhere'.},
}

Animals
*Tardigrada/genetics
Phylogeny
Mitochondria/genetics
Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
RNA, Ribosomal, 18S/genetics

@article {pmid36746982,
year = {2023},
author = {de Jong, MJ and Niamir, A and Wolf, M and Kitchener, AC and Lecomte, N and Seryodkin, IV and Fain, SR and Hagen, SB and Saarma, U and Janke, A},
title = {Range-wide whole-genome resequencing of the brown bear reveals drivers of intraspecies divergence.},
journal = {Communications biology},
volume = {6},
number = {1},
pages = {153},
pmid = {36746982},
issn = {2399-3642},
mesh = {Animals ; Male ; *Ursidae/genetics ; DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics ; Phylogeography ; Population Dynamics ; Mitochondria/genetics ; },
abstract = {Population-genomic studies can shed new light on the effect of past demographic processes on contemporary population structure. We reassessed phylogeographical patterns of a classic model species of postglacial recolonisation, the brown bear (Ursus arctos), using a range-wide resequencing dataset of 128 nuclear genomes. In sharp contrast to the erratic geographical distribution of mtDNA and Y-chromosomal haplotypes, autosomal and X-chromosomal multi-locus datasets indicate that brown bear population structure is largely explained by recent population connectivity. Multispecies coalescent based analyses reveal cases where mtDNA haplotype sharing between distant populations, such as between Iberian and southern Scandinavian bears, likely results from incomplete lineage sorting, not from ancestral population structure (i.e., postglacial recolonisation). However, we also argue, using forward-in-time simulations, that gene flow and recombination can rapidly erase genomic evidence of former population structure (such as an ancestral population in Beringia), while this signal is retained by Y-chromosomal and mtDNA, albeit likely distorted. We further suggest that if gene flow is male-mediated, the information loss proceeds faster in autosomes than in X chromosomes. Our findings emphasise that contemporary autosomal genetic structure may reflect recent population dynamics rather than postglacial recolonisation routes, which could contribute to mtDNA and Y-chromosomal discordances.},
}

Animals
Male
*Ursidae/genetics
DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics
Phylogeography
Population Dynamics
Mitochondria/genetics

@article {pmid36748090,
year = {2023},
author = {Zhang, Y and Li, W and Bian, Y and Li, Y and Cong, L},
title = {Multifaceted roles of aerobic glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation in hepatocellular carcinoma.},
journal = {PeerJ},
volume = {11},
number = {},
pages = {e14797},
pmid = {36748090},
issn = {2167-8359},
abstract = {Liver cancer is a common malignancy with high morbidity and mortality rates. Changes in liver metabolism are key factors in the development of primary hepatic carcinoma, and mitochondrial dysfunction is closely related to the occurrence and development of tumours. Accordingly, the study of the metabolic mechanism of mitochondria in primary hepatic carcinomas has gained increasing attention. A growing body of research suggests that defects in mitochondrial respiration are not generally responsible for aerobic glycolysis, nor are they typically selected during tumour evolution. Conversely, the dysfunction of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) may promote the proliferation, metastasis, and invasion of primary hepatic carcinoma. This review presents the current paradigm of the roles of aerobic glycolysis and OXPHOS in the occurrence and development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Mitochondrial OXPHOS and cytoplasmic glycolysis cooperate to maintain the energy balance in HCC cells. Our study provides evidence for the targeting of mitochondrial metabolism as a potential therapy for HCC.},
}

@article {pmid36747727,
year = {2023},
author = {Espino-Sanchez, TJ and Wienkers, H and Marvin, RG and Nalder, SA and Garc A-Guerrero, AE and VanNatta, PE and Jami-Alahmadi, Y and Blackwell, AM and Whitby, FG and Wohlschlegel, JA and Kieber-Emmons, MT and Hill, CP and Sigala, PA},
title = {Direct Tests of Cytochrome Function in the Electron Transport Chain of Malaria Parasites.},
journal = {bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1101/2023.01.23.525242},
pmid = {36747727},
abstract = {UNLABELLED: The mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) of Plasmodium malaria parasites is a major antimalarial drug target, but critical cytochrome functions remain unstudied and enigmatic. Parasites express two distinct cyt c homologs (c and c -2) with unusually sparse sequence identity and uncertain fitness contributions. P. falciparum cyt c -2 is the most divergent eukaryotic cyt c homolog currently known and has sequence features predicted to be incompatible with canonical ETC function. We tagged both cyt c homologs and the related cyt c 1 for inducible knockdown. Translational repression of cyt c and cyt c 1 was lethal to parasites, which died from ETC dysfunction and impaired ubiquinone recycling. In contrast, cyt c -2 knockdown or knock-out had little impact on blood-stage growth, indicating that parasites rely fully on the more conserved cyt c for ETC function. Biochemical and structural studies revealed that both cyt c and c -2 are hemylated by holocytochrome c synthase, but UV-vis absorbance and EPR spectra strongly suggest that cyt c -2 has an unusually open active site in which heme is stably coordinated by only a single axial amino-acid ligand and can bind exogenous small molecules. These studies provide a direct dissection of cytochrome functions in the ETC of malaria parasites and identify a highly divergent Plasmodium cytochrome c with molecular adaptations that defy a conserved role in eukaryotic evolution.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Mitochondria are critical organelles in eukaryotic cells that drive oxidative metabolism. The mitochondrion of Plasmodium malaria parasites is a major drug target that has many differences from human cells and remains poorly studied. One key difference from humans is that malaria parasites express two cytochrome c proteins that differ significantly from each other and play untested and uncertain roles in the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC). Our study revealed that one cyt c is essential for ETC function and parasite viability while the second, more divergent protein has unusual structural and biochemical properties and is not required for growth of blood-stage parasites. This work elucidates key biochemical properties and evolutionary differences in the mitochondrial ETC of malaria parasites.},
}

@article {pmid36732530,
year = {2023},
author = {Silva, MC and Catry, P and Bried, J and Kawakami, K and Flint, E and Granadeiro, JP},
title = {Contrasting patterns of population structure of Bulwer's petrel (Bulweria bulwerii) between oceans revealed by statistical phylogeography.},
journal = {Scientific reports},
volume = {13},
number = {1},
pages = {1939},
pmid = {36732530},
issn = {2045-2322},
mesh = {Animals ; Phylogeography ; Oceans and Seas ; *Birds/genetics ; Pacific Ocean ; *Mitochondria/genetics ; DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics ; Phylogeny ; Genetic Variation ; },
abstract = {The patterns of population divergence of mid-latitude marine birds are impacted by only a few biogeographic barriers to dispersal and the effect of intrinsic factors, such as fidelity to natal colonies or wintering grounds, may become more conspicuous. Here we describe, for the first time, the phylogeographic patterns and historical demography of Bulwer's petrel Bulweria bulwerii and provide new insights regarding the drivers of species diversification in the marine environment. We sampled Bulwer's petrels from the main breeding colonies and used a statistical phylogeography approach based on surveying nuclear and mitochondrial loci (~ 9100 bp) to study its mechanisms of global diversification. We uncovered three highly differentiated groups including the Western Pacific, the Central Pacific and the Atlantic. The older divergence occurred within the Pacific Ocean, ca. 850,000 ya, and since then the W Pacific group has been evolving in isolation. Conversely, divergence between the Central Pacific and Atlantic populations occurred within the last 200,000 years. While the Isthmus of Panama is important in restricting gene flow between oceans in Bulwer's petrels, the deepest phylogeographic break is within the Pacific Ocean, where oceanographic barriers are key in driving and maintaining the remarkable structure found in this highly mobile seabird. This is in contrast with the Atlantic, where no structure was detected. Further data will provide insights regarding the extent of lineage divergence of Bulwer's petrels in the Western Pacific.},
}

Animals
Phylogeography
Oceans and Seas
*Birds/genetics
Pacific Ocean
*Mitochondria/genetics
DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics
Phylogeny
Genetic Variation

@article {pmid36331499,
year = {2023},
author = {Lestari, SM and Khatun, MF and Acharya, R and Sharma, SR and Shrestha, YK and Jahan, SMH and Aye, TT and Lynn, OM and Win, NKK and Hoat, TX and Thi Dao, H and Tsai, CW and Lee, J and Hwang, HS and Kil, EJ and Lee, S and Kim, SM and Lee, KY},
title = {Genetic diversity of cryptic species of Bemisia tabaci in Asia.},
journal = {Archives of insect biochemistry and physiology},
volume = {112},
number = {2},
pages = {e21981},
doi = {10.1002/arch.21981},
pmid = {36331499},
issn = {1520-6327},
mesh = {Animals ; Phylogeny ; Asia ; China ; *Mitochondria ; *Hemiptera/genetics ; Genetic Variation ; },
abstract = {Bemisia tabaci is a species complex consisting of various genetically different cryptic species worldwide. To understand the genetic characteristics and geographic distribution of cryptic species of B. tabaci in Asia, we conducted an extensive collection of B. tabaci samples in ten Asian countries (Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam) from 2013 to 2020 and determined 56 different partial sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) DNA. In addition, information on 129 COI sequences of B. tabaci identified from 16 Asian countries was downloaded from the GenBank database. Among the total 185 COI sequences of B. tabaci, the sequence variation reached to 19.68%. In addition, there were 31 cryptic species updated from 16 countries in Asia, that is, Asia I, Asia I India, Asia II (1-13), Asia III, Asia IV, Asia V, China 1-6, MEAM (1, 2, K), MED, Australia/Indonesia, Japan (1 and 2). Further, MED cryptic species consisted of 2 clades, Q1 and Q2. This study provides updated information to understand the genetic variation and geographic diversity of B. tabaci in Asia.},
}

Animals
Phylogeny
Asia
China
*Mitochondria
*Hemiptera/genetics
Genetic Variation

@article {pmid36739946,
year = {2023},
author = {Schmitz, JM and Wolters, JF and Murray, NH and Guerra, RM and Bingman, CA and Hittinger, CT and Pagliarini, DJ},
title = {Aim18p and Aim46p are chalcone isomerase (CHI)-domain-containing mitochondrial hemoproteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.},
journal = {The Journal of biological chemistry},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {102981},
doi = {10.1016/j.jbc.2023.102981},
pmid = {36739946},
issn = {1083-351X},
abstract = {Chalcone isomerases (CHIs) have well-established roles in the biosynthesis of plant flavonoid metabolites. Saccharomyces cerevisiae possesses two predicted CHI-like proteins, Aim18p (encoded by YHR198C) and Aim46p (YHR199C), but it lacks other enzymes of the flavonoid pathway, suggesting that Aim18p and Aim46p employ the CHI fold for distinct purposes. Here, we demonstrate using proteinase K protection assays, sodium carbonate extractions, and crystallography that Aim18p and Aim46p reside on the mitochondrial inner membrane and adopt CHI folds, but they lack select active site residues and possess an extra fungal-specific loop. Consistent with these differences, Aim18p and Aim46p lack chalcone isomerase activity and also the fatty acid-binding capabilities of other CHI-like proteins, but instead bind heme. We further show that diverse fungal homologs also bind heme and that Aim18p and Aim46p possess structural homology to a bacterial hemoprotein. Collectively, our work reveals a distinct function and cellular localization for two CHI-like proteins, introduces a new variation of a hemoprotein fold, and suggests that ancestral CHI-like proteins were hemoproteins.},
}

@article {pmid36739562,
year = {2023},
author = {Fang, JM and Basu, S and Phu, J and Nieh, MP and LoTurco, JJ},
title = {Cellular Localization, Aggregation, and Cytotoxicity of Bicelle-Quantum Dot Nanocomposites.},
journal = {ACS applied bio materials},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1021/acsabm.2c00827},
pmid = {36739562},
issn = {2576-6422},
abstract = {Bicelles are discoidal lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) in which the planar bilayer and curved rim are, respectively, composed of long- and short-chain lipids. Bicellar LNPs have a hydrophobic core, allowing hydrophobic molecules and large molecular complexes such as quantum dots (QDs) to be encapsulated. In this study, CdSe/ZnS QDs were encapsulated in bicelles made of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine, dihexanoyl phosphatidylcholine, dipalmitoyl phosphatidylglycerol, and distearoyl phosphatidylethanolamine conjugated with polyethylene glycerol amine 2000 to form a well-defined bicelle-QD nanocomplex (known as NANO[2]-QD or bicelle-QD). The bicelle-QD was then incubated with Hek293t cells and HeLa cells for different periods of time to determine changes in their cellular localization. Bicelle-QDs readily penetrated Hek293t cell membranes within 15 min of incubation, localized to the cytoplasm, and associated with mitochondria and intracellular vesicles. After 1 h, the bicelle-QDs enter the cell nucleus. Large aggregates form throughout the cell after 2 h and QDs are nearly absent from the nucleus by 4 h. Previous reports have demonstrated that CdSe/ZnS QDs can be toxic to cells, and we have found that encapsulating QDs in bicelles can attenuate but did not eliminate cytotoxicity. The present research outcome demonstrates the time-resolved pathway of bicelle-encapsulated QDs in Hek293t cells, morphological evolution in cells over time, and cytotoxicity of the bicelle-QDs, providing important insight into the potential application of the nanocomplex for cellular imaging.},
}

@article {pmid36738170,
year = {2023},
author = {Rogers, RL and Grizzard, SL and Garner, JT},
title = {Strong, recent selective sweeps reshape genetic diversity in freshwater bivalve Megalonaias nervosa.},
journal = {Molecular biology and evolution},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1093/molbev/msad024},
pmid = {36738170},
issn = {1537-1719},
abstract = {Freshwater Unionid bivalves have recently faced ecological upheaval through pollution, barriers to dispersal, harvesting, and changes in _sh-host prevalence. Currently, over 70% of species in North America are threatened, endangered or extinct. To characterize the genetic response to recent selective pressures, we collected population genetic data for one successful bivalve species, Megalonaias nervosa. We identify megabase sized regions that are nearly monomorphic across the population, signals of strong, recent selection reshaping diversity across 73Mb total. These signatures of selection are greater than is commonly seen in population genetic models. We observe 102 duplicate genes with high dN/dS on terminal branches among regions with sweeps, suggesting that gene duplication is a causative mechanism of recent adaptation in M. nervosa. Genes in sweeps reect functional classes important for Unionid survival, including anticoagulation genes important for _sh host parasitization, detox genes, mitochondria management, and shell formation. We identify sweeps in regions with no known functional impacts, suggesting mechanisms of adaptation that deserve greater attention in future work on species survival. In contrast, polymorphic transposable elements appear to be detrimental and underrepresented among regions with sweeps. TE site frequency spectra are skewed toward singleton variants, and TEs among regions with sweeps are present at low frequency. Our work suggests that duplicate genes are an essential source of genetic novelty that has helped this successful species succeed in environments where others have struggled. These results suggest that gene duplications deserve greater attention in non-model population genomics, especially in species that have recently faced sudden environmental challenges.},
}

@article {pmid36737563,
year = {2023},
author = {Rottenberg, H},
title = {The evolution of the human mitochondrial bc1 complex- adaptation for reduced rate of superoxide production?.},
journal = {Journal of bioenergetics and biomembranes},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
pmid = {36737563},
issn = {1573-6881},
abstract = {The mitochondrial bc1 complex is a major source of mitochondrial superoxide. While bc1-generated superoxide plays a beneficial signaling role, excess production of superoxide lead to aging and degenerative diseases. The catalytic core of bc1 comprises three peptides -cytochrome b, Fe-S protein, and cytochrome c1. All three core peptides exhibit accelerated evolution in anthropoid primates. It has been suggested that the evolution of cytochrome b in anthropoids was driven by a pressure to reduce the production of superoxide. In humans, the bc1 core peptides exhibit anthropoid-specific substitutions that are clustered near functionally critical sites that may affect the production of superoxide. Here we compare the high-resolution structures of bovine, mouse, sheep and human bc1 to identify structural changes that are associated with human-specific substitutions. Several cytochrome b substitutions in humans alter its interactions with other subunits. Most significantly, there is a cluster of seven substitutions, in cytochrome b, the Fe-S protein, and cytochrome c1 that affect the interactions between these proteins at the tether arm of the Fe-S protein and may alter the rate of ubiquinone oxidation and the rate of superoxide production. Another cluster of substitutions near heme bH and the ubiquinone reduction site, Qi, may affect the rate of ubiquinone reduction and thus alter the rate of superoxide production. These results are compatible with the hypothesis that cytochrome b in humans (and other anthropoid primates) evolve to reduce the rate of production of superoxide thus enabling the exceptional longevity and exceptional cognitive ability of humans.},
}

@article {pmid36734850,
year = {2023},
author = {Nord, A and Chamkha, I and Elmér, E},
title = {A whole blood approach improves speed and accuracy when measuring mitochondrial respiration in intact avian blood cells.},
journal = {FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology},
volume = {37},
number = {3},
pages = {e22766},
doi = {10.1096/fj.202201749R},
pmid = {36734850},
issn = {1530-6860},
abstract = {Understanding mitochondrial biology and pathology is key to understanding the evolution of animal form and function. However, mitochondrial measurement often involves invasive, or even terminal, sampling, which can be difficult to reconcile in wild models or longitudinal studies. Non-mammal vertebrates contain mitochondria in their red blood cells, which can be exploited for minimally invasive mitochondrial measurement. Several recent bird studies have measured mitochondrial function using isolated blood cells. Isolation adds time in the laboratory and might be associated with physiological complications. We developed and validated a protocol to measure mitochondrial respiration in bird whole blood. Endogenous respiration was comparable between isolated blood cells and whole blood. However, respiration towards oxidative phosphorylation was higher in whole blood, and whole blood mitochondria were better coupled and had higher maximum working capacity. Whole blood measurement was also more reproducible than measurement on isolated cells for all traits considered. Measurements were feasible over a 10-fold range of sample volumes, although both small and large volumes were associated with changes to respiratory traits. The protocol was compatible with long-term storage: after 24 h at 5°C without agitation, all respiration traits but maximum working capacity remained unchanged, the latter decreasing by 14%. Our study suggests that whole blood measurement provides faster, more reproducible, and more biologically and physiologically relevant (mitochondrial integrity) assessment of mitochondrial respiration. We recommend future studies to take a whole blood approach unless specific circumstances require the use of isolated blood cells.},
}

@article {pmid36726084,
year = {2023},
author = {Li, Y and Gu, M and Liu, X and Lin, J and Jiang, H and Song, H and Xiao, X and Zhou, W},
title = {Sequencing and analysis of the complete mitochondrial genomes of Toona sinensis and Toona ciliata reveal evolutionary features of Toona.},
journal = {BMC genomics},
volume = {24},
number = {1},
pages = {58},
pmid = {36726084},
issn = {1471-2164},
mesh = {Toona/genetics ; Phylogeny ; *Genome, Mitochondrial ; Plant Breeding ; *Meliaceae/genetics ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Toona is a critical genus in the Meliaceae, and the plants of this group are an asset for both restorative and restorative purposes, the most flexible of which are Toona sinensis and Toona ciliata. To concentrate on the advancement of mitochondrial(Mt) genome variety in T.sinensis and T.ciliata, the Mt genomes of the two species were sequenced in high throughput independently, after de novo assembly and annotation to construct a Mt genome map for comparison in genome structure. Find their repetitive sequences and analyze them in comparison with the chloroplast genome, along with Maximum-likelihood(ML) phylogenetic analysis with 16 other relatives.

RESULTS: (1) T. sinensis and T.ciliata are both circular structures with lengths of 683482 bp and 68300 bp, respectively. They share a high degree of similarity in encoding genes and have AT preferences. All of them have the largest Phe concentration and are the most frequently used codons. (2) Both of their Mt genome are highly preserved in terms of structural and functional genes, while the main variability is reflected in the length of tRNA, the number of genes, and the value of RSCU. (3) T. siniensis and T. ciliata were detected to have 94 and 87 SSRs, respectively, of which mononucleotides accounted for the absolute proportion. Besides, the vast majority of their SSRs were found to be poly-A or poly-T. (4)10 and 11 migrating fragments were identified in the comparison with the chloroplast genome, respectively. (5) In the ML evolutionary tree, T.sinensis and T.ciliata clustered individually into a small branch with 100% support, reflecting two species of Toona are very similarly related to each other.

CONCLUSIONS: This research provides a basis for the exploitation of T.sinensis and T.ciliata in terms of medicinal, edible, and timber resources to avoid confusion; at the same time, it can explore the evolutionary relationship between the Toona and related species, which does not only have an important practical value, but also provides a theoretical basis for future hybrid breeding of forest trees, molecular markers, and evolutionary aspects of plants, which has great scientific significance.},
}

Toona/genetics
Phylogeny
*Genome, Mitochondrial
Plant Breeding
*Meliaceae/genetics

@article {pmid36722300,
year = {2023},
author = {Russo, MT and Santin, A and Zuccarotto, A and Leone, S and Palumbo, A and Ferrante, MI and Castellano, I},
title = {The first genetic engineered system for ovothiol biosynthesis in diatoms reveals a mitochondrial localization for the sulfoxide synthase OvoA.},
journal = {Open biology},
volume = {13},
number = {2},
pages = {220309},
doi = {10.1098/rsob.220309},
pmid = {36722300},
issn = {2046-2441},
abstract = {Diatoms represent one of the most abundant groups of microalgae in the ocean and are responsible for approximately 20% of photosynthetically fixed CO2 on Earth. Due to their complex evolutionary history and ability to adapt to different environments, diatoms are endowed with striking molecular biodiversity and unique metabolic activities. Their high growth rate and the possibility to optimize their biomass make them very promising 'biofactories' for biotechnological applications. Among bioactive compounds, diatoms can produce ovothiols, histidine-derivatives, endowed with unique antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and occurring in many marine invertebrates, bacteria and pathogenic protozoa. However, the functional role of ovothiols biosynthesis in organisms remains almost unexplored. In this work, we have characterized the thiol fraction of Phaeodactylum tricornutum, providing the first evidence of the presence of ovothiol B in pennate diatoms. We have used P. tricornutum to overexpress the 5-histidylcysteine sulfoxide synthase ovoA, the gene encoding the key enzyme involved in ovothiol biosynthesis and we have discovered that OvoA localizes in the mitochondria, a finding that uncovers new concepts in cellular redox biochemistry. We have also obtained engineered biolistic clones that can produce higher amount of ovothiol B compared to wild-type cells, suggesting a new strategy for the eco-sustainable production of these molecules.},
}

@article {pmid36717086,
year = {2023},
author = {Nishita, Y and Amaike, Y and Spassov, N and Hristova, L and Kostov, D and Vladova, D and Peeva, S and Raichev, E and Vlaeva, R and Masuda, R},
title = {Diversity of mitochondrial D-loop haplotypes from ancient Thracian horses in Bulgaria.},
journal = {Animal science journal = Nihon chikusan Gakkaiho},
volume = {94},
number = {1},
pages = {e13810},
doi = {10.1111/asj.13810},
pmid = {36717086},
issn = {1740-0929},
mesh = {Horses/genetics ; Animals ; Bulgaria ; Haplotypes/genetics ; Phylogeny ; *Mitochondria/genetics ; *DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics ; Genetic Variation ; },
abstract = {The domestication of the horse began possibly more than 5000 years ago in the western part of the Eurasian steppe, and according to the leading hypothesis, horses first spread from the Steppe toward the region of the Thracian culture, starting in the second half of the 2nd millennium BCE and flourished from the fifth to first centuries BCE, mainly located in present-day Bulgaria. We analyzed 17 horse bone remains excavated from Thracian archaeological sites (fourth to first centuries BCE) in Bulgaria and successfully identified 17 sequences representing 14 different haplotypes of the mitochondrial D-loop. Compared with the mtDNA haplotypes of modern horses around the world, ancient Thracian horses in Bulgaria are thought to be more closely related to modern horses of Southern Europe and less related to those of Central Asia. In addition, the haplotypes we obtained represented 11 previously reported modern horse mtDNA haplogroups: A, B, D, E, G, H, I, L, N, P, and Q. All the haplogroups contain modern and regionally predominant haplotypes occurring in Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Our results indicate that Thracian horses in Bulgaria have had relatively high genetic diversity and are closely related to modern horse breeds.},
}

Horses/genetics
Animals
Bulgaria
Haplotypes/genetics
Phylogeny
*Mitochondria/genetics
*DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics
Genetic Variation

@article {pmid36717448,
year = {2022},
author = {Shilovsky, GA and Putyatina, TS and Markov, AV},
title = {Evolution of Longevity as a Species-Specific Trait in Mammals.},
journal = {Biochemistry. Biokhimiia},
volume = {87},
number = {12},
pages = {1579-1599},
doi = {10.1134/S0006297922120148},
pmid = {36717448},
issn = {1608-3040},
abstract = {From the evolutionary point of view, the priority problem for an individual is not longevity, but adaptation to the environment associated with the need for survival, food supply, and reproduction. We see two main vectors in the evolution of mammals. One is a short lifespan and numerous offspring ensuring reproductive success (r-strategy). The other one is development of valuable skills in order compete successfully (K-strategy). Species with the K-strategy should develop and enhance specific systems (anti-aging programs) aimed at increasing the reliability and adaptability, including lifespan. These systems are signaling cascades that provide cell repair and antioxidant defense. Hence, any arbitrarily selected long-living species should be characterized by manifestation to a different extent of the longevity-favoring traits (e.g., body size, brain development, sociality, activity of body repair and antioxidant defense systems, resistance to xenobiotics and tumor formation, presence of neotenic traits). Hereafter, we will call a set of such traits as the gerontological success of a species. Longevity is not equivalent to the evolutionary or reproductive success. This difference between these phenomena reaches its peak in mammals due to the development of endothermy and cephalization associated with the cerebral cortex expansion, which leads to the upregulated production of oxidative radicals by the mitochondria (and, consequently, accelerated aging), increase in the number of non-dividing differentiated cells, accumulation of the age-related damage in these cells, and development of neurodegenerative diseases. The article presents mathematical indicators used to assess the predisposition to longevity in different species (including the standard mortality rate and basal metabolic rate, as well as their derivatives). The properties of the evolution of mammals (including the differences between modern mammals and their ancestral forms) are also discussed.},
}

@article {pmid36702320,
year = {2023},
author = {Buonvicino, D and Ranieri, G and Guasti, D and Pistolesi, A and La Rocca, AI and Rapizzi, E and Chiarugi, A},
title = {Early derangement of axonal mitochondria occurs in a mouse model of progressive but not relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.},
journal = {Neurobiology of disease},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {106015},
doi = {10.1016/j.nbd.2023.106015},
pmid = {36702320},
issn = {1095-953X},
abstract = {INTRODUCTION: Derangement of axonal mitochondrial bioenergetics occurs during progressive multiple sclerosis (PMS). However, whether this is a delayed epiphenomenon or an early causative event of disease progression waits to be understood. Answering this question might further our knowledge of mechanisms underlying neurobiology of PMS and related therapy.

METHODS: MOG35-55-immunized NOD and PLP139-151-immunized SJL female mice were adopted as models of progressive or relapsing-remitting experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), respectively. Multiple parameters of mitochondrial homeostasis were analyzed in the mouse spinal cord during the early asymptomatic stage, also evaluating the effects of scavenging mitochondrial reactive oxygen species with Mito-TEMPO.

RESULTS: Almost identical lumbar spinal cord immune infiltrates consisting of Th1 cells and neutrophils without B and Th17 lymphocytes occurred early upon immunization in both mouse strains. Still, only NOD mice showed axon-restricted dysregulation of mitochondrial homeostasis, with reduced mtDNA contents and increased cristae area. Increased expression of mitochondrial respiratory complex subunits Nd2, Cox1, Atp5d, Sdha also exclusively occurred in lumbar spinal cord of NOD and not SJL mice. Accordingly, in this region genes regulating mitochondrial morphology (Opa1, Mfn1, Mfn2 and Atp5j2) and mitochondriogenesis (Pgc1α, Foxo, Hif-1α and Nrf2) were induced early upon immunization. A reduced extent of mitochondrial derangement occurred in the thoracic spinal cord. Notably, the mitochondrial radical scavenger Mito-TEMPO reduced H2O2 content and prevented both mtDNA depletion and cristae remodeling, having no effects on dysregulation of mitochondrial transcriptome.

DISCUSSION: We provide here the first evidence that axonal-restricted derangement of mitochondrial homeostasis already occurs during the asymptomatic state exclusively in a mouse model of PMS. Data further our understanding of mechanisms related to EAE progression, and point to very early axonal mitochondrial dysfunction as central to the neuropathogenesis of MS evolution.},
}

@article {pmid36672951,
year = {2023},
author = {Zhang, T and Wang, Y and Song, H},
title = {The Complete Mitochondrial Genome and Gene Arrangement of the Enigmatic Scaphopod Pictodentalium vernedei.},
journal = {Genes},
volume = {14},
number = {1},
pages = {},
pmid = {36672951},
issn = {2073-4425},
mesh = {Animals ; *Genome, Mitochondrial ; Phylogeny ; Gene Order ; Mollusca/genetics ; Mitochondria/genetics ; },
abstract = {The enigmatic scaphopods, or tusk shells, are a small and rare group of molluscs whose phylogenomic position among the Conchifera is undetermined, and the taxonomy within this class also needs revision. Such work is hindered by there only being a very few mitochondrial genomes in this group that are currently available. Here, we present the assembly and annotation of the complete mitochondrial genome from Dentaliida Pictodentalium vernedei, whose mitochondrial genome is 14,519 bp in size, containing 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes and two rRNA genes. The nucleotide composition was skewed toward A-T, with a 71.91% proportion of AT content. Due to the mitogenome-based phylogenetic analysis, we defined P. vernedei as a sister to Graptacme eborea in Dentaliida. Although a few re-arrangements occurred, the mitochondrial gene order showed deep conservation within Dentaliida. Yet, such a gene order in Dentaliida largely diverges from Gadilida and other molluscan classes, suggesting that scaphopods have the highest degree of mitogenome arrangement compared to other molluscs.},
}

Animals
*Genome, Mitochondrial
Phylogeny
Gene Order
Mollusca/genetics
Mitochondria/genetics

@article {pmid36446749,
year = {2023},
author = {Li, SP and Jiang, H and Liu, ZB and Yu, WJ and Cai, XS and Liu, C and Xie, WY and Quan, FS and Gao, W and Kim, NH and Yuan, B and Chen, CZ and Zhang, JB},
title = {TBX2 affects proliferation, apoptosis and cholesterol generation by regulating mitochondrial function and autophagy in bovine cumulus cell.},
journal = {Veterinary medicine and science},
volume = {9},
number = {1},
pages = {326-335},
doi = {10.1002/vms3.1009},
pmid = {36446749},
issn = {2053-1095},
mesh = {Female ; Animals ; Cattle ; *Cumulus Cells/metabolism ; Cell Proliferation ; *Autophagy ; Apoptosis/genetics ; Mitochondria ; Cholesterol/metabolism/pharmacology ; Adenosine Triphosphate/metabolism/pharmacology ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: T-box transcription factor 2 (TBX2) is a member of T-box gene family whose members are highly conserved in evolution and encoding genes and are involved in the regulation of developmental processes. The encoding genes play an important role in growth and development. Although TBX2 has been widely studied in cancer cell growth and development, its biological functions in bovine cumulus cells remain unclear.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the regulatory effects of TBX2 in bovine cumulus cells.

METHODS: TBX2 gene was knockdown with siRNA to clarify the function in cellular physiological processes. Cell proliferation and cycle changes were determined by xCELLigence cell function analyzer and flow cytometry. Mitochondrial membrane potential and autophagy were detected by fluorescent dye staining and immunofluorescence techniques. Western blot and quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were used to detect the expression changes of proliferation and autophagy-related proteins. Aadenosine triphosphate (ATP) production, glucose metabolism, and cholesterol synthesis of cumulus cells were measured by optical density and chemiluminescence analysis.

RESULTS: After inhibition of TBX2, the cell cycle was disrupted. The levels of apoptosis, ratio of light chain 3 beta II/I, and reactive oxygen species were increased. The proliferation, expansion ability, ATP production, and the amount of cholesterol secreted by cumulus cells were significantly decreased.

CONCLUSIONS: TBX2 plays important roles in regulating the cells' proliferation, expansion, apoptosis, and autophagy; maintaining the mitochondrial function and cholesterol generation of bovine cumulus cells.},
}

Female
Animals
Cattle
*Cumulus Cells/metabolism
Cell Proliferation
*Autophagy
Apoptosis/genetics
Mitochondria
Cholesterol/metabolism/pharmacology
Adenosine Triphosphate/metabolism/pharmacology

@article {pmid36336814,
year = {2023},
author = {Vilaça, ST and Maroso, F and Lara, P and de Thoisy, B and Chevallier, D and Arantes, LS and Santos, FR and Bertorelle, G and Mazzoni, CJ},
title = {Evidence of backcross inviability and mitochondrial DNA paternal leakage in sea turtle hybrids.},
journal = {Molecular ecology},
volume = {32},
number = {3},
pages = {628-643},
doi = {10.1111/mec.16773},
pmid = {36336814},
issn = {1365-294X},
mesh = {Animals ; *DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics ; *Turtles/genetics ; Mitochondria/genetics ; Biological Evolution ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; },
abstract = {Hybridization is known to be part of many species' evolutionary history. Sea turtles have a fascinating hybridization system in which species separated by as much as 43 million years are still capable of hybridizing. Indeed, the largest nesting populations in Brazil of loggerheads (Caretta caretta) and hawksbills (Eretmochelys imbricata) have a high incidence of hybrids between these two species. A third species, olive ridleys (Lepidochelys olivacea), is also known to hybridize although at a smaller scale. Here, we used restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-Seq) markers, mitogenomes, and satellite-telemetry to investigate the patterns of hybridization and introgression in the Brazilian sea turtle population and their relationship with the migratory behaviours between feeding and nesting aggregations. We also explicitly test if the mixing of two divergent genomes in sea turtle hybrids causes mitochondrial paternal leakage. We developed a new species-specific PCR-assay capable of detecting mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) inheritance from both parental species and performed ultra-deep sequencing to estimate the abundance of each mtDNA type. Our results show that all adult hybrids are first generation (F1) and most display a loggerhead migratory behaviour. We detected paternal leakage in F1 hybrids and different proportions of mitochondria from maternal and paternal species. Although previous studies showed no significant fitness decrease in hatchlings, our results support genetically-related hybrid breakdown possibly caused by cytonuclear incompatibility. Further research on hybrids from other populations in addition to Brazil and between different species will show if backcross inviability and mitochondrial paternal leakage is observed across sea turtle species.},
}

Animals
*DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics
*Turtles/genetics
Mitochondria/genetics
Biological Evolution
Polymerase Chain Reaction

@article {pmid36644898,
year = {2023},
author = {He, W and Xiang, K and Chen, C and Wang, J and Wu, Z},
title = {Master graph: an essential integrated assembly model for the plant mitogenome based on a graph-based framework.},
journal = {Briefings in bioinformatics},
volume = {24},
number = {1},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1093/bib/bbac522},
pmid = {36644898},
issn = {1477-4054},
mesh = {Animals ; *Genome, Mitochondrial ; DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics ; Biological Evolution ; Mitochondria/genetics ; Plants/genetics ; Phylogeny ; },
abstract = {Unlike the typical single circular structure of most animal mitochondrial genomes (mitogenome), the drastic structural variation of plant mitogenomes is a result of a mixture of molecules of various sizes and structures. Obtaining the full panoramic plant mitogenome is still considered a roadblock in evolutionary biology. In this study, we developed a graph-based sequence assembly toolkit (GSAT) to construct the pan-structural landscape of plant mitogenome with high-quality mitochondrial master graphs (MMGs) for model species including rice (Oryza sativa) and thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana). The rice and thale cress MMGs have total lengths of 346 562 and 358 041 bp, including 9 and 6 contigs and 12 and 8 links, respectively, and could be further divided into 6 and 3 minimum master circles and 4 and 2 minimum secondary circles separately. The nuclear mitochondrial DNA segments (NUMTs) in thale cress strongly affected the frequency evaluation of the homologous structures in the mitogenome, while the effects of NUMTs in rice were relatively weak. The mitochondrial plastid DNA segments (MTPTs) in both species had no effects on the assessment of the MMGs. All potential recombinant structures were evaluated, and the findings revealed that all, except for nuclear-homologous structures, MMG structures are present at a much higher frequency than non-MMG structures are. Investigations of potential circular and linear molecules further supported multiple dominant structures in the mitogenomes and could be completely summarized in the MMG. Our study provided an efficient and accurate model for assembling and applying graph-based plant mitogenomes to assess their pan-structural variations.},
}

Animals
*Genome, Mitochondrial
DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics
Biological Evolution
Mitochondria/genetics
Plants/genetics
Phylogeny

@article {pmid36563715,
year = {2023},
author = {Shukla, P and Mukherjee, S and Patil, A and Joshi, B},
title = {Molecular characterization of variants in mitochondrial DNA encoded genes using next generation sequencing analysis and mitochondrial dysfunction in women with PCOS.},
journal = {Gene},
volume = {855},
number = {},
pages = {147126},
doi = {10.1016/j.gene.2022.147126},
pmid = {36563715},
issn = {1879-0038},
mesh = {Humans ; Female ; DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing/methods ; *Polycystic Ovary Syndrome/genetics ; Mitochondria/genetics ; RNA, Transfer ; *Genome, Mitochondrial ; },
abstract = {Emerging studies indicates mitochondrial dysfunction and involvement of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variants in the pathogenesis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Cumulative effect of mtDNA rare variants are now gaining considerable interest apart from common variants in the pathogenesis of complex diseases. Rare variants may modify the effect of polymorphism or in combination with the common variants may affect the risk of disease. With the evolution of high throughput sequencing techniques, which can be utilized to identify common as well as rare variants along with heteroplasmy levels, comprehensive characterization of the mtDNA variants is possible. Till date, few studies reported common mtDNA variants using traditional sequencing techniques but rare variants in mtDNA encoding genes remain unexplored in women with PCOS. These mtDNA variants may be responsible for mitochondrial dysfunction and may contribute in PCOS pathogenesis. In this study we determined mtDNA copy number, a biomarker of mitochondrial dysfunction and first time analysed variants in mtDNA encoded genes in women with PCOS using mitochondrial Next Generation sequencing (NGS) approach and compared allele frequency from mitochondrial 1000 genome dataset. Variant annotation and prioritization was done using highly automated pipeline, MToolBox that excludes reads mapped from nuclear mitochondrial DNA sequences (NumtS) to identify unique mtDNA reads. The present study identified significant reduction in mtDNA copy number in women with PCOS compared to non-PCOS women. A total of unique 214 prioritized common to rare variants were identified in mtDNA encoded genes, 183 variants in OXPHOS complexes, 14 variants in MT-tRNA and 17 variants in MT-rRNA genes that may be involved in mitochondrial dysfunction in PCOS. Numerous variants were heteroplasmic, pathogenic in nature and occurred in evolutionary conserved region. Heteroplasmic variants were more frequently occurred in MT-CO3 gene. Non-synonymous variants were more than synonymous variants and mainly occurred in OXPHOS complex I and IV. Few variants were found to be associated with diseases in MITOMAP database. The study provides a better understanding towards pathogenesis of PCOS from novel aspects focusing on mitochondrial genetic defects as underlying cause for contributing mitochondrial dysfunction in women with PCOS.},
}

Humans
Female
DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics
High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing/methods
*Polycystic Ovary Syndrome/genetics
Mitochondria/genetics
RNA, Transfer
*Genome, Mitochondrial

@article {pmid36671555,
year = {2023},
author = {Righetto, I and Gasparotto, M and Casalino, L and Vacca, M and Filippini, F},
title = {Exogenous Players in Mitochondria-Related CNS Disorders: Viral Pathogens and Unbalanced Microbiota in the Gut-Brain Axis.},
journal = {Biomolecules},
volume = {13},
number = {1},
pages = {},
doi = {10.3390/biom13010169},
pmid = {36671555},
issn = {2218-273X},
abstract = {Billions of years of co-evolution has made mitochondria central to the eukaryotic cell and organism life playing the role of cellular power plants, as indeed they are involved in most, if not all, important regulatory pathways. Neurological disorders depending on impaired mitochondrial function or homeostasis can be caused by the misregulation of "endogenous players", such as nuclear or cytoplasmic regulators, which have been treated elsewhere. In this review, we focus on how exogenous agents, i.e., viral pathogens, or unbalanced microbiota in the gut-brain axis can also endanger mitochondrial dynamics in the central nervous system (CNS). Neurotropic viruses such as Herpes, Rabies, West-Nile, and Polioviruses seem to hijack neuronal transport networks, commandeering the proteins that mitochondria typically use to move along neurites. However, several neurological complications are also associated to infections by pandemic viruses, such as Influenza A virus and SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, representing a relevant risk associated to seasonal flu, coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) and "Long-COVID". Emerging evidence is depicting the gut microbiota as a source of signals, transmitted via sensory neurons innervating the gut, able to influence brain structure and function, including cognitive functions. Therefore, the direct connection between intestinal microbiota and mitochondrial functions might concur with the onset, progression, and severity of CNS diseases.},
}

@article {pmid36670920,
year = {2022},
author = {Cruz-Gregorio, A and Aranda-Rivera, AK and Aparicio-Trejo, OE and Medina-Campos, ON and Sciutto, E and Fragoso, G and Pedraza-Chaverri, J},
title = {GK-1 Induces Oxidative Stress, Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Decreased Membrane Potential, and Impaired Autophagy Flux in a Mouse Model of Breast Cancer.},
journal = {Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)},
volume = {12},
number = {1},
pages = {},
doi = {10.3390/antiox12010056},
pmid = {36670920},
issn = {2076-3921},
abstract = {Breast cancer (BC) is the second most common cancer worldwide in women. During the last decades, the mortality due to breast cancer has progressively decreased due to early diagnosis and the emergence of more effective new treatments. However, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) remain with poor prognoses. In our research group, we are proposing the GK-1 immunomodulatory peptide as a new alternative for immunotherapy of these aggressive tumors. GK-1 reduced the growth rate of established tumors and effectively reduced lung metastasis in the 4T1 experimental murine model of breast cancer. Herein, the effect of GK-1 on the redox state, mitochondrial metabolism, and autophagy of triple-negative tumors that can be linked to cancer evolution was studied. GK-1 decreased catalase activity, reduced glutathione (GSH) content and GSH/oxidized glutathione (GSSG) ratio while increased hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production, GSSG, and protein carbonyl content, inducing oxidative stress (OS) in tumoral tissues. This imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidants was related to mitochondrial dysfunction and uncoupling, characterized by reduced mitochondrial respiratory parameters and dissipation of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), respectively. Furthermore, GK-1 likely affected autophagy flux, confirmed by elevated levels of p62, a marker of autophagy flux. Overall, the induction of OS, dysfunction, and uncoupling of the mitochondria and the reduction of autophagy could be molecular mechanisms that underlie the reduction of the 4T1 breast cancer induced by GK-1.},
}

@article {pmid36225907,
year = {2022},
author = {Zhang, A and Xu, J and Xu, X and Wu, J and Li, P and Wang, B and Fang, H},
title = {Genome-wide identification and characterization of the KCS gene family in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench).},
journal = {PeerJ},
volume = {10},
number = {},
pages = {e14156},
pmid = {36225907},
issn = {2167-8359},
mesh = {*Sorghum/genetics ; Plant Proteins/genetics ; Phylogeny ; Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; },
abstract = {The aboveground parts of plants are covered with cuticle, a hydrophobic layer composed of cutin polyester and cuticular wax that can protect plants from various environmental stresses. β-Ketoacyl-CoA synthase (KCS) is the key rate-limiting enzyme in plant wax synthesis. Although the properties of KCS family genes have been investigated in many plant species, the understanding of this gene family in sorghum is still limited. Here, a total of 25 SbKCS genes were identified in the sorghum genome, which were named from SbKCS1 to SbKCS25. Evolutionary analysis among different species divided the KCS family into five subfamilies and the SbKCSs were more closely related to maize, implying a closer evolutionary relationship between sorghum and maize. All SbKCS genes were located on chromosomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10, respectively, while Chr 1 and Chr 10 contained more KCS genes than other chromosomes. The prediction results of subcellular localization showed that SbKCSs were mainly expressed in the plasma membrane and mitochondria. Gene structure analysis revealed that there was 0-1 intron in the sorghum KCS family and SbKCSs within the same subgroup were similar. Multiple cis-acting elements related to abiotic stress, light and hormone response were enriched in the promoters of SbKCS genes, which indicated the functional diversity among these genes. The three-dimensional structure analysis showed that a compact spherical space structure was formed by various secondary bonds to maintain the stability of SbKCS proteins, which was necessary for their biological activity. qRT-PCR results revealed that nine randomly selected SbKCS genes expressed differently under drought and salt treatments, among which SbKCS8 showed the greatest fold of expression difference at 12 h after drought and salt stresses, which suggested that the SbKCS genes played a potential role in abiotic stress responses. Taken together, these results provided an insight into investigating the functions of KCS family in sorghum and in response to abiotic stress.},
}

*Sorghum/genetics
Plant Proteins/genetics
Phylogeny
Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid
Promoter Regions, Genetic

@article {pmid36213509,
year = {2022},
author = {Kotov, AA and Taylor, DJ},
title = {Daphnia japonica sp. nov. (Crustacea: Cladocera) an eastern Palearctic montane species with mitochondrial discordance.},
journal = {PeerJ},
volume = {10},
number = {},
pages = {e14113},
pmid = {36213509},
issn = {2167-8359},
mesh = {Animals ; *Cladocera/genetics ; Daphnia/genetics ; Phylogeny ; Mitochondria/genetics ; Genes, Mitochondrial ; DNA ; },
abstract = {The Daphnia longispina complex (Crustacea: Cladocera) contains several keystone freshwater species such as D. longispina O.F. Müller (D. rosea Sars is a junior synonym), D. galeata Sars, D. cucullata Sars, and D. dentifera Forbes. The complex is common throughout the Holarctic, but there are several geographic regions where local forms have been assigned to European species names based on a superficial morphological resemblance. Here we examine the species status of a form that was previously assigned to D. rosea from a montane bog pond on Honshu, Japan. We used two nuclear non-coding loci (nDNA), mitochondrial sequences (the ND2 protein-coding region) and morphology for evidence. The mitochondrial gene evidence supported the existence of a divergent lineage that is more closely related to D. galeata than to D. dentifera. However, morphology and the nuclear DNA data indicated a lineage that is most closely related to D. dentifera. As our evidence supported the existence of a cohesive divergent lineage, we described a new species, Daphnia japonica sp. nov. Recognition of local and subalpine diversity in this group is critical as ongoing anthropogenic disturbance has been associated with introductions, local extirpations, and hybridization.},
}

Animals
*Cladocera/genetics
Daphnia/genetics
Phylogeny
Mitochondria/genetics
Genes, Mitochondrial
DNA

@article {pmid36659315,
year = {2017},
author = {Ye, LQ and Zhao, H and Zhou, HJ and Ren, XD and Liu, LL and Otecko, NO and Wang, ZB and Yang, MM and Zeng, L and Hu, XT and Yao, YG and Zhang, YP and Wu, DD},
title = {The RNA editome of Macaca mulatta and functional characterization of RNA editing in mitochondria.},
journal = {Science bulletin},
volume = {62},
number = {12},
pages = {820-830},
doi = {10.1016/j.scib.2017.05.021},
pmid = {36659315},
issn = {2095-9281},
abstract = {RNA editing was first discovered in mitochondrial RNA molecular. However, whether adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing has functions in nuclear genes involved in mitochondria remains elusive. Here, we retrieved 707,246 A-to-I RNA editing sites in Macaca mulatta leveraging massive transcriptomes of 30 different tissues and genomes of nine tissues, together with the reported data, and found that A-to-I RNA editing occurred frequently in nuclear genes that have functions in mitochondria. The mitochondrial structure, the level of ATP production, and the expression of some key genes involved in mitochondrial function were dysregulated after knocking down the expression of ADAR1 and ADAR2, the key genes encoding the enzyme responsible for RNA editing. When investigating dynamic changes of RNA editing during brain development, an amino-acid-changing RNA editing site (I234/V) in MFN1, a mediator of mitochondrial fusion, was identified to be significantly correlated with age, and could influence the function of MFN1. When studying transcriptomes of brain disorder, we found that dysregulated RNA editing sites in autism were also enriched within genes having mitochondrial functions. These data indicated that RNA editing had a significant function in mitochondria via their influence on nuclear genes.},
}

@article {pmid36656997,
year = {2023},
author = {Opazo, JC and Vandewege, MW and Hoffmann, FG and Zavala, K and Meléndez, C and Luchsinger, C and Cavieres, VA and Vargas-Chacoff, L and Morera, FJ and Burgos, PV and Tapia-Rojas, C and Mardones, GA},
title = {How many sirtuin genes are out there? evolution of sirtuin genes in vertebrates with a description of a new family member.},
journal = {Molecular biology and evolution},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1093/molbev/msad014},
pmid = {36656997},
issn = {1537-1719},
abstract = {Studying the evolutionary history of gene families is a challenging and exciting task with a wide range of implications. In addition to exploring fundamental questions about the origin and evolution of genes, disentangling their evolution is also critical to those who do functional/structural studies to allow a deeper and more precise interpretation of their results in an evolutionary context. The sirtuin gene family is a group of genes that are involved in a variety of biological functions mostly related to aging. Their duplicative history is an open question, as well as the definition of the repertoire of sirtuin genes among vertebrates. Our results show a well-resolved phylogeny that represents an improvement in our understanding of the duplicative history of the sirtuin gene family. We identified a new sirtuin gene family member (SIRT3.2) that was apparently lost in the last common ancestor of amniotes but retained in all other groups of jawed vertebrates. According to our experimental analyses, elephant shark SIRT3.2 protein is located in mitochondria, the overexpression of which leads to an increase in cellular levels of ATP. Moreover, in vitro analysis demonstrated it has deacetylase activity being modulated in a similar way to mammalian SIRT3. Our results indicate that there are at least eight sirtuin paralogs among vertebrates and that all of them can be traced back to the last common ancestor of the group that existed between 676 and 615 millions of years ago.},
}

@article {pmid36412071,
year = {2023},
author = {Shimpi, GG and Bentlage, B},
title = {Ancient endosymbiont-mediated transmission of a selfish gene provides a model for overcoming barriers to gene transfer into animal mitochondrial genomes.},
journal = {BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology},
volume = {45},
number = {2},
pages = {e2200190},
doi = {10.1002/bies.202200190},
pmid = {36412071},
issn = {1521-1878},
mesh = {Animals ; *Genome, Mitochondrial/genetics ; Gene Transfer, Horizontal/genetics ; DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics ; Mitochondria/genetics ; Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid/genetics ; Phylogeny ; Evolution, Molecular ; },
abstract = {In contrast to bilaterian animals, non-bilaterian mitochondrial genomes contain atypical genes, often attributed to horizontal gene transfer (HGT) as an ad hoc explanation. Although prevalent in plants, HGT into animal mitochondrial genomes is rare, lacking suitable explanatory models for their occurrence. HGT of the mismatch DNA repair gene (mtMutS) from giant viruses to octocoral (soft corals and their kin) mitochondrial genomes provides a model for how barriers to HGT to animal mitochondria may be overcome. A review of the available literature suggests that this HGT was mediated by an alveolate endosymbiont infected with a lysogenic phycodnavirus that enabled insertion of the homing endonuclease containing mtMutS into octocoral mitochondrial genomes. We posit that homing endonuclease domains and similar selfish elements play a crucial role in such inter-domain gene transfers. Understanding the role of selfish genetic elements in HGT has the potential to aid development of tools for manipulating animal mitochondrial DNA.},
}

Animals
*Genome, Mitochondrial/genetics
Gene Transfer, Horizontal/genetics
DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics
Mitochondria/genetics
Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid/genetics
Phylogeny
Evolution, Molecular

@article {pmid36651963,
year = {2023},
author = {Moreira, F and Arenas, M and Videira, A and Pereira, F},
title = {Evolution of TOP1 and TOP1MT Topoisomerases in Chordata.},
journal = {Journal of molecular evolution},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
pmid = {36651963},
issn = {1432-1432},
abstract = {Type IB topoisomerases relax the torsional stress associated with DNA metabolism in the nucleus and mitochondria and constitute important molecular targets of anticancer drugs. Vertebrates stand out among eukaryotes by having two Type IB topoisomerases acting specifically in the nucleus (TOP1) and mitochondria (TOP1MT). Despite their major importance, the origin and evolution of these paralogues remain unknown. Here, we examine the molecular evolutionary processes acting on both TOP1 and TOP1MT in Chordata, taking advantage of the increasing number of available genome sequences. We found that both TOP1 and TOP1MT evolved under strong purifying selection, as expected considering their essential biological functions. Critical active sites, including those associated with resistance to anticancer agents, were found particularly conserved. However, TOP1MT presented a higher rate of molecular evolution than TOP1, possibly related with its specialized activity on the mitochondrial genome and a less critical role in cells. We could place the duplication event that originated the TOP1 and TOP1MT paralogues early in the radiation of vertebrates, most likely associated with the first round of vertebrate tetraploidization (1R). Moreover, our data suggest that cyclostomes present a specialized mitochondrial Type IB topoisomerase. Interestingly, we identified two missense mutations replacing amino acids in the Linker region of TOP1MT in Neanderthals, which appears as a rare event when comparing the genome of both species. In conclusion, TOP1 and TOP1MT differ in their rates of evolution, and their evolutionary histories allowed us to better understand the evolution of chordates.},
}

@article {pmid36648250,
year = {2023},
author = {Graham, AM and Barreto, FS},
title = {Myxozoans (Cnidaria) do not retain key oxygen-sensing and homeostasis toolkit genes.},
journal = {Genome biology and evolution},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1093/gbe/evad003},
pmid = {36648250},
issn = {1759-6653},
abstract = {For aerobic organisms, both the Hypoxia-Inducible Factor pathway and the mitochondrial genomes are key players in regulating oxygen homeostasis. Recent work has suggested that these mechanisms are not as highly conserved as previously thought, prompting more surveys across animal taxonomic levels, which would permit testing of hypotheses about the ecological conditions facilitating evolutionary loss of such genes. Phylum Cnidaria is known to harbor wide variation in mitochondrial chromosome morphology, including the extreme example, in the Myxozoa, of mitochondrial genome loss. Because myxozoans are obligate endoparasites, frequently encountering hypoxic environments, we hypothesize that variation in environmental oxygen availability could be a key determinant in the evolution of metabolic gene networks associated with oxygen sensing, hypoxia response, and energy production. Here, we surveyed genomes and transcriptomes across 46 cnidarian species for the presence of HIF pathway members, as well as for an assortment of hypoxia, mitochondrial, and stress-response toolkit genes. We find that presence of the HIF pathway, as well as number of genes associated with mitochondria, hypoxia, and stress response, do not vary in parallel to mitochondrial genome morphology. More interestingly, we uncover evidence that myxozoans have lost the canonical HIF pathway repression machinery, potentially altering HIF pathway functionality to work under the specific conditions of their parasitic lifestyles. In addition, relative to other cnidarians, myxozoans show loss of large proportions of genes associated with the mitochondrion and involved in response to hypoxia and general stress. Our results provide additional evidence that the HIF regulatory machinery is evolutionarily labile and that variations in the canonical system have evolved in many animal groups.},
}

@article {pmid36642905,
year = {2022},
author = {Zhou, XQ and Ma, J and Wang, RY and Wang, RH and Wu, YQ and Yang, XY and Chen, YJ and Tang, XN and Sun, ET},
title = {[Bacterial community diversity in Dermatophagoides farinae using high-throughput sequencing].},
journal = {Zhongguo xue xi chong bing fang zhi za zhi = Chinese journal of schistosomiasis control},
volume = {34},
number = {6},
pages = {630-634},
doi = {10.16250/j.32.1374.2022105},
pmid = {36642905},
issn = {1005-6661},
mesh = {Humans ; Animals ; *Dermatophagoides farinae/genetics ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics ; Bacteria/genetics ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ; *Microbiota ; Phylogeny ; },
abstract = {OBJECTIVE: To investigate the bacterial community diversity in Dermatophagoides farinae.

METHODS: Laboratory-cultured D. farinae was collected, and the composition of microbial communities was determined by sequence analyses of the V4 region in the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) gene on an Illumina PE250 high-throughput sequencing platform. Following quality control and filtering of the raw sequence files, valid reads were obtained and subjected to operational taxonomic units (OTU) clustering and analysis of the composition of microbial communities and alpha diversity index using the Usearch software, Silva database, and Mothur software.

RESULTS: A total of 187 616 valid reads were obtained, and 469 OTUs were clustered based on a sequence similarity of more than 97%. OTU annotation showed that the bacteria in D. farinae belonged to 26 phyla, 43 classes, 100 orders, 167 families and 284 genera. The bacteria in D. farinae were mainly annotated to five phyla of Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, Actinobacteriota, and Acidobacteriota, with Proteobacteria as the dominant phylum, and mainly annotated to five dominant genera of Ralstonia, norank-f-Mitochondria, Staphylococcus and Sphingomonas, with Wolbachia identified in the non-dominant genus.

CONCLUSIONS: A high diversity is identified in the composition of the bacterial community in D. farinae, and there are differences in bacterial community diversity and abundance among D. farinae.},
}

Humans
Animals
*Dermatophagoides farinae/genetics
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics
Bacteria/genetics
High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
*Microbiota
Phylogeny

@article {pmid36646908,
year = {2023},
author = {Muñoz-Gómez, SA},
title = {Energetics and evolution of anaerobic microbial eukaryotes.},
journal = {Nature microbiology},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
pmid = {36646908},
issn = {2058-5276},
abstract = {Mitochondria and aerobic respiration have been suggested to be required for the evolution of eukaryotic cell complexity. Aerobic respiration is several times more energetically efficient than fermentation. Moreover, aerobic respiration occurs at internalized mitochondrial membranes that are not constrained by a sublinear scaling with cell volume. However, diverse and complex anaerobic eukaryotes (for example, free-living and parasitic unicellular, and even small multicellular, eukaryotes) that exclusively rely on fermentation for energy generation have evolved repeatedly from aerobic ancestors. How do fermenting eukaryotes maintain their cell volumes and complexity while relying on such a low energy-yielding process? Here I propose that reduced rates of ATP generation in fermenting versus respiring eukaryotes are compensated for by longer cell cycles that satisfy lifetime energy demands. A literature survey and growth efficiency calculations show that fermenting eukaryotes divide approximately four to six times slower than aerobically respiring counterparts with similar cell volumes. Although ecological advantages such as competition avoidance offset lower growth rates and yields in the short term, fermenting eukaryotes inevitably have fewer physiological and ecological possibilities, which ultimately constrain their long-term evolutionary trajectories.},
}

@article {pmid36636864,
year = {2023},
author = {Achatz, TJ and Von Holten, ZS and Kipp, JW and Fecchio, A and LaFond, LR and Greiman, SE and Martens, JR and Tkach, VV},
title = {Phylogenetic relationships and further unknown diversity of diplostomids (Diplostomida: Diplostomidae) parasitic in kingfishers.},
journal = {Journal of helminthology},
volume = {97},
number = {},
pages = {e8},
doi = {10.1017/S0022149X22000852},
pmid = {36636864},
issn = {1475-2697},
support = {P20GM103442/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/United States ; },
mesh = {Animals ; Phylogeny ; *Trematoda ; Fishes/parasitology ; Mitochondria ; Brazil ; },
abstract = {Kingfishers (Alcedinidae Rafinesque) are common inhabitants of wetlands and are known to be definitive hosts to a wide range of digeneans that parasitize fish as second intermediate hosts. Among these digeneans, members of the Diplostomidae Poirier, 1886 (diplostomids) are particularly common. Recent studies of diplostomids collected from kingfishers have revealed that they are probably more diverse than currently known. This particularly concerns the genera Crassiphiala Van Haitsma, 1925 and Uvulifer Yamaguti, 1934. In the present work, we studied seven diplostomid taxa from kingfishers in Brazil, the USA and the Philippines. Partial DNA sequences of the nuclear large ribosomal subunit (28S) and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (cox1) genes were obtained, and 28S sequences were used to study the phylogenetic interrelationships of these diplostomids. We provide the first DNA sequences from Uvulifer semicircumcisus Dubois et Rausch, 1950 and a member of Subuvulifer Dubois, 1952. Pseudocrassiphiala n. gen. is erected for a previously recognized species-level lineage of Crassiphiala and a new generic diagnosis of Crassiphiala is provided. Crassiphiala jeffreybelli n. sp., Crassiphiala wecksteini n. sp. and Pseudocrassiphiala tulipifera n. sp. are described, and a description of newly collected, high-quality specimens of Crassiphiala bulboglossa Van Haitsma, 1925 (the type-species of the genus) is provided.},
}

Animals
Phylogeny
*Trematoda
Fishes/parasitology
Mitochondria
Brazil

@article {pmid36634115,
year = {2023},
author = {Rossitto De Marchi, B and Gama, AB and Smith, HA},
title = {Evidence of the association between the Q2 mitochondrial group of Bemisia tabaci MED species (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) and low competitive displacement capability.},
journal = {PloS one},
volume = {18},
number = {1},
pages = {e0280002},
pmid = {36634115},
issn = {1932-6203},
mesh = {Animals ; Phylogeny ; *Hemiptera/genetics ; Mitochondria/genetics ; Food ; Florida ; },
abstract = {The whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), is one of the most serious agricultural pests worldwide. Bemisia tabaci is a cryptic species complex of more than 40 species among which the invasive MEAM1 and MED species are the most widespread and economically important. Both MEAM1 and MED present intraspecific genetic variability and some haplotypes are reported to be more invasive than others. MED can be further deconstructed into different genetic groups, including MED-Q1 and MED-Q2. However, distinct biological phenotypes discerning the different MED mitochondrial haplotypes are yet to be characterized. Competitive displacement and life-history trials were carried out between MED-Q2 and MEAM1 populations collected in Florida, USA. In addition, a phylogenetic analysis was carried out including populations from previous whitefly competitive displacement studies for identification and comparison of the MED mitochondrial groups. In contrast to other studies with MED-Q1, the MED-Q2 population from Florida is less likely to displace MEAM1 on pepper. In addition, both pepper and watermelon were a more favorable host to MEAM1 compared to MED-Q2 according to the life history trials.},
}

Animals
Phylogeny
*Hemiptera/genetics
Mitochondria/genetics
Food
Florida

@article {pmid35860045,
year = {2022},
author = {Jamaludin, NA and Jamaluddin, JAF and Rahim, MA and Mohammed Akib, NA and Ratmuangkhwang, S and Mohd Arshaad, W and Mohd Nor, SA},
title = {Mitochondrial marker implies fishery separate management units for spotted sardinella, Amblygaster sirm (Walbaum, 1792) populations in the South China Sea and the Andaman Sea.},
journal = {PeerJ},
volume = {10},
number = {},
pages = {e13706},
pmid = {35860045},
issn = {2167-8359},
mesh = {Animals ; Phylogeny ; *Fisheries ; *Conservation of Natural Resources ; Mitochondria/genetics ; Fishes/genetics ; China ; },
abstract = {The spotted sardinella, Amblygaster sirm (Walbaum, 1792), is a commercial sardine commonly caught in Malaysia. Lack of management of these marine species in Malaysian waters could lead to overfishing and potentially declining fish stock populations. Therefore, sustainable management of this species is of paramount importance to ensure its longevity. As such, molecular information is vital in determining the A. sirm population structure and management strategy. In the present study, mitochondrial DNA Cytochrome b was sequenced from 10 A. sirm populations: the Andaman Sea (AS) (two), South China Sea (SCS) (six), Sulu Sea (SS) (one), and Celebes Sea (CS) (one). Accordingly, the intra-population haplotype diversity (Hd) was high (0.91-1.00), and nucleotide diversity (π) was low (0.002-0.009), which suggests a population bottleneck followed by rapid population growth. Based on the phylogenetic trees, minimum spanning network (MSN), population pairwise comparison, and F ST,and supported by analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) and spatial analysis of molecular variance (SAMOVA) tests, distinct genetic structures were observed (7.2% to 7.6% genetic divergence) between populations in the SCS and its neighboring waters, versus those in the AS. Furthermore, the results defined A. sirm stock boundaries and evolutionary between the west and east coast (which shares the same waters as western Borneo) of Peninsular Malaysia. In addition, genetic homogeneity was revealed throughout the SCS, SS, and CS based on the non-significant F STpairwise comparisons. Based on the molecular evidence, separate management strategies may be required for A. sirm of the AS and the SCS, including its neighboring waters.},
}

Animals
Phylogeny
*Fisheries
*Conservation of Natural Resources
Mitochondria/genetics
Fishes/genetics
China

@article {pmid36634192,
year = {2023},
author = {Osipova, E and Barsacchi, R and Brown, T and Sadanandan, K and Gaede, AH and Monte, A and Jarrells, J and Moebius, C and Pippel, M and Altshuler, DL and Winkler, S and Bickle, M and Baldwin, MW and Hiller, M},
title = {Loss of a gluconeogenic muscle enzyme contributed to adaptive metabolic traits in hummingbirds.},
journal = {Science (New York, N.Y.)},
volume = {379},
number = {6628},
pages = {185-190},
doi = {10.1126/science.abn7050},
pmid = {36634192},
issn = {1095-9203},
abstract = {Hummingbirds possess distinct metabolic adaptations to fuel their energy-demanding hovering flight, but the underlying genomic changes are largely unknown. Here, we generated a chromosome-level genome assembly of the long-tailed hermit and screened for genes that have been specifically inactivated in the ancestral hummingbird lineage. We discovered that FBP2 (fructose-bisphosphatase 2), which encodes a gluconeogenic muscle enzyme, was lost during a time period when hovering flight evolved. We show that FBP2 knockdown in an avian muscle cell line up-regulates glycolysis and enhances mitochondrial respiration, coincident with an increased mitochondria number. Furthermore, genes involved in mitochondrial respiration and organization have up-regulated expression in hummingbird flight muscle. Together, these results suggest that FBP2 loss was likely a key step in the evolution of metabolic muscle adaptations required for true hovering flight.},
}

@article {pmid36632145,
year = {2023},
author = {Borges, DGF and Carvalho, DS and Bomfim, GC and Ramos, PIP and Brzozowski, J and Góes-Neto, A and Andrade, R and El-Hani, C},
title = {On the origin of mitochondria: a multilayer network approach.},
journal = {PeerJ},
volume = {11},
number = {},
pages = {e14571},
pmid = {36632145},
issn = {2167-8359},
abstract = {BACKGOUND: The endosymbiotic theory is widely accepted to explain the origin of mitochondria from a bacterial ancestor. While ample evidence supports the intimate connection of Alphaproteobacteria to the mitochondrial ancestor, pinpointing its closest relative within sampled Alphaproteobacteria is still an open evolutionary debate. Many different phylogenetic methods and approaches have been used to answer this challenging question, further compounded by the heterogeneity of sampled taxa, varying evolutionary rates of mitochondrial proteins, and the inherent biases in each method, all factors that can produce phylogenetic artifacts. By harnessing the simplicity and interpretability of protein similarity networks, herein we re-evaluated the origin of mitochondria within an enhanced multilayer framework, which is an extension and improvement of a previously developed method.

METHODS: We used a dataset of eight proteins found in mitochondria (N = 6 organisms) and bacteria (N = 80 organisms). The sequences were aligned and resulting identity matrices were combined to generate an eight-layer multiplex network. Each layer corresponded to a protein network, where nodes represented organisms and edges were placed following mutual sequence identity. The Multi-Newman-Girvan algorithm was applied to evaluate community structure, and bifurcation events linked to network partition allowed to trace patterns of divergence between studied taxa.

RESULTS: In our network-based analysis, we first examined the topology of the 8-layer multiplex when mitochondrial sequences disconnected from the main alphaproteobacterial cluster. The resulting topology lent firm support toward an Alphaproteobacteria-sister placement for mitochondria, reinforcing the hypothesis that mitochondria diverged from the common ancestor of all Alphaproteobacteria. Additionally, we observed that the divergence of Rickettsiales was an early event in the evolutionary history of alphaproteobacterial clades.

CONCLUSION: By leveraging complex networks methods to the challenging question of circumscribing mitochondrial origin, we suggest that the entire Alphaproteobacteria clade is the closest relative to mitochondria (Alphaproteobacterial-sister hypothesis), echoing recent findings based on different datasets and methodologies.},
}

@article {pmid36463410,
year = {2023},
author = {Krynická, V and Skotnicová, P and Jackson, PJ and Barnett, S and Yu, J and Wysocka, A and Kaňa, R and Dickman, MJ and Nixon, PJ and Hunter, CN and Komenda, J},
title = {FtsH4 protease controls biogenesis of the PSII complex by dual regulation of high light-inducible proteins.},
journal = {Plant communications},
volume = {4},
number = {1},
pages = {100502},
doi = {10.1016/j.xplc.2022.100502},
pmid = {36463410},
issn = {2590-3462},
mesh = {Peptide Hydrolases ; Photosystem II Protein Complex/genetics/metabolism ; Phylogeny ; Thylakoids/metabolism ; Chloroplasts/metabolism ; *Arabidopsis/genetics/metabolism ; *Synechocystis/genetics/metabolism ; *Arabidopsis Proteins/genetics/metabolism ; Metalloproteases/genetics/metabolism ; },
abstract = {FtsH proteases are membrane-embedded proteolytic complexes important for protein quality control and regulation of various physiological processes in bacteria, mitochondria, and chloroplasts. Like most cyanobacteria, the model species Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 contains four FtsH homologs, FtsH1-FtsH4. FtsH1-FtsH3 form two hetero-oligomeric complexes, FtsH1/3 and FtsH2/3, which play a pivotal role in acclimation to nutrient deficiency and photosystem II quality control, respectively. FtsH4 differs from the other three homologs by the formation of a homo-oligomeric complex, and together with Arabidopsis thaliana AtFtsH7/9 orthologs, it has been assigned to another phylogenetic group of unknown function. Our results exclude the possibility that Synechocystis FtsH4 structurally or functionally substitutes for the missing or non-functional FtsH2 subunit in the FtsH2/3 complex. Instead, we demonstrate that FtsH4 is involved in the biogenesis of photosystem II by dual regulation of high light-inducible proteins (Hlips). FtsH4 positively regulates expression of Hlips shortly after high light exposure but is also responsible for Hlip removal under conditions when their elevated levels are no longer needed. We provide experimental support for Hlips as proteolytic substrates of FtsH4. Fluorescent labeling of FtsH4 enabled us to assess its localization using advanced microscopic techniques. Results show that FtsH4 complexes are concentrated in well-defined membrane regions at the inner and outer periphery of the thylakoid system. Based on the identification of proteins that co-purified with the tagged FtsH4, we speculate that FtsH4 concentrates in special compartments in which the biogenesis of photosynthetic complexes takes place.},
}

Peptide Hydrolases
Photosystem II Protein Complex/genetics/metabolism
Phylogeny
Thylakoids/metabolism
Chloroplasts/metabolism
*Arabidopsis/genetics/metabolism
*Synechocystis/genetics/metabolism
*Arabidopsis Proteins/genetics/metabolism
Metalloproteases/genetics/metabolism

@article {pmid35808858,
year = {2023},
author = {Cassidy-Hanley, DM and Doerder, FP and Hossain, M and Devine, C and Clark, T},
title = {Molecular identification of Tetrahymena species.},
journal = {The Journal of eukaryotic microbiology},
volume = {70},
number = {1},
pages = {e12936},
pmid = {35808858},
issn = {1550-7408},
support = {P40 OD010964/OD/NIH HHS/United States ; P40 OD010964/NH/NIH HHS/United States ; },
mesh = {*Tetrahymena/genetics ; Mitochondria/genetics ; DNA, Intergenic/genetics ; Phylogeny ; },
abstract = {Mitochondrial cox1 689 bp barcodes are routinely used for identification of Tetrahymena species. Here, we examine whether two shorter nuclear sequences, the 5.8S rRNA gene region and the intergenic region between H3 and H4 histone genes, might also be useful either singly or in combination with each other or cox1. We obtained sequences from ~300 wild isolates deposited at the Tetrahymena Stock Center and analyzed additional sequences obtained from GenBank. The 5.8S rRNA gene and portions of its transcribed flanks identify isolates as to their major clade and uniquely identify some, but not all, species. The ~330 bp H3/H4 intergenic region possesses low intraspecific variability and is unique for most species. However, it fails to distinguish between two pairs of common species and their rarer counterparts, and its use is complicated by the presence of duplicate genes in some species. The results show that while the cox1 sequence is the best single marker for Tetrahymena species identification, 5.8S rRNA, and the H3/H4 intergenic regions sequences are useful, singly or in combination, to confirm cox1 species assignments or as part of a preliminary survey of newly collected Tetrahymena. From our newly collected isolates, the results extend the biogeographical range of T. shanghaiensis and T. malaccensis and identify a new species, Tetrahymena arleneae n. sp. herein described.},
}

*Tetrahymena/genetics
Mitochondria/genetics
DNA, Intergenic/genetics
Phylogeny

@article {pmid35497189,
year = {2022},
author = {Chen, Z and Schrödl, M},
title = {How many single-copy orthologous genes from whole genomes reveal deep gastropod relationships?.},
journal = {PeerJ},
volume = {10},
number = {},
pages = {e13285},
pmid = {35497189},
issn = {2167-8359},
mesh = {Animals ; *Gastropoda/genetics ; Phylogeny ; Mollusca ; Genome/genetics ; Transcriptome ; },
abstract = {The Gastropoda contains 80% of existing mollusks and is the most diverse animal class second only to the Insecta. However, the deep phylogeny of gastropods has been controversial for a long time. Especially the position of Patellogastropoda is a major uncertainty. Morphology and some mitochondria studies concluded that Patellogastropoda is likely to be sister to all other gastropods (Orthogastropoda hypothesis), while transcriptomic and other mitogenomic studies indicated that Patellogastropoda and Vetigastropoda are sister taxa (Psilogastropoda). With the release of high-quality genomes, orthologous genes can be better identified and serve as powerful candidates for phylogenetic analysis. The question is, given the current limitations on the taxon sampling side, how many markers are needed to provide robust results. Here, we identified single-copy orthologous genes (SOGs) from 14 gastropods species with whole genomes available which cover five main gastropod subclasses. We generated different datasets from 395 to 1610 SOGs by allowing species missing in different levels. We constructed gene trees of each SOG, and inferred species trees from different collections of gene trees. We found as the number of SOGs increased, the inferred topology changed from Patellogastropoda being sister to all other gastropods to Patellogastropoda being sister to Vetigastropoda + Neomphalina (Psilogastropoda s.l.), with considerable support. Our study thus rejects the Orthogastropoda concept showing that the selection of the representative species and use of sufficient informative sites greatly influence the analysis of deep gastropod phylogeny.},
}

Animals
*Gastropoda/genetics
Phylogeny
Mollusca
Genome/genetics
Transcriptome

@article {pmid36629021,
year = {2023},
author = {Fang, YK and Vaitová, Z and Hampl, V},
title = {A mitochondrion-free eukaryote contains proteins capable of import into an exogenous mitochondrion-related organelle.},
journal = {Open biology},
volume = {13},
number = {1},
pages = {220238},
doi = {10.1098/rsob.220238},
pmid = {36629021},
issn = {2046-2441},
abstract = {The endobiotic flagellate Monocercomonoides exilis is the only known eukaryote to have lost mitochondria and all its associated proteins in its evolutionary past. This final stage of the mitochondrial evolutionary pathway may serve as a model to explain events at their very beginning such as the initiation of protein import. We have assessed the capability of proteins from this eukaryote to enter emerging mitochondria using a specifically designed in vitro assay. Hydrogenosomes (reduced mitochondria) of Trichomonas vaginalis were incubated with a soluble protein pool derived from a cytosolic fraction of M. exilis, and proteins entering hydrogenosomes were subsequently detected by mass spectrometry. The assay detected 19 specifically and reproducibly imported proteins, and in 14 cases the import was confirmed by the overexpression of their tagged version in T. vaginalis. In most cases, only a small portion of the signal reached the hydrogenosomes, suggesting specific but inefficient transport. Most of these proteins represent enzymes of carbon metabolism, and none exhibited clear signatures of proteins targeted to hydrogenosomes or mitochondria, which is consistent with their inefficient import. The observed phenomenon may resemble a primaeval type of protein import which might play a role in the establishment of the organelle and shaping of its proteome in the initial stages of endosymbiosis.},
}

@article {pmid36351770,
year = {2022},
author = {Hénault, M and Marsit, S and Charron, G and Landry, CR},
title = {Hybridization drives mitochondrial DNA degeneration and metabolic shift in a species with biparental mitochondrial inheritance.},
journal = {Genome research},
volume = {32},
number = {11-12},
pages = {2043-2056},
doi = {10.1101/gr.276885.122},
pmid = {36351770},
issn = {1549-5469},
mesh = {Animals ; *DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics ; *Genes, Mitochondrial ; Mitochondria/genetics ; Hybridization, Genetic ; Genotype ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae/genetics ; },
abstract = {Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a cytoplasmic genome that is essential for respiratory metabolism. Although uniparental mtDNA inheritance is most common in animals and plants, distinct mtDNA haplotypes can coexist in a state of heteroplasmy, either because of paternal leakage or de novo mutations. mtDNA integrity and the resolution of heteroplasmy have important implications, notably for mitochondrial genetic disorders, speciation, and genome evolution in hybrids. However, the impact of genetic variation on the transition to homoplasmy from initially heteroplasmic backgrounds remains largely unknown. Here, we use Saccharomyces yeasts, fungi with constitutive biparental mtDNA inheritance, to investigate the resolution of mtDNA heteroplasmy in a variety of hybrid genotypes. We previously designed 11 crosses along a gradient of parental evolutionary divergence using undomesticated isolates of Saccharomyces paradoxus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae Each cross was independently replicated 48 to 96 times, and the resulting 864 hybrids were evolved under relaxed selection for mitochondrial function. Genome sequencing of 446 MA lines revealed extensive mtDNA recombination, but the recombination rate was not predicted by parental divergence level. We found a strong positive relationship between parental divergence and the rate of large-scale mtDNA deletions, which led to the loss of respiratory metabolism. We also uncovered associations between mtDNA recombination, mtDNA deletion, and genome instability that were genotype specific. Our results show that hybridization in yeast induces mtDNA degeneration through large-scale deletion and loss of function, with deep consequences for mtDNA evolution, metabolism, and the emergence of reproductive isolation.},
}

Animals
*DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics
*Genes, Mitochondrial
Mitochondria/genetics
Hybridization, Genetic
Genotype
Saccharomyces cerevisiae/genetics

@article {pmid35480563,
year = {2022},
author = {Di-Nizo, CB and Suárez-Villota, EY and Silva, MJJ},
title = {Species limits and recent diversification of Cerradomys (Sigmodontinae: Oryzomyini) during the Pleistocene.},
journal = {PeerJ},
volume = {10},
number = {},
pages = {e13011},
pmid = {35480563},
issn = {2167-8359},
mesh = {Animals ; *Sigmodontinae ; Phylogeny ; *Biological Evolution ; Mitochondria ; South America ; },
abstract = {Cerradomys is a genus of the tribe Oryzomyini with eight species currently recognized, and a controversial taxonomy. These species are mainly distributed in the South America dry diagonal, but some species extend into Atlantic Forest, reaching the coastal sandy plains known as Restingas. This study aimed to address species limits and patterns of diversification of Cerradomys species. For this purpose, we performed cytogenetic and molecular analyses (phylogeny, coalescent species delimitation, barcoding, and divergence times estimation) using multiple mitochondrial and nuclear markers on a comprehensive sampling, representing all nominal taxa reported so far. Chromosomal information was a robust marker recognizing eight Cerradomys species. Reciprocal monophyly was recovered for all the species, except for C. subflavus. These results together with coalescent analyses recovered eight species as the most congruent species delimitation scenario for the genus (mean C tax : 0.72). Divergence time estimates revealed that Cerradomys' diversification occurred about 1.32 million years ago (Mya) during the Pleistocene. Although our results conservatively support the eight Cerradomys species described so far, different lines of evidence suggest that C. langguthi and C. subflavus could potentially be species-complexes. We discussed this scenario in the light of multiple evolutionary processes within and between species and populations, since Cerradomys comprises a species group with recent diversification affected by Pleistocene climatic changes and by the complex biogeographic history of South America dry diagonal. This work supports that the diversity of Cerradomys is underestimated and reiterates that interdisciplinary approaches are mandatory to identify small rodent species properly, and to unhide cryptic species.},
}

Animals
*Sigmodontinae
Phylogeny
*Biological Evolution
Mitochondria
South America

@article {pmid36463372,
year = {2023},
author = {Nikelski, E and Rubtsov, AS and Irwin, D},
title = {High heterogeneity in genomic differentiation between phenotypically divergent songbirds: a test of mitonuclear co-introgression.},
journal = {Heredity},
volume = {130},
number = {1},
pages = {1-13},
pmid = {36463372},
issn = {1365-2540},
mesh = {Animals ; *Songbirds/genetics ; Genome ; Genomics ; DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics ; Mitochondria/genetics ; Phylogeny ; },
abstract = {Comparisons of genomic variation among closely related species often show more differentiation in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and sex chromosomes than in autosomes, a pattern expected due to the differing effective population sizes and evolutionary dynamics of these genomic components. Yet, introgression can cause species pairs to deviate dramatically from general differentiation trends. The yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) and pine bunting (E. leucocephalos) are hybridizing avian sister species that differ greatly in appearance and moderately in nuclear DNA, but that show no mtDNA differentiation. This discordance is best explained by adaptive mtDNA introgression-a process that can select for co-introgression at nuclear genes with mitochondrial functions (mitonuclear genes). To better understand these discordant differentiation patterns and characterize nuclear differentiation in this system, we investigated genome-wide differentiation between allopatric yellowhammers and pine buntings and compared it to what was seen previously in mtDNA. We found significant nuclear differentiation that was highly heterogeneous across the genome, with a particularly wide differentiation peak on the sex chromosome Z. We further investigated mitonuclear gene co-introgression between yellowhammers and pine buntings and found support for this process in the direction of pine buntings into yellowhammers. Genomic signals indicative of co-introgression were common in mitonuclear genes coding for subunits of the mitoribosome and electron transport chain complexes. Such introgression of mitochondrial DNA and mitonuclear genes provides a possible explanation for the patterns of high genomic heterogeneity in genomic differentiation seen among some species groups.},
}

Animals
*Songbirds/genetics
Genome
Genomics
DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics
Mitochondria/genetics
Phylogeny

@article {pmid36613565,
year = {2022},
author = {Bottoni, P and Gionta, G and Scatena, R},
title = {Remarks on Mitochondrial Myopathies.},
journal = {International journal of molecular sciences},
volume = {24},
number = {1},
pages = {},
doi = {10.3390/ijms24010124},
pmid = {36613565},
issn = {1422-0067},
abstract = {Mitochondrial myopathies represent a heterogeneous group of diseases caused mainly by genetic mutations to proteins that are related to mitochondrial oxidative metabolism. Meanwhile, a similar etiopathogenetic mechanism (i.e., a deranged oxidative phosphorylation and a dramatic reduction of ATP synthesis) reveals that the evolution of these myopathies show significant differences. However, some physiological and pathophysiological aspects of mitochondria often reveal other potential molecular mechanisms that could have a significant pathogenetic role in the clinical evolution of these disorders, such as: i. a deranged ROS production both in term of signaling and in terms of damaging molecules; ii. the severe modifications of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)+/NADH, pyruvate/lactate, and α-ketoglutarate (α-KG)/2- hydroxyglutarate (2-HG) ratios. A better definition of the molecular mechanisms at the basis of their pathogenesis could improve not only the clinical approach in terms of diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy of these myopathies but also deepen the knowledge of mitochondrial medicine in general.},
}

@article {pmid36610569,
year = {2023},
author = {Ji, X and Tian, Y and Liu, W and Lin, C and He, F and Yang, J and Miao, W and Li, Z},
title = {Mitochondrial characteristics of the powdery mildew genus Erysiphe revealed an extraordinary evolution in protein-coding genes.},
journal = {International journal of biological macromolecules},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {123153},
doi = {10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.123153},
pmid = {36610569},
issn = {1879-0003},
abstract = {The genus Erysiphe was an obligate parasite causing powdery mildew disease on a wide range of higher plants. However, the knowledge of their mitogenome architecture for lifestyle adaptability was scarce. Here, we assembled the first complete mitogenome (190,559 bp in size) for rubber tree powdery mildew pathogen Erysiphe quercicola. Comparable analysis of the Erysiphe mitogenomes exhibited conserved gene content, genome organization and codon usage bias, but extensive dynamic intron gain/loss events were presented between Erysiphe species. The phylogeny of the Ascomycota species constructed in the phylogenetic analysis showed genetic divergences of the Erysiphe species. Compared with other distant saprophytic and plant pathogenic fungi, Erysiphe had a flat distribution of evolutionary pressures on fungal standard protein-coding genes (PCGs). The Erysiphe PCGs had the highest mean selection pressure. In particular, Erysiphe's cox1, nad1, cob and rps3 genes had the most elevated selection pressures among corresponding PCGs across fungal genera. Altogether, the investigations provided a novel insight into the potential evolutionary pattern of the genus Erysiphe to adapt obligate biotrophic lifestyle and promoted the understanding of the high plasticity and population evolution of fungal mitogenomes.},
}

@article {pmid36605953,
year = {2022},
author = {Wu, CS and Chen, CI and Chaw, SM},
title = {Plastid phylogenomics and plastome evolution in the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae).},
journal = {Frontiers in plant science},
volume = {13},
number = {},
pages = {1061174},
pmid = {36605953},
issn = {1664-462X},
abstract = {Convolvulaceae, the morning glories or bindweeds, is a large family containing species of economic value, including crops, traditional medicines, ornamentals, and vegetables. However, not only are the phylogenetic relationships within this group still debated at the intertribal and intergeneric levels, but also plastid genome (plastome) complexity within Convolvulaceae is not well surveyed. We gathered 78 plastomes representing 17 genera across nine of the 12 Convolvulaceae tribes. Our plastid phylogenomic trees confirm the monophyly of Convolvulaceae, place the genus Jacquemontia within the subfamily Dicranostyloideae, and suggest that the tribe Merremieae is paraphyletic. In contrast, positions of the two genera Cuscuta and Erycibe are uncertain as the bootstrap support of the branches leading to them is moderate to weak. We show that nucleotide substitution rates are extremely variable among Convolvulaceae taxa and likely responsible for the topological uncertainty. Numerous plastomic rearrangements are detected in Convolvulaceae, including inversions, duplications, contraction and expansion of inverted repeats (IRs), and losses of genes and introns. Moreover, integrated foreign DNA of mitochondrial origin was found in the Jacquemontia plastome, adding a rare example of gene transfer from mitochondria to plastids in angiosperms. In the IR of Dichondra, we discovered an extra copy of rpl16 containing a direct repeat of ca. 200 bp long. This repeat was experimentally demonstrated to trigger effective homologous recombination, resulting in the coexistence of intron-containing and -lacking rpl16 duplicates. Therefore, we propose a hypothetical model to interpret intron loss accompanied by invasion of direct repeats at appropriate positions. Our model complements the intron loss model driven by retroprocessing when genes have lost introns but contain abundant RNA editing sites adjacent to former splicing sites.},
}

@article {pmid36605941,
year = {2022},
author = {Locatelli, AG and Cenci, S},
title = {Autophagy and longevity: Evolutionary hints from hyper-longevous mammals.},
journal = {Frontiers in endocrinology},
volume = {13},
number = {},
pages = {1085522},
pmid = {36605941},
issn = {1664-2392},
abstract = {Autophagy is a fundamental multi-tasking adaptive cellular degradation and recycling strategy. Following its causal implication in age-related decline, autophagy is currently among the most broadly studied and challenged mechanisms within aging research. Thanks to these efforts, new cellular nodes interconnected with this phylogenetically ancestral pathway and unexpected roles of autophagy-associated genetic products are unveiled daily, yet the history of functional adaptations of autophagy along its evolutive trail is poorly understood and documented. Autophagy is traditionally studied in canonical and research-wise convenient model organisms such as yeast and mice. However, unconventional animal models endowed with extended longevity and exemption from age-related diseases offer a privileged perspective to inquire into the role of autophagy in the evolution of longevity. In this mini review we retrace the appearance and functions evolved by autophagy in eukaryotic cells and its protective contribution in the pathophysiology of aging.},
}

@article {pmid35187492,
year = {2022},
author = {Juhaszova, M and Kobrinsky, E and Zorov, DB and Nuss, HB and Yaniv, Y and Fishbein, KW and de Cabo, R and Montoliu, L and Gabelli, SB and Aon, MA and Cortassa, S and Sollott, SJ},
title = {ATP Synthase K[+]- and H[+]-fluxes Drive ATP Synthesis and Enable Mitochondrial K[+]-"Uniporter" Function: II. Ion and ATP Synthase Flux Regulation.},
journal = {Function (Oxford, England)},
volume = {3},
number = {2},
pages = {zqac001},
pmid = {35187492},
issn = {2633-8823},
mesh = {Bayes Theorem ; Myeloid Cell Leukemia Sequence 1 Protein/metabolism ; Phylogeny ; *Mitochondrial Proton-Translocating ATPases/genetics ; *Mitochondria/metabolism ; Adenosine Triphosphate/metabolism ; },
abstract = {We demonstrated that ATP synthase serves the functions of a primary mitochondrial K[+] "uniporter," i.e., the primary way for K[+] to enter mitochondria. This K[+] entry is proportional to ATP synthesis, regulating matrix volume and energy supply-vs-demand matching. We show that ATP synthase can be upregulated by endogenous survival-related proteins via IF1. We identified a conserved BH3-like domain of IF1 which overlaps its "minimal inhibitory domain" that binds to the β-subunit of F1. Bcl-xL and Mcl-1 possess a BH3-binding-groove that can engage IF1 and exert effects, requiring this interaction, comparable to diazoxide to augment ATP synthase's H[+] and K[+] flux and ATP synthesis. Bcl-xL and Mcl-1, but not Bcl-2, serve as endogenous regulatory ligands of ATP synthase via interaction with IF1 at this BH3-like domain, to increase its chemo-mechanical efficiency, enabling its function as the recruitable mitochondrial KATP-channel that can limit ischemia-reperfusion injury. Using Bayesian phylogenetic analysis to examine potential bacterial IF1-progenitors, we found that IF1 is likely an ancient (∼2 Gya) Bcl-family member that evolved from primordial bacteria resident in eukaryotes, corresponding to their putative emergence as symbiotic mitochondria, and functioning to prevent their parasitic ATP consumption inside the host cell.},
}

Bayes Theorem
Myeloid Cell Leukemia Sequence 1 Protein/metabolism
Phylogeny
*Mitochondrial Proton-Translocating ATPases/genetics
*Mitochondria/metabolism
Adenosine Triphosphate/metabolism

@article {pmid35111395,
year = {2022},
author = {Yuan, Z and Jiang, W and Sha, Z},
title = {A review of the common crab genus Macromedaeus Ward, 1942 (Brachyura, Xanthidae) from China Seas with description of a new species using integrative taxonomy methods.},
journal = {PeerJ},
volume = {10},
number = {},
pages = {e12735},
pmid = {35111395},
issn = {2167-8359},
mesh = {Animals ; Male ; *Brachyura/anatomy & histology ; Phylogeny ; Oceans and Seas ; Mitochondria ; China ; },
abstract = {Macromedaeus is one of the most common xanthid genera in shallow waters of the Indo-West Pacific. In this study, we describe a new species, Macromedaeus hainanensis sp. nov., and report on two newly recorded species, M. quinquedentatus (Krauss, 1843) and M. orientalis (Takeda & Miyake, 1969) from Hainan Island, South China Sea. M. hainanensis is most related to M. distinguendus (De Haan, 1833-1850) and M. orientalis on the carapace shape and granular appearance, but can be distinguished by unique morphological characteristics especially its front, pereopods and male first gonopod. Taxonomic identities of the six Macromedaeus species recorded from China seas are discussed, and a phylogenetic analyzation is performed on Macromedaeus and related taxa based on three mitochondrial and two nuclear markers (12S, 16S, COI, H3, 18S). Integrated taxonomic evidence is used to support the taxonomic status of each species.},
}

Animals
Male
*Brachyura/anatomy & histology
Phylogeny
Oceans and Seas
Mitochondria
China

@article {pmid36403761,
year = {2023},
author = {Shi, F and Yu, T and Xu, Y and Zhang, S and Niu, Y and Ge, S and Tao, J and Zong, S},
title = {Comparative mitochondrial genomic analysis provides new insights into the evolution of the subfamily Lamiinae (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae).},
journal = {International journal of biological macromolecules},
volume = {225},
number = {},
pages = {634-647},
doi = {10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.11.125},
pmid = {36403761},
issn = {1879-0003},
mesh = {Animals ; *Coleoptera/genetics ; Phylogeny ; Mitochondria/genetics ; RNA, Transfer/genetics ; Genomics ; },
abstract = {The genus Monochamus within the subfamily Lamiinae is the main vector of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, which causes pine wilt disease and induces substantial economic and ecological losses. Only three complete mitochondrial genomes of the genus Monochamus have been sequenced to date, and no comparative mitochondrial genomic studies of Lamiinae have been conducted. Here, the mitochondrial genomes of two Monochamus species, M. saltuarius and M. urussovi, were newly sequenced and annotated. The composition and order of genes in the mitochondrial genomes of Monochamus species are conserved. All transfer RNAs exhibit the typical clover-leaf secondary structure, with the exception of trnS1. Similar to other longhorn beetles, Lamiinae mitochondrial genomes have an A + T bias. All 13 protein-coding genes have experienced purifying selection, and tandem repeat sequences are abundant in the A + T-rich region. Phylogenetic analyses revealed congruent topologies among trees inferred from the five datasets, with the monophyly of Acanthocinini, Agapanthiini, Batocerini, Dorcaschematini, Pteropliini, and Saperdini receiving high support. The findings of this study enhance our understanding of mitochondrial genome evolution and will provide a basis for future studies of population genetics and phylogenetic investigations in this group.},
}

Animals
*Coleoptera/genetics
Phylogeny
Mitochondria/genetics
RNA, Transfer/genetics
Genomics

@article {pmid36470482,
year = {2023},
author = {Liu, J and Ni, Y and Liu, C},
title = {Polymeric structure of the Cannabis sativa L. mitochondrial genome identified with an assembly graph model.},
journal = {Gene},
volume = {853},
number = {},
pages = {147081},
doi = {10.1016/j.gene.2022.147081},
pmid = {36470482},
issn = {1879-0038},
mesh = {*Genome, Mitochondrial/genetics ; *Cannabis/genetics ; Plant Breeding ; *Genome, Chloroplast ; Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid ; DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics ; Phylogeny ; Evolution, Molecular ; },
abstract = {Cannabis sativa L. belongs to the family Cannabaceae in Rosales. It has been widely used as medicines, building materials, and textiles. Elucidating its genome is critical for molecular breeding and synthetic biology study. Many studies have shown that the mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) and even chloroplast genomes (plastomes) had complex polymeric structures. Using the Nanopore sequencing platform, we sequenced, assembled, and analyzed its mitogenome and plastome. The resulting unitig graph suggested that the mitogenome had a complex polymeric structure. However, a gap-free, circular sequence was further assembled from the unitig graph. In contrast, a circular sequence representing the plastome was obtained. The mitogenome major conformation was 415,837 bp long, and the plastome was 153,927 bp long. To test if the repeat sequences promote recombination, which corresponds to the branch points in the structure, we tested the sequences around repeats by long-read mapping. Among 208 pairs of predicted repeats, the mapping results supported the presence of cross-over around 25 pairs of repeats. Subsequent PCR amplification confirmed the presence of cross-over around 15 of the 25 repeats. By comparing the mitogenome and plastome sequences, we identified 19 mitochondria plastid DNAs, including seven complete genes (trnW-CCA, trnP-UGG, psbJ, trnN-GUU, trnD-GUC, trnH-GUG, trnM-CAU) and nine gene fragments. Furthermore, the selective pressure analysis results showed that five genes (atp1, ccmB, ccmC, cox1, nad7) had 19 positively selected sites. Lastly, we predicted 28 RNA editing sites. A total of 8 RNA editing sites located in the coding regions were successfully validated by PCR amplification and Sanger sequencing, of which four were synonymous, and four were nonsynonymous. In particular, the RNA editing events appeared to be tissue-specific in C. sativa mitogenome. In summary, we have confirmed the major confirmation of C. sativa mitogenome and characterized its structural features in detail. These results provide critical information for future variety breeding and resource development for C. sativa.},
}

*Genome, Mitochondrial/genetics
*Cannabis/genetics
Plant Breeding
*Genome, Chloroplast
Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid
DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics
Phylogeny
Evolution, Molecular

@article {pmid36574824,
year = {2022},
author = {Baião, GC and Schneider, DI and Miller, WJ and Klasson, L},
title = {Multiple introgressions shape mitochondrial evolutionary history in Drosophila paulistorum and the Drosophila willistoni group.},
journal = {Molecular phylogenetics and evolution},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {107683},
doi = {10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107683},
pmid = {36574824},
issn = {1095-9513},
abstract = {Hybridization and the consequent introgression of genomic elements is an important source of genetic diversity for biological lineages. This is particularly evident in young clades in which hybrid incompatibilities are still incomplete and mixing between species is more likely to occur. Drosophila paulistorum, a representative of the Neotropical Drosophila willistoni subgroup, is a classic model of incipient speciation. The species is divided into six semispecies that show varying degrees of pre- and post-mating incompatibility with each other. In the present study, we investigate the mitochondrial evolutionary history of D. paulistorum and the willistoni subgroup. For that, we perform phylogenetic and comparative analyses of the complete mitochondrial genomes and draft nuclear assemblies of 25 Drosophila lines of the willistoni and saltans species groups. Our results show that the mitochondria of D. paulistorum are polyphyletic and form two non-sister clades that we name α and β. Identification and analyses of nuclear mitochondrial insertions further reveal that the willistoni subgroup has an α-like mitochondrial ancestor and strongly suggest that both the α and β mitochondria of D. paulistorum were acquired through introgression from unknown fly lineages of the willistoni subgroup. We also uncover multiple mitochondrial introgressions across D. paulistorum semispecies and generate novel insight into the evolution of the species.},
}

@article {pmid36553495,
year = {2022},
author = {Kunerth, HD and Tapisso, JT and Valente, R and Mathias, MDL and Alves, PC and Searle, JB and Vega, R and Paupério, J},
title = {Characterising Mitochondrial Capture in an Iberian Shrew.},
journal = {Genes},
volume = {13},
number = {12},
pages = {},
pmid = {36553495},
issn = {2073-4425},
mesh = {Animals ; Phylogeny ; *Shrews/genetics ; *Chromosomes ; Mitochondria/genetics ; Spain ; },
abstract = {Mitochondrial introgression raises questions of biogeography and of the extent of reproductive isolation and natural selection. Previous phylogenetic work on the Sorex araneus complex revealed apparent mitonuclear discordance in Iberian shrews, indicating past hybridisation of Sorex granarius and the Carlit chromosomal race of S. araneus, enabling introgression of the S. araneus mitochondrial genome into S. granarius. To further study this, we genetically typed 61 Sorex araneus/coronatus/granarius from localities in Portugal, Spain, France, and Andorra at mitochondrial, autosomal, and sex-linked loci and combined our data with the previously published sequences. Our data are consistent with earlier data indicating that S. coronatus and S. granarius are the most closely related of the three species, confirming that S. granarius from the Central System mountain range in Spain captured the mitochondrial genome from a population of S. araneus. This mitochondrial capture event can be explained by invoking a biogeographical scenario whereby S. araneus was in contact with S. granarius during the Younger Dryas in central Iberia, despite the two species currently having disjunct distributions. We discuss whether selection favoured S. granarius with an introgressed mitochondrial genome. Our data also suggest recent hybridisation and introgression between S. coronatus and S. granarius, as well as between S. araneus and S. coronatus.},
}

Animals
Phylogeny
*Shrews/genetics
*Chromosomes
Mitochondria/genetics
Spain

@article {pmid36555867,
year = {2022},
author = {Malnick, SDH and Alin, P and Somin, M and Neuman, MG},
title = {Fatty Liver Disease-Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic: Similar but Different.},
journal = {International journal of molecular sciences},
volume = {23},
number = {24},
pages = {},
pmid = {36555867},
issn = {1422-0067},
abstract = {In alcohol-induced liver disease (ALD) and in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), there are abnormal accumulations of fat in the liver. This phenomenon may be related to excessive alcohol consumption, as well as the combination of alcohol consumption and medications. There is an evolution from simple steatosis to steatohepatitis, fibrosis and cirrhosis leading to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Hepatic pathology is very similar regarding non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and ALD. Initially, there is lipid accumulation in parenchyma and progression to lobular inflammation. The morphological changes in the liver mitochondria, perivenular and perisinusoidal fibrosis, and hepatocellular ballooning, apoptosis and necrosis and accumulation of fibrosis may lead to the development of cirrhosis and HCC. Medical history of ethanol consumption, laboratory markers of chronic ethanol intake, AST/ALT ratio on the one hand and features of the metabolic syndrome on the other hand, may help in estimating the contribution of alcohol intake and the metabolic syndrome, respectively, to liver steatosis.},
}

@article {pmid36543927,
year = {2022},
author = {Cunha, RL and Faleh, AB and Francisco, S and Šanda, R and Vukić, J and Corona, L and Dia, M and Glavičić, I and Kassar, A and Castilho, R and Robalo, JI},
title = {Three mitochondrial lineages and no Atlantic-Mediterranean barrier for the bogue Boops boops across its widespread distribution.},
journal = {Scientific reports},
volume = {12},
number = {1},
pages = {22124},
pmid = {36543927},
issn = {2045-2322},
mesh = {Humans ; Animals ; Phylogeny ; Phylogeography ; Azores ; Portugal ; *Mitochondria ; *Perciformes/genetics ; Atlantic Ocean ; Genetic Variation ; Mediterranean Sea ; },
abstract = {Marine species exhibiting wide distributional ranges are frequently subdivided into discrete genetic units over limited spatial scales. This is often due to specific life-history traits or oceanographic barriers that prevent gene flow. Fine-scale sampling studies revealed distinct phylogeographic patterns in the northeastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean, ranging from panmixia to noticeable population genetic structure. Here, we used mitochondrial sequence data to analyse connectivity in the bogue Boops boops throughout most of its widespread distribution. Our results identified the existence of three clades, one comprising specimens from the Azores and eastern Atlantic/Mediterranean, another with individuals from the Canary Islands, Madeira and Cape Verde archipelagos, and the third with samples from Mauritania only. One of the branches of the northern subtropical gyre (Azores Current) that drifts towards the Gulf of Cádiz promotes a closer connection between the Azores, southern Portugal and the Mediterranean B. boops populations. The Almería-Oran Front, widely recognised as an oceanographic barrier for many organisms to cross the Atlantic-Mediterranean divide, does not seem to affect the dispersal of this benthopelagic species. The southward movement of the Cape Verde Frontal Zone during the winter, combined with the relatively short duration of the pelagic larval stage of B. boops, may be potential factors for preventing the connectivity between the Atlantic oceanic archipelagos and Mauritania shaping the genetic signature of this species.},
}

Humans
Animals
Phylogeny
Phylogeography
Azores
Portugal
*Mitochondria
*Perciformes/genetics
Atlantic Ocean
Genetic Variation
Mediterranean Sea

@article {pmid36543798,
year = {2022},
author = {Zawal, A and Skuza, L and Michoński, G and Bańkowska, A and Szućko-Kociuba, I and Gastineau, R},
title = {Complete mitochondrial genome of Hygrobates turcicus Pešić, Esen & Dabert, 2017 (Acari, Hydrachnidia, Hygrobatoidea).},
journal = {Scientific reports},
volume = {12},
number = {1},
pages = {22063},
pmid = {36543798},
issn = {2045-2322},
mesh = {Animals ; Female ; Male ; *Acari/genetics ; *Genome, Mitochondrial ; Mitochondria/genetics ; Codon, Initiator ; RNA, Ribosomal/genetics ; Phylogeny ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; RNA, Transfer/genetics ; DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics ; },
abstract = {The aim of the study was sequencing of the mitogenome of Hygrobates turcicus Pešić, Esen & Dabert, 2017 to expand knowledge of the polymorphism and cryptic or pseudocryptic diversity within Hydrachnidia. The samples originated from Bulgaria, Vidima River near Debnewo, 42°56'41.4''N, 24°48'44.6''E, depth 0.4 m, stones on the bottom, water flow 0.71 m/s, temperature 10 °C, pH 8.53, oxygen 110%, conductivity 279 µS/cm, hardness 121 CaO mg/l; 11 males, 27 females, 2 deutonymphs 12.x.2019 leg. Zawal, Michoński & Bańkowska; one male and one female dissected and slides mounted. The study was carried out using the following methods: DNA extraction, sequencing, assembly and annotation, comparison with other populations of H. turcicus, and multigene phylogeny. As a result of the study, it was determined that the mitogenome is 15,006 bp long and encodes for 13 proteins, 2 rRNAs, and 22 tRNAs. The genome is colinear with those of H. longiporus and H. taniguchii, the difference in size originating from a non-coding region located between protein-coding genes ND4L and ND3. Five genes have alternative start-codon, and four display premature termination. The multigene phylogeny obtained using all mitochondrial protein-coding genes unambiguously associates H. turcicus with the cluster formed by H. longiporus and H. taniguchii.},
}

Animals
Female
Male
*Acari/genetics
*Genome, Mitochondrial
Mitochondria/genetics
Codon, Initiator
RNA, Ribosomal/genetics
Phylogeny
Sequence Analysis, DNA
RNA, Transfer/genetics
DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics