A5041948933- Protist diversity and phylogeny
- Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms
- Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences
- Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
- Trypanosoma species research and implications
- Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies
- Nematode management and characterization studies
- Studies on Chitinases and Chitosanases
- Research on Leishmaniasis Studies
- Algal biology and biofuel production
- Parasitic Infections and Diagnostics
- Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
- Legume Nitrogen Fixing Symbiosis
- Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysis
- Geological Studies and Exploration
- Antimicrobial Peptides and Activities
- Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics
- Bacteriophages and microbial interactions
- Plant biochemistry and biosynthesis
- Plant and animal studies
- Amino Acid Enzymes and Metabolism
- Analytical Chemistry and Sensors
- Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques
- Water Quality Monitoring and Analysis
- Glycosylation and Glycoproteins Research
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
2016-2025
Carnegie Institution for Science
2010-2017
Carnegie Department of Plant Biology
2010-2017
University of Cologne
2003-2010
Endosymbiotic acquisition of bacteria by a protist, with subsequent evolution the into mitochondria and plastids, had transformative impact on eukaryotic biology. Reconstructing events that created stable association between endosymbiont host during process organellogenesis—including establishment regulated protein import nascent organelles—is difficult because they date back more than 1 billion years. The amoeba Paulinella chromatophora contains photosynthetic organelles recent evolutionary...
Significance Eukaryotic photosynthetic organelles (plastids) originated >1 billion y ago via the endosymbiosis of a β-cyanobacterium. The resulting proliferation primary producers fundamentally changed our planet’s history, allowing for establishment human populations. Early stages plastid integration, however, remain poorly understood, including role horizontal gene transfer from nonendosymbiotic bacteria. Rules governing organellogenesis are difficult, if not impossible, to evaluate...
Paulinella chromatophora is a cercozoan amoeba that contains "chromatophores," which are photosynthetic inclusions of cyanobacterial origin. The recent discovery chromatophores evolved independently plastids, underwent major genome reduction, and transferred at least two genes to the host nucleus has highlighted P. as model infer early steps in evolution organelles. However, owing paucity nuclear sequence data, extent endosymbiotic gene transfer (EGT) symbiont regulation currently unknown. A...
Eukaryotes co-opted photosynthetic carbon fixation from prokaryotes by engulfing a cyanobacterium and stably integrating it as organelle (plastid) in process known primary endosymbiosis. The sheer complexity of interactions between plastid the surrounding cell that started to evolve over 1 billion years ago, make challenging reconstruct intermediate steps evolution studying extant plastids. Recently, amoeba <em>Paulinella chromatophora</em> was identified much sought-after stage...
Paulinella chromatophora is a freshwater filose amoeba with photosynthetic endosymbionts (chromatophores) of cyanobacterial origin that are closely related to free-living Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus species (PS-clade). Members the PS-clade cyanobacteria contain proteobacterial form 1A RubisCO (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase) was acquired by horizontal gene transfer (HGT) carboxysomal operon. In rDNA-phylogenies, chromatophore diverged basal PS-clade, raising question...
Significance Our results suggest that particular ferredoxins in photosynthetic organisms are tailored to serve as electron carriers sustain day-time and night-time metabolism the chloroplast-localized ferredoxin-5 (FDX5) appears function desaturation of fatty acids required for maintaining correct ratio dominant lipids thylakoid membranes integration chloroplast mitochondrial metabolism, which is absolutely growth dark. The most important messages from this work redox components associated...
The chromatophores of the cercozoan amoeba Paulinella are photosynthetic organelles that evolved from a cyanobacterial endosymbiont. Many nucleus-encoded chromatophore-targeted proteins carry unusual N-terminal targeting signals termed crTPs. crTPs bipartite. Whereas crTPpart1 likely mediates trafficking through secretory pathway is cleaved off during import, crTPpart2 remains attached to its cargo protein. function unknown. To contribute unravel functional role crTPpart2, here we elucidated...
Angomonas deanei is a trypanosomatid of the Strigomonadinae. All members this subfamily contain single β-proteobacterial endosymbiont. Intriguingly, cell cycles host and endosymbiont are synchronized. The molecular mechanisms underlying notable level integration unknown. Previously, we identified nucleus-encoded dynamin-like protein, called ETP9, that localizes at division site A. . Here, found by comparative genomics endosymbionts throughout Strigomonadinae lost capacity to autonomously...
Abstract Eukaryotic life has been shaped fundamentally by the integration of bacterial endosymbionts. The trypanosomatid Angomonas deanei that contains a β-proteobacterial endosymbiont, represents an emerging model to elucidate initial steps in symbiont integration. Although repertoire genetic tools for A. is growing, no conditional gene expression system available yet, which would be key functional characterization essential or toxic proteins. Development based on endogenous RNA polymerase...
Abstract Eukaryotic photosynthetic organelles, plastids, are the powerhouses of many aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The canonical plastid in algae plants originated &gt;1 Ga therefore offers limited insights into initial stages organelle evolution. To address this issue, we focus here on amoeba Paulinella micropora strain KR01 (hereafter, KR01) that underwent a more recent (∼124 Ma) primary endosymbiosis, resulting termed chromatophore. Analysis genomic transcriptomic data resulted...
Bacterial endosymbionts are found across the eukaryotic kingdom and profoundly impacted eukaryote evolution. In many endosymbiotic associations with vertically inherited symbionts, highly complementary metabolic functions encoded by host endosymbiont genomes indicate integration of processes between partner organisms. While were initially expected to exchange only metabolites their hosts, recent evidence has demonstrated that also host-encoded proteins can be targeted bacterial symbionts in...
Plastid evolution has been attributed to a single primary endosymbiotic event that occurred about 1.6 billion years ago (BYA) in which cyanobacterium was engulfed and retained by eukaryotic cell, although early steps plastid integration are poorly understood. The photosynthetic amoeba Paulinella chromatophora represents unique model for the study of because it contains cyanobacterium-derived organelles termed 'chromatophores' originated relatively recently (0.09-0.14 BYA). chromatophore...
The endosymbiotic acquisition of mitochondria and plastids more than one billion years ago was central for the evolution eukaryotic life. However, owing to their ancient origin, these organelles provide only limited insights into initial stages organellogenesis. cercozoan amoeba Paulinella chromatophora contains photosynthetic organelles—termed chromatophores—that evolved from a cyanobacterium ∼100 million ago, independently in plants algae. Despite recent origin chromatophore, it shows...