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- Title
A plastid of probable green algal origin in Apicomplexan parasites.
- Authors
Köhler, S; Delwiche, C F; Denny, P W; Tilney, L G; Webster, P; Wilson, R J; Palmer, J D; Roos, D S
- Abstract
Protozoan parasites of the phylum Apicomplexa contain three genetic elements: the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes characteristic of virtually all eukaryotic cells and a 35-kilobase circular extrachromosomal DNA. In situ hybridization techniques were used to localize the 35-kilobase DNA of Toxoplasma gondii to a discrete organelle surrounded by four membranes. Phylogenetic analysis of the tufA gene encoded by the 35-kilobase genomes of coccidians T. gondii and Eimeria tenella and the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum grouped this organellar genome with cyanobacteria and plastids, showing consistent clustering with green algal plastids. Taken together, these observations indicate that the Apicomplexa acquired a plastid by secondary endosymbiosis, probably from a green alga.
- Publication
Science (New York, N.Y.), 1997, Vol 275, Issue 5305, p1485
- ISSN
0036-8075
- Publication type
Journal Article
- DOI
10.1126/science.275.5305.1485