TY - JOUR

T1 - Protein moonlighting in parasitic protists

AU - Ginger, Michael

PY - 2014

Y1 - 2014

N2 - Reductive evolution during the adaptation to obligate parasitism and expansions of gene families encoding virulence factors are characteristics evident to greater or lesser degrees in all parasitic protists studied to date. Large evolutionary distances separate many parasitic protists from the yeast and animal models upon which classic views of eukaryotic biochemistry are often based. Thus a combination of evolutionary divergence, niche adaptation and reductive evolution means the biochemistry of parasitic protists is often very different from their hosts and to other eukaryotes generally, making parasites intriguing subjects for those interested in the phenomenon of moonlighting proteins. In common with other organisms, the contribution of protein moonlighting to parasite biology is only just emerging, and it is not without controversy. Here, an overview of recently identified moonlighting proteins in parasitic protists is provided, together with discussion of some of the controversies.

AB - Reductive evolution during the adaptation to obligate parasitism and expansions of gene families encoding virulence factors are characteristics evident to greater or lesser degrees in all parasitic protists studied to date. Large evolutionary distances separate many parasitic protists from the yeast and animal models upon which classic views of eukaryotic biochemistry are often based. Thus a combination of evolutionary divergence, niche adaptation and reductive evolution means the biochemistry of parasitic protists is often very different from their hosts and to other eukaryotes generally, making parasites intriguing subjects for those interested in the phenomenon of moonlighting proteins. In common with other organisms, the contribution of protein moonlighting to parasite biology is only just emerging, and it is not without controversy. Here, an overview of recently identified moonlighting proteins in parasitic protists is provided, together with discussion of some of the controversies.

KW - enolase

KW - glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH)

KW - Plasmodium falciparum

KW - Trichomonas vaginalis

KW - Trypanosoma brucei.

U2 - 10.1042/BST20140215

DO - 10.1042/BST20140215

M3 - Journal article

VL - 42

SP - 1734

EP - 1739

JO - Biochemical Society Transactions

JF - Biochemical Society Transactions

SN - 0300-5127

IS - 6

ER -