Hikosaka Kenji, Kita Kiyoshi, Tanabe Kazuyuki
Laboratory of Malariology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
Mol Biochem Parasitol. 2013 Mar;188(1):26-33. doi: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2013.02.006. Epub 2013 Mar 4.
Mitochondria are ubiquitous organelles in all eukaryotes that are essential for a range of cellular processes and cellular signaling. Nearly all mitochondria have their own DNA or mitochondrial (mt) genome, which varies considerably in size, structure and organization. The phylum Apicomplexa includes a variety of unicellular eukaryotes, some of which are parasites of clinical or economic importance. Recent studies have demonstrated that apicomplexan mt genomes, which include the smallest 6 kb genome of the malaria parasites, exhibit remarkably diverse structures. Apicomplexan parasites are interesting model organisms in order to understand the evolution of mt genomes. This review summarizes the structure of apicomplexan mt genomes and highlights the unique features and the evolution of the mt genome.
线粒体是所有真核生物中普遍存在的细胞器，对一系列细胞过程和细胞信号传导至关重要。几乎所有线粒体都有自己的DNA或线粒体（mt）基因组，其大小、结构和组织差异很大。顶复门包括多种单细胞真核生物，其中一些是具有临床或经济重要性的寄生虫。最近的研究表明，顶复门的mt基因组结构非常多样，其中包括疟原虫最小的6 kb基因组。顶复门寄生虫是了解mt基因组进化的有趣模式生物。本文综述了顶复门mt基因组的结构，突出了mt基因组的独特特征及其进化。
