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We want
to know why anaerobic eukaryotes (many of these parasitic) always seem to keep their mitochondria. This, despite
the fact they cannot use oxygen as terminal electron acceptor for their
respiration. Therefore, keeping mitochondria does not
seem to
make sense. However, mitochondria are retained but in highly modified
form known as hydrogenosomes or mitosomes depending on whether or not
they make hydrogen. These remnant mitochondria have lost many classic mitochondrial
features such as
cristae and an organellar genome. One biosynthetic pathway seems to be
conserved in these organelles: the production of
iron-sulfur clusters. Does this have any relevance for the origin of
mitochondria? Are the unusual metabolic pathways and enzymes present
in these unusual organelles potential new drug targets for parasitic microbes?
Our
lab uses a variety of techniques to answer our main question. Molecular
biology, cell biology, biochemistry and bioinformatics are routinely
used in our lab. If you are looking for a lab where to use modern
techniques applied to parasites and protists, then please get in touch!
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