Nitrogen-fixing organelle in a marine alga.
Science
; 384(6692): 217-222, 2024 Apr 12.
Article
de En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38603509
ABSTRACT
Symbiotic interactions were key to the evolution of chloroplast and mitochondria organelles, which mediate carbon and energy metabolism in eukaryotes. Biological nitrogen fixation, the reduction of abundant atmospheric nitrogen gas (N2) to biologically available ammonia, is a key metabolic process performed exclusively by prokaryotes. Candidatus Atelocyanobacterium thalassa, or UCYN-A, is a metabolically streamlined N2-fixing cyanobacterium previously reported to be an endosymbiont of a marine unicellular alga. Here we show that UCYN-A has been tightly integrated into algal cell architecture and organellar division and that it imports proteins encoded by the algal genome. These are characteristics of organelles and show that UCYN-A has evolved beyond endosymbiosis and functions as an early evolutionary stage N2-fixing organelle, or "nitroplast."
Texte intégral:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Base de données:
MEDLINE
Sujet principal:
Cyanobactéries
/
Haptophyta
/
Mitochondries
/
Azote
/
Fixation de l'azote
Langue:
En
Journal:
Science
Année:
2024
Type de document:
Article
Pays d'affiliation:
États-Unis d'Amérique