Proto-mitochondrion
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The proto-mitochondrion is the ancestral bacterial endosymbiont from which all mitochondria are thought to be derived.
[edit] Phylogeny
The phylogenetic analyses of the few genes that are still encoded in the genomes of modern mitochondria suggest an alpha-proteobacterial nature for this endosymbiont. Although the order Rickettsiales has been proposed as the alpha-proteobacterial sister-group of mitochondria, there is no definitive evidence as to from which alpha-proteobacterial group the proto-mitochondrion emerged.
[edit] Metabolism
Toni Gabaldón and Martijn Huynen (2003) reconstructed the proteome and corresponding metabolism of the proto-mitochondrion by comparing extant alpha-proteobacterial and eukaryotic genomes. They concluded that this organism was an aerobic alpha-proteobacterium catabolyzing lipids, glycerol and other compounds provided by the host. At least 630 gene families derived from this organism can still be found in the 9 eukaryotic genomes analyzed in the study.
[edit] References
- Gabaldón, T.; et.al. (2003). "The proto-mitochondrial metabolism". Science 301 (5633): 690. doi:.
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