Broad distribution of TPI-GAPDH fusion proteins among eukaryotes: evidence for glycolytic reactions in the mitochondrion?

PLoS One. 2012;7(12):e52340. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0052340. Epub 2012 Dec 20.

Abstract

Glycolysis is a central metabolic pathway in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. In eukaryotes, the textbook view is that glycolysis occurs in the cytosol. However, fusion proteins comprised of two glycolytic enzymes, triosephosphate isomerase (TPI) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), were found in members of the stramenopiles (diatoms and oomycetes) and shown to possess amino-terminal mitochondrial targeting signals. Here we show that mitochondrial TPI-GAPDH fusion protein genes are widely spread across the known diversity of stramenopiles, including non-photosynthetic species (Bicosoeca sp. and Blastocystis hominis). We also show that TPI-GAPDH fusion genes exist in three cercozoan taxa (Paulinella chromatophora, Thaumatomastix sp. and Mataza hastifera) and an apusozoan protist, Thecamonas trahens. Interestingly, subcellular localization predictions for other glycolytic enzymes in stramenopiles and a cercozoan show that a significant fraction of the glycolytic enzymes in these species have mitochondrial-targeted isoforms. These results suggest that part of the glycolytic pathway occurs inside mitochondria in these organisms, broadening our knowledge of the diversity of mitochondrial metabolism of protists.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Blastocystis / metabolism
  • Cercozoa / metabolism
  • Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenases / genetics
  • Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenases / metabolism*
  • Glycolysis / genetics
  • Glycolysis / physiology
  • Mitochondria / metabolism*
  • Paullinia / metabolism
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / metabolism*
  • Triose-Phosphate Isomerase / genetics
  • Triose-Phosphate Isomerase / metabolism*

Substances

  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenases
  • Triose-Phosphate Isomerase

Grants and funding

The work conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231. J.M.A. is supported by an NSERC Discovery Grant. J.M.A. is the holder of a CIHR New Investigator Award and is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Program in Integrated Microbial Biodiversity. T.N. is a JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow for Research Abroad. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.