Cellular functions of archamebae

• Thesis title in Czech: Buněčné funkce archaméb
• Thesis title in English: Cellular functions of archamebae
• Key words: peroxiny, entamoeba, mastigamoeba
• English key words: peroxins, entamoeba, mastigamoeba
• Academic year of topic announcement: 2016/2017
• Thesis type: dissertation
• Thesis language: angličtina
• Department: Department of Parasitology (31-161)
• Supervisor: prof. RNDr. Jan Tachezy, Ph.D.
• Author: hidden - assigned by the advisor
• Date of registration: 20.10.2016
• Date of assignment: 20.10.2016

Preliminary scope of work in English

Peroxisomes are a single membrane bound organelles 0,1-1 µm in diameter that evolved in eukaryotic cells most likely to compartmentalize pathways generating toxic products and thus protect the cell from the damage. It is generally believed that peroxisomes are absent in parasitic protists living under anaerobiosis or oxygen-poor environments such as urogenital pathogen Trichomonas vaginalis, and intestinal parasites Giardia intestinalis and Archamoebae (e.g. Entamoeba histolytica). Unexpectedly, genome analysis of Mastigamoeba balamuthi, a free-living member of Archamoebae group, revealed presence of 13 genes coding for proteins with homology to peroxins. The set of putative peroxins includes Pex3, and Pex19, which are essential for peroxisome biogenesis. This finding strongly suggests that Mastigamoeba balamuthi possesses peroxisomes and that these organelles operate under anaerobiosis. Moreover, searches for peroxins in the genome of E. histolytica using M. balamuthi genes as queries revealed 6 putative peroxins also in E. histolytica genome. Although presence of peroxisome in this organism based on such a limited set of peroxins is less probable than in M. balamuthi, it is of great interest to investigate cellular localization and possible function of these proteins.