Influence of Heterologous Transplant of DNA‐lacking Mitochondria from Entamoeba histolytica on Proliferation of Entamoeba invadens

Abstract

In mitochondria, compatibility of proteins encoded in mitochondrial DNA and nuclear DNA is essential for the normal functioning of the organelle. Incompatibility between mitochondrial and nuclear DNA can lead to dysfunctional respiration, mitochondrial diseases, and lethal problems, which suggests that the presence of heterologous mitochondria is unfavorable. In a previous study, we established a transplant method for DNA‐lacking mitochondria (mitosomes) in the anaerobic protozoan Entamoeba histolytica. In this study, interspecies transplant of mitosomes from E. histolytica into Entamoeba invadens, which is a parasitic protozoon of reptiles, was performed using the microinjection method at various temperatures and injection volumes. When E. invadens was used as recipient, it showed higher tolerance to a lower temperature and larger injection volume, in comparison with E. histolytica. After microinjection, donor mitosomes expressing HA‐tag conjugated protein were observed in recipient cells by immunofluorescent staining. The heterologous mitosomes‐injected cells proliferated and growth rate of the microinjected‐cells was similar to that of intact cells. Therefore, we conclude that interspecies transplant of DNA‐lacking mitochondria does not result in incompatibility.

<i>Entamoeba moshkovskii</i> as a potential model organism for Gal/GalNAc lectin intermediate subunit exhibition and functional identification

“…When gene editing was performed in this species using conventional methods, convincing results were usually seldom obtained due to low silencing efficiency and the presence of other protein subtypes with similar functions (20)(21)(22). Thus, expressing the proteins in another type of cell to study their functions is a promising option (31)(32)(33)(34). Our laboratory used to successfully express E. histolytica Igl fragments in mammalian cells, but the results indicated obvious differences in the survival mode and cell behavior pattern between the two species, making the detection of transfected proteins' related functions quite difficult.…”