Heme is an iron-coordinated porphyrin that is universally essential as a protein cofactor for fundamental cellular processes, such as electron transport in the respiratory chain, oxidative stress response, or redox reactions in various metabolic pathways. Parasitic kinetoplastid flagellates represent a rare example of organisms that depend on oxidative metabolism but are heme auxotrophs. Here, we show that heme is fully dispensable for the survival of Phytomonas serpens, a plant parasite. Seeking to understand the metabolism of this heme-free eukaryote, we searched for hemecontaining proteins in its de novo sequenced genome and examined several cellular processes for which heme has so far been considered indispensable. We found that P. serpens lacks most of the known hemoproteins and does not require heme for electron transport in the respiratory chain, protection against oxidative stress, or desaturation of fatty acids. Although heme is still required for the synthesis of ergosterol, its precursor, lanosterol, is instead incorporated into the membranes of P. serpens grown in the absence of heme. In conclusion, P. serpens is a flagellate with unique metabolic adaptations that allow it to bypass all requirements for heme.cytochromes | respiration | sterols | protist

The highly conserved ADP/ATP carrier (AAC) is a key energetic link between the mitochondrial (mt) and cytosolic compartments of all aerobic eukaryotic cells, as it exchanges the ATP generated inside the organelle for the cytosolic ADP. Trypanosoma brucei, a parasitic protist of medical and veterinary importance, possesses a single functional AAC protein (TbAAC) that is related to the human and yeast ADP/ATP carriers. However, unlike previous studies performed with these model organisms, this study showed that TbAAC is most likely not a stable component of either the respiratory supercomplex III؉IV or the ATP synthasome but rather functions as a physically separate entity in this highly diverged eukaryote. Therefore, TbAAC RNA interference (RNAi) ablation in the insect stage of T. brucei does not impair the activity or arrangement of the respiratory chain complexes. Nevertheless, RNAi silencing of TbAAC caused a severe growth defect that coincides with a significant reduction of mt ATP synthesis by both substrate and oxidative phosphorylation. Furthermore, TbAAC downregulation resulted in a decreased level of cytosolic ATP, a higher mt membrane potential, an elevated amount of reactive oxygen species, and a reduced consumption of oxygen in the mitochondria. Interestingly, while TbAAC has previously been demonstrated to serve as the sole ADP/ATP carrier for ADP influx into the mitochondria, our data suggest that a second carrier for ATP influx may be present and active in the T. brucei mitochondrion. Overall, this study provides more insight into the delicate balance of the functional relationship between TbAAC and the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) pathway in an early diverged eukaryote. The origination event of an ADP/ATP carrier (AAC) was crucial in the evolution of the present-day mitochondrion that enabled it to become the powerhouse of the eukaryotic cell. Due to the activity of AAC, the energy-producing mitochondria can supply the cytosol with ATP molecules, which fuel most cellular reactions. AAC belongs to the well-defined family of mitochondrial (mt) carrier proteins that are located in the inner mt membrane and are involved in the transport of a wide range of metabolites (1). Under physiological aerobic conditions, AAC is responsible for the 1:1 counterexchange of mt ATP for cytosolic ADP (2). mt ATP is produced mainly by the evolutionarily conserved biochemical pathway of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), which employs respiratory complexes I through IV to convert the redox energy of various mt substrates into an electrochemical proton gradient (⌬m) across the mt inner membrane. Respiratory complexes I (NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase) and II (succinate-ubiquinone oxidoreductase) are responsible for the oxidation of reduced NADH and FADH 2 , respectively. The electrons derived from these biochemical processes continue along the electron transport chain as they are sequentially passed to coenzyme Q, complex III (ubiquinol-cytochrome c oxidoreductase), cytochrome c, complex IV (cytochrome c-O 2 oxid...