The kinetoplast ultrastructural organization of endosymbiont-bearing trypanosomatids as revealed by deep-etching, cytochemical and immunocytochemical analysis |
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Authors: | Danielle Pereira Cavalcanti Marc Thiry Wanderley de Souza Maria Cristina M Motta |
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Institution: | Laboratório de Ultraestrutura Celular Hertha Meyer, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Bloco G, subsolo, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. danic@biof.ufrj.br |
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Abstract: | The endosymbiont-bearing trypanosomatids present a typical kDNA arrangement, which is not well characterized. In the majority
of trypanosomatids, the kinetoplast forms a bar-like structure containing tightly packed kDNA fibers. On the contrary, in
trypanosomatids that harbor an endosymbiotic bacterium, the kDNA fibers are disposed in a looser arrangement that fills the
kinetoplast matrix. In order to shed light on the kinetoplast structural organization in these protozoa, we used cytochemical
and immunocytological approaches. Our results showed that in endosymbiont-containing species, DNA and basic proteins are distributed
not only in the kDNA network, but also in the kinetoflagellar zone (KFZ), which corresponds to the region between the kDNA
and the inner mitochondrial membrane nearest the flagellum. The presence of DNA in the KFZ is in accordance with the actual
model of kDNA replication, whereas the detection of basic proteins in this region may be related to the basic character of
the intramitochondrial filaments found in this area, which are part of the complex that connects the kDNA to the basal body.
The kinetoplast structural organization of Bodo sp. was also analyzed, since this protozoan lacks the highly ordered kDNA-packaging characteristic of trypanosomatid and
represents an evolutionary ancestral of the Trypanosomatidae family. |
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Keywords: | Kinetoplast kDNA arrangement Endosymbiont-bearing trypanosomatids Bodonids Cytochemical and immunocytochemical approaches |
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