Intracellular development and impact of a marine eukaryotic parasite on its zombified microalgal host.

ABSTRACT: Parasites are widespread and diverse in oceanic plankton and many of them infect single-celled algae for survival. How these parasites develop and scavenge energy within the host and how the cellular organization and metabolism of the host is altered remain open questions. Combining quantitative structural and chemical imaging with time-resolved transcriptomics, we unveil dramatic morphological and metabolic changes of the marine parasite Amoebophrya (Syndiniales) during intracellular infection, particularly following engulfment and digestion of nutrient-rich host chromosomes. Changes include a sequential acristate and cristate mitochondrion with a 200-fold increase in volume, a 13-fold increase in nucleus volume, development of Golgi apparatus and a metabolic switch from glycolysis (withi

SUBMITTER: Decelle J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9478091 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature