Sex in protists: A new perspective on the reproduction mechanisms of trypanosomatids

The Protist kingdom individuals are the most ancestral representatives of eukaryotes. They have inhabited Earth since ancient times and are currently found in the most diverse environments presenting a great heterogeneity of life forms. The unicellular and multicellular algae, photosynthetic and het...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Genetics and molecular biology 2022-01, Vol.45 (3), p.e20220065
Main Authors: Silva, Verônica Santana da, Machado, Carlos Renato
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
GENETICS & HEREDITY
Genetics of Microorganisms
meiosis genes
Protists
sexual reproduction
Trypanosoma cruzi
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Summary:The Protist kingdom individuals are the most ancestral representatives of eukaryotes. They have inhabited Earth since ancient times and are currently found in the most diverse environments presenting a great heterogeneity of life forms. The unicellular and multicellular algae, photosynthetic and heterotrophic organisms, as well as free-living and pathogenic protozoa represents the protist group. The evolution of sex is directly associated with the origin of eukaryotes being protists the earliest protagonists of sexual reproduction on earth. In eukaryotes, the recombination through genetic exchange is a ubiquitous mechanism that can be stimulated by DNA damage. Scientific evidences support the hypothesis that reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced DNA damage can promote sexual recombination in eukaryotes which might have been a decisive factor for the origin of sex. The fact that some recombination enzymes also participate in meiotic sex in modern eukaryotes reinforces the idea that sexual reproduction emerged as consequence of specific mechanisms to cope with mutations and alterations in genetic material. In this review we will discuss about origin of sex and different strategies of evolve sexual reproduction in some protists such that cause human diseases like malaria, toxoplasmosis, sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis.
ISSN:1415-4757
1678-4685
1678-4685
DOI:10.1590/1678-4685-gmb-2022-0065