I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Oops, on this platform we have: @cstairs.bsky.social

As a continuation of this work, I’m currently recruiting a graduate student to work on symbiosis in Anaeramoeba. The project is supported by @MooreFound.

Applications are open until December 6. Apply at the link below:

uu.varbi.com/se/what:job/...

This work involved a team of wonderful researchers: @andrewjroger, Lucie Gallot-Lavallée, @cstairs, Joel Dacks, Dayana Salas-Leiva, Kika Záhonová, Bruce Curtis, Ivan Čepička, Shweta Pipaliya, John Archibald (10/11).

Remarkably we find that Anaeramoebae have evolved a dynamic symbiont compartment, a symbiosome, that allows them to house and position sulfate-reducing bacterial ectosymbionts. (9/11)

Using FIB-SEM we revealed the three-dimensional structure of an anaermoebid cell. We find that a majority of the symbionts reside in a connected membrane compartment with connections to the plasma membrane. (8/11)

Why are each symbiont in a membrane compartment? The symbionts are sulfate reducers and need ready access to sulfate. Pulsed-labelling indicate that the host-derived vacuoles housing the symbionts are in contact with the outside environment. (7/11)

We also detect numerous lateral gene transfers including several proteins that require vitamin B12 as a co-factor. Since the symbionts are predicted to be vitamin B12 prototrophs we suspect that they supply the host. (6/11)

What about the amoeba? Genome analyses of the host show expansions in gene families involved in membrane-trafficking and implicated in the regulation of the phagosome maturation machinery. (5/11)

Our genome reconstruction and metatranscriptomic evidence suggest that the symbionts can use end-point metabolites from the hydrogenosomes of Anaeramoeba. The depletion of hydrogen prevents the high partial pressures of hydrogen that could inhibit the amoeba’s metabolism. (4/11)

We show that symbionts in two species of Anaeramoeba are closely related to Desulfobacter, a genus of sulfate-reducing bacteria. However, despite their relatedness, the symbionts Anaeramoeba represent separate acquisitions and show differing degrees of genome degeneration. (3/11)

We describe an exciting symbiotic system in Anaeramoeba, a protist found in oxygen-depleted marine sediments. Previous work has shown that Anaeramoeba harbor symbionts, each surrounded by a host-derived membrane.
(2/11)