Tomáš Pánek

Charles University in Prague | CUNI · Department of Zoology (PF)

The diverse GTPases of the dynamin superfamily play various roles in the cell, as exemplified by the dynamin-related proteins (DRPs) Mgm1 and Opa1, which remodel the mitochondrial inner membrane in fungi and metazoans, respectively. Via an exhaustive search of genomic and metagenomic databases we found previously unknown DRP types occurring in dive...

Despite the widespread occurrence of intracellular crystalline inclusions in unicellular eukaryotes, scant attention has been paid to their composition, functions, and evolutionary origins. Using Raman microscopy, we examined >200 species from all major eukaryotic supergroups. We detected cellular crystalline inclusions in 77% species out of which...

Numerous lineages of heterotrophs evolved from photosynthetic eukaryotic ancestors and usually have retained a plastid, although cases of secondary plastid loss are known, too. Based on a previous investigation by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Leukarachnion sp. PRA-24, an amoeboid colourless protist related to the photosynthetic class Syn...

The use of mitochondrial markers for taxonomic identification and biodiversity monitoring is not without risks or limitations. Most importantly, the natural transfer of DNA from the mitochondria to the nucleus generates nonfunctional nuclear copies of mitochondrial DNA (NUMTs). Their abundance and size vary significantly among taxa, and NUMTs have...

Ochrophyta is an algal group belonging to the Stramenopiles and comprises diverse lineages of algae which contribute significantly to the oceanic ecosystems as primary producers. However, early evolution of the plastid organelle in Ochrophyta is not fully understood. In this study, we provide a well-supported tree of the Stramenopiles inferred by t...

Background The plastid genomes of the green algal order Chlamydomonadales tend to expand their non-coding regions, but this phenomenon is poorly understood. Here we shed new light on organellar genome evolution in Chlamydomonadales by studying a previously unknown non-photosynthetic lineage. We established cultures of two new Polytoma-like flagella...

Despite the widespread occurrence of crystalline inclusions in unicellular eukaryotes, scant attention has been paid to their composition, functions, and evolutionary origins, assuming just their inorganic contents. The advent of Raman microscopy, still scarcely used for biological samples, allowed chemical characterization of cellular inclusions i...

Background: The plastid genomes of the green algal order Chlamydomonadales tend to expand their non-coding regions, but this phenomenon is poorly understood. Here we shed new light on organellar genome evolution in Chlamydomonadales by studying a previously unknown non-photosynthetic lineage. We established cultures of two new Polytoma-like flagell...

Discoveries of diverse microbial eukaryotes and their inclusion in comprehensive phylogenomic analyses have crucially re-shaped the eukaryotic tree of life in the 21st century.¹ At the deepest level, eukaryotic diversity comprises 9–10 “supergroups.” One of these supergroups, the Metamonada, is particularly important to our understanding of the evo...

Phylogenomic analyses of hundreds of protein-coding genes aimed at resolving phylogenetic relationships is now a common practice. However, no software currently exists that includes tools for dataset construction and subsequent analysis with diverse validation strategies to assess robustness. Furthermore, there are no publicly available high-qualit...

Protozoa may be considered as (mostly) microscopic, essentially single-celled, eukaryotes that ingest other organisms or their products (i.e. as heterotrophic protists). Protozoa are no longer recognised as a taxonomic group because they do not constitute a monophylum and can be found in all main eukaryotic lineages, informally called supergroups....

The type 2 secretion system (T2SS) is present in some Gram-negative eubacteria and used to secrete proteins across the outer membrane. Here we report that certain representative heteroloboseans, jakobids, malawimonads and hemimastigotes unexpectedly possess homologues of core T2SS components. We show that at least some of them are present in mitoch...

The main bacterial pathway for inserting proteins into the plasma membrane relies on the signal recognition particle (SRP), composed of the Ffh protein and an associated RNA component, and the SRP-docking protein FtsY. Eukaryotes use an equivalent system of archaeal origin to deliver proteins into the endoplasmic reticulum, whereas a bacteria-deriv...

Although the mitochondria of extant eukaryotes share a single origin, functionally these organelles diversified to a great extent, reflecting lifestyles of the organisms that host them. In anaerobic protists of the group Metamonada, mitochondria are present in reduced forms (also termed hydrogenosomes or mitosomes) and a complete loss of mitochondr...

The small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene is a widely used molecular marker to study the diversity of life. Sequencing of SSU rRNA gene amplicons has become a standard approach for the investigation of the ecology and diversity of microbes. However, a well-curated database is necessary for correct classification of these data. While available...

ZapE/Afg1 is a component of the inner cell membrane of some eubacteria and the inner mitochondrial membrane of eukaryotes. This protein is involved in FtsZ-dependent division of eubacteria. In the yeast and human mitochondrion, ZapE/Afg1 likely interacts with Oxa1 and facilitates the degradation of mitochondrion-encoded subunits of respiratory comp...

Trypanosoma brucei is an important human pathogen. In this study, we have focused on the characterization of FtsH protease, ATP-dependent membrane-bound mitochondrial enzyme important for regulation of protein abundance. We have determined localization and orientation of all six putative T.brucei FtsH homologs in the inner mitochondrial membrane by...

Cristae are infoldings of the mitochondrial inner membrane jutting into the organelle’s innermost compartment from narrow stems at their base called crista junctions. They are emblematic of aerobic mitochondria, being the fabric for the molecular machinery driving cellular respiration. Electron microscopy revealed that diverse eukaryotes possess cr...

Oxygen plays a crucial role in energetic metabolism of most eukaryotes. Yet adaptations to low-oxygen concentrations leading to anaerobiosis have independently arisen in many eukaryotic lineages, resulting in a broad spectrum of reduced and modified mitochondrion-related organelles (MROs). In this study, we present the discovery of two new classlev...

Modern mitochondria have preserved few traits of the original bacterial endosymbiont. Unexpectedly, we find that certain representatives of heteroloboseans, jakobids and malawimonads possess homologues of four core components of the type 2 secretion system (T2SS) so far restricted to eubacteria. We show that these components are localized to the mi...

The discovery that the protist Monocercomonoides exilis completely lacks mitochondria demonstrates that these organelles are not absolutely essential to eukaryotic cells. However, the degree to which the metabolism and cellular systems of this organism have adapted to the loss of mitochondria is unknown. Here we report an extensive analysis of the...

The discovery that the protist Monocercomonoides exilis completely lacks mitochondria demonstrates that these organelles are not absolutely essential to eukaryotic cells. However, the degree to which the metabolism and cellular systems of this organism have adapted to the loss of mitochondria is unknown. Here we report an extensive analysis of the...

Life was microbial for the majority of Earth's history, but as very few microbial lineages leave a fossil record, the Precambrian evolution of life remains shrouded in mystery. Shelled (testate) amoebae stand out as an exception with rich documented diversity in the Neoproterozoic as vase-shaped microfossils (VSMs). While there is general consensus...

Heterolobosea is a group of ~150 described species of heterotrophs, almost all free living. Many are “amoeboflagellates” with a three-phase asexual life cycle, centered on trophic amoebae that can reversibly transform into flagellates (some of which undertake phagocytosis and/or division) and cysts. The amoebae are usually lobose, with “eruptive” p...

We report discovery of a new lineage of anaerobic marine amoebae and amoeboflagellates, Anaeramoeba gen. nov., represented by six newly described species. The trophic form of Anaeramoeba spp. is an amoeba corresponding to the uncommon flabellate or flamellian morphotype - it is fan-shaped and produces an anterior, flattened hyaline zone and posteri...

Amoebozoa is the eukaryotic supergroup sister to Obazoa, the lineage that contains the animals and Fungi, as well as their protistan relatives, and the breviate and apusomonad flagellates. Amoebozoa is extraordinarily diverse, encompassing important model organisms and significant pathogens. Although amoebozoans are integral to global nutrient cycl...

In the present work, we investigated molecular mechanisms governing thermal resistance of a monoxenous trypanosomatid Crithidia luciliae thermophila, which we reclassified as a separate species C. thermophila. We analyzed morphology, growth kinetics, and transcriptomic profiles of flagellates cultivated at low (23°C) and elevated (34°C) temperature...

Genes up- or down-regulated at elevated temperature in Crithidia thermophila. Annotation and orthologs IDs are provided when available. (XLSX)

Background Departures from the standard genetic code in eukaryotic nuclear genomes are known for only a handful of lineages and only a few genetic code variants seem to exist outside the ciliates, the most creative group in this regard. Most frequent code modifications entail reassignment of the UAG and UAA codons, with evidence for at least 13 ind...

Heterolobosea is a group of ~150 described species of heterotrophs, almost all free living. Many are “amoeboflagellates” with a three-phase asexual life cycle, centered on trophic amoebae that can reversibly transform into flagellates (some of which undertake phagocytosis and/or division) and cysts. The amoebae are usually lobose, with “eruptive” p...

Archamoebae is an understudied group of anaerobic free-living or endobiotic protists that constitutes the major anaerobic lineage of the supergroup Amoebozoa. Hitherto, the phylogeny of Archamoebae was based solely on SSU rRNA and actin genes, which did not resolve relationships among the main lineages of the group. Because of this uncertainty, sev...

We used culture-based and culture-independent approaches to discover diversity and ecology of anaerobic jakobids (Excavata: Jakobida), an overlooked, deep-branching lineage of free-living nanoflagellates related to Euglenozoa. Jakobids are among a few lineages of nanoflagellates frequently detected in anoxic habitats by PCR-based studies, however o...

Trimastigids are free-living, anaerobic protists that are closely related to the symbiotic oxymonads, forming together the taxon Preaxostyla (Excavata: Metamonada). We isolated fourteen new strains morphologically corresponding to two species assigned to Trimastix (until now the only genus of trimastigids), Trimastix marina and Trimastix pyriformis...

The genus HypotrichomonasLee, 1960 belongs to the small parabasalian class Hypotrichomonadea. Although five Hypotrichomonas species have been described from intestines of lizards and birds, some descriptions were brief and incomplete. Only the type species H. acosta has been observed repeatedly. We have established 23 strains of the genus Hypotrich...

Although environmental DNA surveys improve our understanding of biodiversity, interpretation of unidentified lineages is limited by the absence of associated morphological traits and living cultures. Unidentified lineages of marine stramenopiles are called “MAST clades”. Twenty-five MAST clades have been recognized: MAST-1 through MAST-25; seven of...

We report the light-microscopic morphology and ultrastructure of a novel free-living, heterotrophic protist, Creneis carolina gen. et sp. nov. isolated from marine anoxic sediments. C. carolina is a heterotrophic, obligately anaerobic amoeboid flagellate, and superficially resembles Mastigamoeba (Amoebozoa: Archamoebae) or Breviata (Breviatea) by p...

Diversity of anaerobic Heterolobosea (Excavata: Discoba) is only poorly understood, especially in marine environments. We have isolated and cultured 16 strains of anaerobic heteroloboseid amoebae and flagellates from brackish, marine and saline anoxic habitats worldwide. Phylogenetic analyses of SSU rDNA and light-microscopic observations showed th...

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##Assembly-Data-START## Assembly Method :: SeqMan v. 7.0.0 Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

##Assembly-Data-START## Assembly Method :: SeqMan v. 7.0.0 Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

##Assembly-Data-START## Assembly Method :: SeqMan v. 7.0.0 Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

##Assembly-Data-START## Assembly Method :: SeqMan v. 7.0.0 Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

##Assembly-Data-START## Assembly Method :: SeqMan v. 7.0.0 Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

##Assembly-Data-START## Assembly Method :: SeqMan v. 7.0.0 Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

##Assembly-Data-START## Assembly Method :: SeqMan v. 7.0.0 Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

##Assembly-Data-START## Assembly Method :: SeqMan v. 7.0.0 Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

##Assembly-Data-START## Assembly Method :: SeqMan v. 7.0.0 Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

##Assembly-Data-START## Assembly Method :: SeqMan v. 7.0.0 Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

##Assembly-Data-START## Assembly Method :: SeqMan v. 7.0.0 Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

##Assembly-Data-START## Assembly Method :: SeqMan v. 7.0.0 Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

We isolated and cultivated 31 strains of free-living heterolobosean flagellates and amoebae from freshwater, brackish, and marine sediments with low concentrations of oxygen. Phylogenetic analysis of small subunit (SSU) rDNA showed that the strains constitute a single clade, the Psalteriomonadidae. According to combined light-microscopic morphology...