5 ms·

> All eukaryotes have mitochondria. To be picky: that's only 99.9...% true, because some have lost them again, like Monocercomonoides and Henneguya zschokkei.

> All eukaryotes have mitochondria. To be picky: that's only 99.9...% true, because some have lost them again, like Monocercomonoides and Henneguya zschokkei. And they lost the mitochondria by two different mechanisms! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monocercomonoides https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monocercomonoides https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henneguya_zschokkei https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henneguya_zschokkei EDIT: typo

Angostura 3y ago
Fascinating. I had no idea, thank you.
oboes 3y ago
Relatedly, some animals can steal chloroplasts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleptoplasty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleptoplasty
- a_bonobo 3y ago
  and to complete the circle, many plants - usually the parasites and the carnivorous plants - have lost some or most of their chloroplasts. Rafflesia (a parasite) might have lost the entire chloroplast: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3969568/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3969568/ Here's one 'in the middle' that lost a bunch of genes from the chloroplasts: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0058747 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal...
  - culi 3y ago
    let's keep it going because "parasites" are fascinating. Dodder plants are usually generalized obligate plant parasites. Dodders have "stolen" at least 108 genes from various plants its parasitized. Bonus, dodder plants also seem to be able to double as a sort of above-ground mycorrhizal network, allowing plants (even across species) to communicate with each other and send warning signals about pests/stressors/etc
  - phito 3y ago
    I'm not aware of any carnivorous plant that lost chloroplasts, could you share which species it is?
    - a_bonobo 3y ago
      Only parts; Drosera (sundews) usually lost all of their ndh genes https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/11/2/472/5284917 https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/11/2/472/5284917
culi 3y ago
your second example is particularly fascinating. Myxosporeans were basically once more complex animals that had gradually evolved towards simpler and simpler structures until they became unicellular organisms again. Henneguya zschokkei seems to have taken this to the extreme — going where not even bacteria ever go
- someuser2345 3y ago
  Looking into it, there's a theory that this parasite started out as a cancer cell of a more complex organism: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6343361/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6343361/
- pvaldes 3y ago
  I remember the shock when they identified that things as cnidarians
  - culi 3y ago
    On that note, man o wars are thought to be an example of a complex multicellular organisms partnering so closely that they lose their individualism. Basically every organ of this thing seems to at once have been a separate animal and can still survive on its own for a while https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_man_o%27_war https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_man_o%27_war
    - pvaldes 3y ago
      not separated animals. Is a colony but the members are not independent. Many cnidarians are able to bud and the buds can vary the phenotype later.
      - culi 3y ago
        I suppose a better example of what I meant to talk about are lichen. Which are single species but technically a partnership between types of fungi and an algae. In siphonophores, each specimen is actually a colony of minute asexually reproducing organisms called zooids that have to work together for survival. They are not "independent" in the sense that they would die without each other, but given the fact that they can reproduce independently, there's definitely some sort of independence there. It's like if all your organs were able to independently reproduce themselves.
stevenjgarner 3y ago
I wonder how these eukaryotes that lost their mitochondria get their energy?

Angostura 3y ago

Fascinating. I had no idea, thank you.

oboes 3y ago

Relatedly, some animals can steal chloroplasts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleptoplasty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleptoplasty

a_bonobo 3y ago
and to complete the circle, many plants - usually the parasites and the carnivorous plants - have lost some or most of their chloroplasts. Rafflesia (a parasite) might have lost the entire chloroplast: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3969568/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3969568/ Here's one 'in the middle' that lost a bunch of genes from the chloroplasts: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0058747 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal...
- culi 3y ago
  let's keep it going because "parasites" are fascinating. Dodder plants are usually generalized obligate plant parasites. Dodders have "stolen" at least 108 genes from various plants its parasitized. Bonus, dodder plants also seem to be able to double as a sort of above-ground mycorrhizal network, allowing plants (even across species) to communicate with each other and send warning signals about pests/stressors/etc
- phito 3y ago
  I'm not aware of any carnivorous plant that lost chloroplasts, could you share which species it is?
  - a_bonobo 3y ago
    Only parts; Drosera (sundews) usually lost all of their ndh genes https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/11/2/472/5284917 https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/11/2/472/5284917

culi 3y ago

your second example is particularly fascinating. Myxosporeans were basically once more complex animals that had gradually evolved towards simpler and simpler structures until they became unicellular organisms again. Henneguya zschokkei seems to have taken this to the extreme — going where not even bacteria ever go

someuser2345 3y ago
Looking into it, there's a theory that this parasite started out as a cancer cell of a more complex organism: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6343361/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6343361/
pvaldes 3y ago
I remember the shock when they identified that things as cnidarians
- culi 3y ago
  On that note, man o wars are thought to be an example of a complex multicellular organisms partnering so closely that they lose their individualism. Basically every organ of this thing seems to at once have been a separate animal and can still survive on its own for a while https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_man_o%27_war https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_man_o%27_war
  - pvaldes 3y ago
    not separated animals. Is a colony but the members are not independent. Many cnidarians are able to bud and the buds can vary the phenotype later.
    - culi 3y ago
      I suppose a better example of what I meant to talk about are lichen. Which are single species but technically a partnership between types of fungi and an algae. In siphonophores, each specimen is actually a colony of minute asexually reproducing organisms called zooids that have to work together for survival. They are not "independent" in the sense that they would die without each other, but given the fact that they can reproduce independently, there's definitely some sort of independence there. It's like if all your organs were able to independently reproduce themselves.

stevenjgarner 3y ago

I wonder how these eukaryotes that lost their mitochondria get their energy?