{"id":3662,"date":"2023-07-24T10:57:42","date_gmt":"2023-07-24T09:57:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/biosciences\/?p=3662"},"modified":"2023-07-24T10:57:42","modified_gmt":"2023-07-24T09:57:42","slug":"friend-or-foe-study-reveals-the-evolution-of-controversial-human-gut-microbe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/biosciences\/2023\/07\/24\/friend-or-foe-study-reveals-the-evolution-of-controversial-human-gut-microbe\/","title":{"rendered":"Friend or foe? Study reveals the evolution of controversial human gut microbe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blastocystis<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is one of the most common microbes in the human gut, but whether it is harmful or helpful is still a matter of controversy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Blastocystis<\/em> infection could lead to diarrhoea, nausea, weight loss and fatigue, yet the microbe\u2019s presence is also considered by some as a sign of a healthy gut.<\/p>\n

Looking more like a soap bubble than a cell,\u00a0Blastocystis<\/em>\u00a0has a deeply unusual appearance under the microscope. So, it was hugely surprising when it was revealed that\u00a0Blastocystis<\/em>\u00a0is related to creatures like diatom algae, seaweeds, and the parasite that caused the Irish Potato Famine, a group united by having hallmark hair-like decorations on their cells.<\/p>\n

To understand how\u00a0Blastocystis<\/em> evolved from a marine, oxygen-breathing microbe to a simplified oxygen-avoiding gut microbe, a team of nearly 20 researchers from 7 countries, co-led by Dr Anastasios Tsaousis<\/a> (School of Biosciences, Kent) and Professor Joel Dacks<\/a> (University of Alberta, Canada), used genome sequencing, microscopy, and cell biology to study a close relative of Blastocystis<\/em>,\u00a0Proteromonas lacertae<\/em>, which lives in the gut of reptiles.<\/p>\n

Their findings impact three important areas:<\/p>\n

Firstly, using the genomic data and computational methods, they identified over 30 proteins potentially involved in the hallmark hair-like cellular feature, a defining point for organisms of tremendous agricultural and ecological importance.<\/p>\n

Secondly,\u00a0Proteromonas<\/em>\u00a0appears to have the most reduced form ever reported of the peroxisome, a cellular compartment responsible for oxygen detoxification together with the energy-generating compartment, the mitochondrion.<\/p>\n

Finally, the data shows that\u00a0Blastocystis<\/em>\u00a0has a metabolism more tuned to living in oxygen-poor environments than its close relative.<\/p>\n

Together, these findings enabled a proposed general mechanism for the evolutionary changes in compartments in moving to low-oxygen environments and detail the transition of\u00a0Blastocystis<\/em>\u00a0to its current form as one of the most prevalent parts of the human gut community.<\/p>\n

Read the full article published in Current Biology<\/em><\/a>, June 2023<\/p>\n