Insect Killing Parasite Evolved From Pond Scum
Posted on May 8, 2014
An corkscrew-shaped insect killing parasite evolved from algae say scientists from the University of British Columbia. The parasite completely shed its green past on its evolutionary journey. The research team, led by UBC Botany Prof. Patrick Keeling, sequenced the genome of Helicosporidium. The parasite can kill juvenile blackflies, caterpillars, beetles and mosquitoes.
Malaria also evolved from algae. However, Helicosporidium, unlike malaria, preserved virtually all its genes except those required for photosynthesis.
Keeling says in the announcement, "Both malaria and Helicosporidium started out as alga and ended up as intracellular parasites preying on animals, but they have done it in very different ways. Malaria drastically reduced its genome and became very dependent on its host for nutrients. Helicosporidium, on the other hand, lost almost nothing except those genes required for photosynthesis, which it no longer needs as a parasite. It's as if photosynthesis has been surgically removed from its genome."
The research was published here in the journal PLOS Genetics.
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