Emergent metabolic parasitism driven by organelle sequestration

2025 · doi:10.1101/2025.11.03.686365
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The paper studied how metabolism is stably acquired during chloroplast “stealing” by the marine ciliate genus Mesodinium, using transcriptome comparisons across Mesodinium species spanning full heterotrophy to near full phototrophy. Contrary to theoretical expectations that endosymbiosis expands host metabolic capability, the authors found increased reliance on acquired photosynthesis accompanied by divestment of metabolic autonomy, including reduced capacity to synthesize amino acids, metabolize fatty acids, and produce peroxisomes in the highly phototrophic Mesodinium rubrum. The main caveat is that the conclusions are drawn from transcriptomic differences across species rather than direct functional metabolic measurements. The paper does not explicitly discuss endometriosis or adenomyosis; it was included in the corpus via a keyword match in the upstream search index.

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Abstract

Stable acquisitions of metabolism, such as the endosymbiotic incorporation of eukaryotic chloroplasts, are thought to proceed through mechanisms that increase the genetic repertoire of the host and allow for vertical integration of new metabolism. Here we test these predictions using the chloroplast-stealing marine ciliate genus Mesodinium by comparing transcriptomes from species that represent a spectrum from full heterotrophy to nearly full phototrophy. In contrast to theory, we find a striking divestment in metabolic autonomy with increased reliance on acquired photosynthesis. Indeed, the highly photosynthetic, red tide-forming Mesodinium rubrum appears to have lost the capacity to synthesize amino acids, metabolize fatty acids, and produce peroxisomes. Our results portray a metabolic parasite, masquerading as a free-living ciliate, yet incapable of satisfying most of its basic anabolic needs.
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Abstract Stable acquisitions of metabolism, such as the endosymbiotic incorporation of eukaryotic chloroplasts, are thought to proceed through mechanisms that increase the genetic repertoire of the host and allow for vertical integration of new metabolism. Here we test these predictions using the chloroplast-stealing marine ciliate genus Mesodinium by comparing transcriptomes from species that represent a spectrum from full heterotrophy to nearly full phototrophy. In contrast to theory, we find a striking divestment in metabolic autonomy with increased reliance on acquired photosynthesis. Indeed, the highly photosynthetic, red tide-forming Mesodinium rubrum appears to have lost the capacity to synthesize amino acids, metabolize fatty acids, and produce peroxisomes. Our results portray a metabolic parasite, masquerading as a free-living ciliate, yet incapable of satisfying most of its basic anabolic needs. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

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