Chromera velia, also known as a "chromerid",[1][2] is a unicellular photosynthetic organism[3] in the superphylum Alveolata. It is of interest in the study of apicomplexan parasites, specifically their evolution and accordingly, their unique vulnerabilities to drugs.[4]
The discovery of C. velia has sparked renewed interest in protist research, concerning both algae and parasites, as well as free-living unicells. Strict separation of botanical protists (algae) and zoological protists (protozoa) has been conventional but C. velia may be regarded as a good example of a bridge linking both categories.[1]
C. velia has typical features of alveolates, being phylogenetically related to Apicomplexa (a subgroup of alveolates), and contains a photosynthetic plastid (chloroplast) while the apicomplexans have a non-photosynthetic plastid called the apicoplast. C. velia is also related to another subgroup of alveolates, the dinoflagellates of which most are photosynthetic.[1]
C. velia uses metabolites (reduced carbon) from its plastid as its primary energy source. The same is true of the algal cousin of C. velia, another chromerid Vitrella brassicaformis.[5] Together these are phylogenetically the closest known autotrophic organisms to apicomplexans.[1][5][6]
Parasites in the apicomplexan genus Plasmodium are the causative agents of malaria. Studies of C. velia and V. brassicaformis are broadly useful for understanding the biochemistry, physiology and evolution of the malaria parasite, other apicomplexan parasites, and dinoflagellates.[1]
^ abcdefMoore, Robert B.; Oborník, Miroslav; Janouškovec, Jan; Chrudimský, Tomáš; Vancová, Marie; Green, David H.; Wright, Simon W.; Davies, Noel W.; Bolch, Christopher J. S.; Heimann, Kirsten; Šlapeta, Jan; Hoegh-Guldberg, Ove; Logsdon, John M.; Carter, Dee A. (2008). "A photosynthetic alveolate closely related to apicomplexan parasites". Nature. 451 (7181): 959–63. Bibcode:2008Natur.451..959M. doi:10.1038/nature06635. PMID 18288187. S2CID 28005870.
^ abOborník, Miroslav; Vancová, Marie; Lai, De-Hua; Janouškovec, Jan; Keeling, Patrick J.; Lukeš, Julius (2011). "Morphology and Ultrastructure of Multiple Life Cycle Stages of the Photosynthetic Relative of Apicomplexa, Chromera velia". Protist. 162 (1): 115–30. doi:10.1016/j.protis.2010.02.004. PMID 20643580.
^Oborník, Miroslav; Janouškovec, Jan; Chrudimský, Tomáš; Lukeš, Julius (2009). "Evolution of the apicoplast and its hosts: From heterotrophy to autotrophy and back again". International Journal for Parasitology. 39 (1): 1–12. doi:10.1016/j.ijpara.2008.07.010. PMID 18822291.
^"Industry and business partnerships".
^ abOborník, M; Modrý, D; Lukeš, M; Cernotíková-Stříbrná, E; Cihlář, J; Tesařová, M; Kotabová, E; Vancová, M; Prášil, O; Lukeš, J (2012). "Morphology, ultrastructure and life cycle of Vitrella brassicaformis n. sp., n. gen., a novel chromerid from the Great Barrier Reef". Protist. 163 (2): 306–323. doi:10.1016/j.protis.2011.09.001. PMID 22055836.
^Janouškovec, Jan; Horák, Aleš; Oborník, Miroslav; Lukeš, Julius; Keeling, Patrick J. (2010). "A common red algal origin of the apicomplexan, dinoflagellate, and heterokont plastids". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 107 (24): 10949–54. Bibcode:2010PNAS..10710949J. doi:10.1073/pnas.1003335107. PMC 2890776. PMID 20534454.
Chromera velia, also known as a "chromerid", is a unicellular photosynthetic organism in the superphylum Alveolata. It is of interest in the study of apicomplexan...
zoospores in Chromera. The cells conjugate after leaving the cyst, which could imply a sexual stage. Chromerids, represented by the genera Chromera and Vitrella...
PMID 21627782. Oborník M, Lukeš J (2015-10-15). "The Organellar Genomes of Chromera and Vitrella, the Phototrophic Relatives of Apicomplexan Parasites". Annual...
apicomplexans. The first member, Chromera velia, was discovered and first isolated in 2001. The discovery of Chromera velia with similar structure to the...
supergroup Alveolata. V. brassicaformis and its closest known relative, Chromera velia, are the only two currently described members of the phylum Chromerida...
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