Keith Bradnam
Description: A picture is worth a thousand words … so consider this a very long abstract.
science (6098) comic (2330) biology (985) mitochondria (85) amoeba (21)
A picture is worth a thousand words … so consider this a very long abstract.
All eukaryotic organisms have mitochondria…or do they? Mitochondria are the power sources that keep cells running; they have their own genomes and may have once been free living bacteria that formed a symbiotic partnership with the ancestors of eukaryotic cells.
Until recently it was thought that all eukaryotic species possessed mitochondria. However, a study by Anna Karnkowska and colleagues, published in the journal Current Biology earlier this year, suggests that there may be an exception. The microbial species called Monocercomonoides does not seem to have mitochondria and may be the first known example of a eukaryote that lacks them.
Keith Bradnam