Mitochondrial proteome of Acanthamoeba delineates aerobic and anaerobic pathways dynamically regulated by oxygen.

Acanthamoeba mitochondria adapt dynamically to oxygen levels, with 1,122 proteins including 381 unique to this organism, revealing complex bioenergetic regulation.

• Why it matters: Understanding how mitochondria switch between aerobic and anaerobic pathways is crucial for targeting infections and studying evolutionary adaptations, yet detailed mechanisms remain unclear.
• What they did: Researchers combined immunoprecipitation, density gradient purification, mass spectrometry, and microscopy to create the AcMitoCarta, a comprehensive inventory of mitochondrial proteins, and analyzed their regulation under different oxygen conditions.
• The result: Findings show extensive rewiring of bioenergetic machinery, including induction of anaerobic pathways and mitochondrial H2 production, providing a framework to explore energy metabolism flexibility and potential drug targets.