In the beginning was the word: How terminology drives our understanding of endosymbiotic organelles

0521053 - BC 2020 RIV CZ eng J - Journal Article
Oborník, Miroslav
In the beginning was the word: How terminology drives our understanding of endosymbiotic organelles.
2019. Microbial cell. Roč. 6, č. 2 (2019), s. 134-141. E-ISSN 2311-2638
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA16-24027S; GA ČR(CZ) GBP501/12/G055; GA MŠMT(CZ) EF16_019/0000759
Institutional support: RVO:60077344
Keywords : horizontal gene-transfer * evolution * microsporidia * subunit * eukaryotes * origin * impact * host * life * bacterium * eukaryote * organelle * evolution * microbiome * endosymbiosis * domestication
OECD category: Microbiology
Method of publishing: Open access
http://microbialcell.com/researcharticles/2019a-obornik-microbial-cell/

The names we give objects of research, to some extent, predispose our ways of thinking about them. Misclassifications of Oomycota, Microsporidia, Myxosporidia, and Helicosporidia have obviously affected not only their formal taxonomic names, but also the methods and approaches with which they have been investigated. Therefore, it is important to name biological entities with accurate terms in order to avoid discrepancies in researching them. The endosymbiotic origin of mitochondria and plastids is now the most accepted scenario for their evolution. Since it is apparent that there is no natural definitive border between bacteria and semiautonomous organelles, I propose that mitochondria and plastids should be called bacteria and classified accordingly, in the bacterial classification system. I discuss some consequences of this approach, including: i) the resulting 'changes' in the abundances of bacteria, ii) the definitions of terms like microbiome or multicellularity, and iii) the concept of endosymbiotic domestication.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0305710