Mitochondria, our endosymbiotic pearls
- Dr. JeM YinJoy
How are you all, dear aspiring Microbe Whisperers? I know I dropped off the blog space when I took a dream job as a research scientist in Oct. 2021.
I am back now with more Microbe Whisperer wisdom - after diving deeply into research with a microbe called Paracoccus denitrificans.
This Microbe may be our original mitochondrion. This hypothesis was proposed in 1975 (Table 1) and the theory has gained strong support as modern researchers apply genetic tools to test it.
The Mitochondria
The mitochondria are the source of energy in our bodies. These organelles produce our ATP. Biologist Lynn Margulis proposed that the original mitochondrion was a bacterial cell, which was either engulfed by one of our eukaryotic ancestors or invaded the ancestor. Either way, once it was inside our ancestor, this microbe became an obligate symbiont. These means both host and cell benefited from the relationship so greatly that they made the relationship permanent. As a result of this consensual agreement, the bacterial symbiont was then sheathed with the host's membrane layers and protein markers to make this new microbe member invulnerable to the host's immune defenses. In this way, P. denitrificans became part of our ancestor's body permanently.
The Microbe Spirit Guide (SEM of P. denitrificans)
I personally worked with this microbe, P. denitrificans from 2021 to 2022 as a research microbiologist in a university lab. This microbe can live without oxygen because she converts laughing gas (N2O) to nitrogen for energy. During my time in this position, not only did I enjoy the fantasy of the microbes trading jokes as they grew in my test tubes, I also learned many personal spiritual lessons from working with this metabolically diverse microbe guide.
A PEARL IS FORMED
P. denitrificans reminds me of the seed for a pearl. Why?
A pearl originally starts as an irritation on body of an oyster. The oyster responds to this irritation by coating the irritant with mother of pearl layers, until a lovely, round jewel is formed. One might think of P. denitrificans as an initial irritant to that early eukaryotic cell.
Because the original entry of this microbe into a host cell was probably not welcomed. Most likely it was irritating at the least, and deemed a threat by the immune system at most. But rather than escort the microbe out, one host cell wisely found it advantageous to benefit from this microbe's metabolic capacity and covered it with layers of protective coating to keep it from being rejected. And over evolutionary time, a "pearl" was formed, as a mitochondrion, the powerhouse of our cells and that of other multicellular organisms.
SPIRITUAL LESSONS
Sometimes irritants in our lives are as mundane as an insect bite. And they can be as burdensome as unresolved trauma. But layering these irritants with our unique perspective grants us a powerhouse of wisdom. Wisdom, like a pearl that can be appreciated for its luster and beauty. And like a mitochondrion, this gives us the fuel to move forward into the next phase of our precious and unparalleled life stories.
It is Spring Equinox and deep in the dark layers of Mother Earth, seed plumules are stirring and ice is thawing. Time to celebrate the germination of many seeds around us, enjoy the beauty of the flowering plants and relish the earthy fragrance of fresh vegetable plots.
Like the Microbe P. denitrificans, let us feed on laughter. Like the oyster from the sea, let us create pearls from our Winter irritations, and join with the microbes of the soil to celebrate the new shoots of Spring.
by Dr. JeM YinJoy