Alternative oxidase in trypanosomatids

Abstract

Background. Alternative oxidase (AOX) is a mitochondrial terminal oxidase that provides an alternative route for electron transfer, contributing to respiratory flexibility and redox homeostasis under stress conditions. In trypanosomatids, AOX displays a highly uneven distribution associated with extensive diversification of mitochondrial electron transport chains (ETCs). In addition to canonical AOX, many trypanosomatids encode an enigmatic AOX-like protein (AOX-L), whose evolutionary origin and functional significance remain unresolved. Results. Here, we investigated the evolutionary distribution, phylogenetic relationships, structural conservation, and functional divergence of AOX and AOX-L across euglenozoans. Comparative genomic analyses revealed a patchy distribution of both proteins among kinetoplastids, with multiple independent losses during evolution. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that AOX and AOX-L represent distinct evolutionary lineages, indicating independent origins rather than duplication-derived divergence. While AOX showed a conserved eukaryotic origin, AOX-L occupied a separate phylogenetic position and lacked key residues required for ubiquinol oxidation. Structural modelling revealed that AOX-L retained the characteristic AOX fold, predicted membrane association, and dimeric organization, but lacked the catalytic architecture necessary for enzymatic activity. Transcriptomic and biochemical analyses of four AOX-containing trypanosomatid species showed that AOX expression and activity correlated with mitochondrial ETC organization. Species lacking cytochrome-dependent complexes III and IV displayed substantially higher AOX expression and enzymatic activity, consistent with AOX functioning as the primary terminal oxidase in these lineages. Conversely, species retaining a canonical ETC exhibited lower AOX activity, suggesting a role in metabolic flexibility and redox regulation. Conclusions. Our study provides a comprehensive evolutionary and functional framework for alternative oxidases in trypanosomatids. We demonstrate that AOX and AOX-L are evolutionarily distinct proteins with different predicted functions: AOX maintains respiratory electron flow according to lineage-specific mitochondrial requirements, whereas AOX-L represents a structurally conserved but catalytically inactive protein family that may have acquired an alternative regulatory role. These findings highlight how mitochondrial respiratory components diversify during eukaryotic evolution and provide a basis for future investigations into the biological function of AOX-L.