Apoptotic bodies in phytoplankton suggest evolutionary conservation of cell death mechanisms

Luisa Corredor (), Georgia Antonia Vergou, Vladimír Skalický, Ioanna Antoniadi, Benjamin J. Wheaton, Karin Ljung, András Gorzsás and Christiane Funk ()
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Luisa Corredor: Umeå University
Georgia Antonia Vergou: Umeå University
Vladimír Skalický: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Ioanna Antoniadi: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Benjamin J. Wheaton: Umeå University
Karin Ljung: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
András Gorzsás: Umeå University
Christiane Funk: Umeå University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract Programmed Cell Death (PCD) in eukaryotes is a regulated process occurring during development, cell differentiation and aging. Apoptosis is a particularly well studied morphotype of PCD, only observed in animal cells (metazoan). Its most definitive hallmark is the formation and release of membrane-enclosed extracellular vesicles called Apoptotic Bodies (ABs). Although apoptotic-like features have been described in plants, yeast, protozoa and phytoplankton, the production of ABs has been thought to be limited to multicellular animals. Here we report the production and release of extracellular ABs in a non-metazoan unicellular eukaryote, the cryptophyte alga Guillardia theta. Morphologies of G. theta cells during aging and pharmacologically-induced cell death confirm the presence of ABs and apoptosis in phytoplankton. G. theta ABs have similar composition to metazoan ABs, carrying DNA, proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, fragments of organelles and cytosol portions. Our results demonstrate that G. theta, a microalga that arose from secondary endosymbiosis, experiences apoptotic cell death in physiological conditions, similar to animal cells. Since secondary endosymbiosis occurred prior to the origin of multicellularity, our discovery questions the evolutionary origin of PCD.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-63956-4

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