Electron Tomographic and Ultrastructural Analysis of the Cryptosporidium parvum Relict Mitochondrion, its Associated Membranes, and Organelles.

Reports on an ultrastructural analysis of the relict mitochondrion of Cryptosporidium parvum sporozoites that includes electron tomographic reconstruction. Presence of either a single, highly-folded inner membrane or multiple internal subcompartments; Lack of tubular "crista junctions" in the infoldings of the inner membrane; Suggestion that the retention of a relict mitochondrion is a strategy for compartmentalizing away from the cytosol toxic ferrous iron and sulfide.