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Kotsyurbenko OR, Kompanichenko VN, Brouchkov AV, Khrunyk YY, Karlov SP, Sorokin VV, Skladnev DA. Different Scenarios for the Origin and the Subsequent Succession of a Hypothetical Microbial Community in the Cloud Layer of Venus. ASTROBIOLOGY 2024; 24:423-441. [PMID: 38563825 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2022.0117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
The possible existence of a microbial community in the venusian clouds is one of the most intriguing hypotheses in modern astrobiology. Such a community must be characterized by a high survivability potential under severe environmental conditions, the most extreme of which are very low pH levels and water activity. Considering different scenarios for the origin of life and geological history of our planet, a few of these scenarios are discussed in the context of the origin of hypothetical microbial life within the venusian cloud layer. The existence of liquid water on the surface of ancient Venus is one of the key outstanding questions influencing this possibility. We link the inherent attributes of microbial life as we know it that favor the persistence of life in such an environment and review the possible scenarios of life's origin and its evolution under a strong greenhouse effect and loss of water on Venus. We also propose a roadmap and describe a novel methodological approach for astrobiological research in the framework of future missions to Venus with the intent to reveal whether life exists today on the planet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oleg R Kotsyurbenko
- Higher School of Ecology, Yugra State University, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia
- Network of Researchers on the Chemical Evolution of Life, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Vladimir N Kompanichenko
- Network of Researchers on the Chemical Evolution of Life, Leeds, United Kingdom
- Institute for Complex Analysis of Regional Problems RAS, Birobidzhan, Russia
| | | | - Yuliya Y Khrunyk
- Department of Heat Treatment and Physics of Metal, Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia
| | - Sergey P Karlov
- Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Moscow Polytechnic University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Vladimir V Sorokin
- Research Center of Biotechnology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Winogradsky Institute of Microbiology, Moscow, Russia
| | - Dmitry A Skladnev
- Network of Researchers on the Chemical Evolution of Life, Leeds, United Kingdom
- Research Center of Biotechnology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Winogradsky Institute of Microbiology, Moscow, Russia
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Zheng J, Guo N, Huang Y, Guo X, Wagner A. High temperature delays and low temperature accelerates evolution of a new protein phenotype. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2495. [PMID: 38553445 PMCID: PMC10980763 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46332-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Since the origin of life, temperatures on earth have fluctuated both on short and long time scales. How such changes affect the rate at which Darwinian evolution can bring forth new phenotypes remains unclear. On the one hand, high temperature may accelerate phenotypic evolution because it accelerates most biological processes. On the other hand, it may slow phenotypic evolution, because proteins are usually less stable at high temperatures and therefore less evolvable. Here, to test these hypotheses experimentally, we evolved a green fluorescent protein in E. coli towards the new phenotype of yellow fluorescence at different temperatures. Yellow fluorescence evolved most slowly at high temperature and most rapidly at low temperature, in contradiction to the first hypothesis. Using high-throughput population sequencing, protein engineering, and biochemical assays, we determined that this is due to the protein-destabilizing effect of neofunctionalizing mutations. Destabilization is highly detrimental at high temperature, where neofunctionalizing mutations cannot be tolerated. Their detrimental effects can be mitigated through excess stability at low temperature, leading to accelerated adaptive evolution. By modifying protein folding stability, temperature alters the accessibility of mutational paths towards high-fitness genotypes. Our observations have broad implications for our understanding of how temperature changes affect evolutionary adaptations and innovations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Zheng
- Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Structural Biology, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, China.
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, China.
- Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, China.
| | - Ning Guo
- Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Structural Biology, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, China
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yuxiang Huang
- Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Structural Biology, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, China
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiang Guo
- Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Structural Biology, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, China
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, China
- Institute of Biology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, China
| | - Andreas Wagner
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland.
- The Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, USA.
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Plum K, Tarkington J, Zufall RA. Experimental Evolution in Tetrahymena. Microorganisms 2022; 10:microorganisms10020414. [PMID: 35208869 PMCID: PMC8877770 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10020414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Experimental evolution has provided novel insight into a wide array of biological processes. Species in the genus Tetrahymena are proving to be a highly useful system for studying a range of questions using experimental evolution. Their unusual genomic architecture, diversity of life history traits, importance as both predator and prey, and amenability to laboratory culture allow them to be studied in a variety of contexts. In this paper, we review what we are learning from experimental evolution with Tetrahymena about mutation, adaptation, and eco-evolutionary dynamics. We predict that future experimental evolution studies using Tetrahyemena will continue to shed new light on these processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karissa Plum
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, USA;
| | - Jason Tarkington
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA;
| | - Rebecca A. Zufall
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, USA;
- Correspondence:
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