Characterization of mitochondrial proteomes of nonbilaterian animals

Brief History of Ctenophora

Ctenophores are the descendants of the earliest surviving lineage of ancestral metazoans, predating the branch leading to sponges (Ctenophore-first phylogeny). Emerging genomic, ultrastructural, cellular, and systemic data indicate that virtually every aspect of ctenophore biology as well as ctenophore development are remarkably different from what is described in representatives of other 32 animal phyla. The outcome of this reconstruction is that most system-level components associated with the ctenophore organization result from convergent evolution. In other words, the ctenophore lineage independently evolved as high animal complexities with the astonishing diversity of cell types and structures as bilaterians and cnidarians. Specifically, neurons, synapses, muscles, mesoderm, through gut, sensory, and integrative systems evolved independently in Ctenophora. Rapid parallel evolution of complex traits is associated with a broad spectrum of unique ctenophore-specific molecular innovations, including alternative toolkits for making an animal. However, the systematic studies of ctenophores are in their infancy, and deciphering their remarkable morphological and functional diversity is one of the hot topics in biological research, with many anticipated surprises.

Inheritance through the cytoplasm

Most heritable information in eukaryotic cells is encoded in the nuclear genome, with inheritance patterns following classic Mendelian segregation. Genomes residing in the cytoplasm, however, prove to be a peculiar exception to this rule. Cytoplasmic genetic elements are generally maternally inherited, although there are several exceptions where these are paternally, biparentally or doubly-uniparentally inherited. In this review, we examine the diversity and peculiarities of cytoplasmically inherited genomes, and the broad evolutionary consequences that non-Mendelian inheritance brings. We first explore the origins of vertical transmission and uniparental inheritance, before detailing the vast diversity of cytoplasmic inheritance systems across Eukaryota. We then describe the evolution of genomic organisation across lineages, how this process has been shaped by interactions with the nuclear genome and population genetics dynamics. Finally, we discuss how both nuclear and cytoplasmic genomes have evolved to co-inhabit the same host cell via one of the longest symbiotic processes, and all the opportunities for intergenomic conflict that arise due to divergence in inheritance patterns. In sum, we cannot understand the evolution of eukaryotes without understanding hereditary symbiosis.

Multiple Losses of MSH1, Gain of mtMutS, and Other Changes in the MutS Family of DNA Repair Proteins in Animals

MutS is a key component of the mismatch repair (MMR) pathway. Members of the MutS protein family are present in prokaryotes, eukaryotes, and viruses. Six MutS homologs (MSH1-6) have been identified in yeast, of which three function in nuclear MMR, while MSH1 functions in mitochondrial DNA repair. MSH proteins are believed to be well conserved in animals, except for MSH1-which is thought to be lost. Two intriguing exceptions to this general picture have been found, both in the class Anthozoa within the phylum Cnidaria. First, an ortholog of the yeast-MSH1 was reported in one hexacoral species. Second, a MutS homolog (mtMutS) has been found in the mitochondrial genome of all octocorals. To understand the origin and potential functional implications of these exceptions, we investigated the evolution of the MutS family both in Cnidaria and in animals in general. Our study confirmed the acquisition of octocoral mtMutS by horizontal gene transfer from a giant virus. Surprisingly, we identified MSH1 in all hexacorals and several sponges and placozoans. By contrast, MSH1 orthologs were lacking in other cnidarians, ctenophores, and bilaterian animals. Furthermore, while we identified MSH2 and MSH6 in nearly all animals, MSH4, MSH5, and, especially, MSH3 were missing in multiple species. Overall, our analysis revealed a dynamic evolution of the MutS family in animals, with multiple losses of MSH1, MSH3, some losses of MSH4 and MSH5, and a gain of the octocoral mtMutS. We propose that octocoral mtMutS functionally replaced MSH1 that was present in the common ancestor of Anthozoa.

The draft nuclear genome sequence and predicted mitochondrial proteome of Andalucia godoyi, a protist with the most gene-rich and bacteria-like mitochondrial genome

Background

Comparative analyses have indicated that the mitochondrion of the last eukaryotic common ancestor likely possessed all the key core structures and functions that are widely conserved throughout the domain Eucarya. To date, such studies have largely focused on animals, fungi, and land plants (primarily multicellular eukaryotes); relatively few mitochondrial proteomes from protists (primarily unicellular eukaryotic microbes) have been examined. To gauge the full extent of mitochondrial structural and functional complexity and to identify potential evolutionary trends in mitochondrial proteomes, more comprehensive explorations of phylogenetically diverse mitochondrial proteomes are required. In this regard, a key group is the jakobids, a clade of protists belonging to the eukaryotic supergroup Discoba, distinguished by having the most gene-rich and most bacteria-like mitochondrial genomes discovered to date.

Results

In this study, we assembled the draft nuclear genome sequence for the jakobid Andalucia godoyi and used a comprehensive in silico approach to infer the nucleus-encoded portion of the mitochondrial proteome of this protist, identifying 864 candidate mitochondrial proteins. The A. godoyi mitochondrial proteome has a complexity that parallels that of other eukaryotes, while exhibiting an unusually large number of ancestral features that have been lost particularly in opisthokont (animal and fungal) mitochondria. Notably, we find no evidence that the A. godoyi nuclear genome has or had a gene encoding a single-subunit, T3/T7 bacteriophage-like RNA polymerase, which functions as the mitochondrial transcriptase in all eukaryotes except the jakobids.

Conclusions

As genome and mitochondrial proteome data have become more widely available, a strikingly punctuate phylogenetic distribution of different mitochondrial components has been revealed, emphasizing that the pathways of mitochondrial proteome evolution are likely complex and lineage-specific. Unraveling this complexity will require comprehensive comparative analyses of mitochondrial proteomes from a phylogenetically broad range of eukaryotes, especially protists. The systematic in silico approach described here offers a valuable adjunct to direct proteomic analysis (e.g., via mass spectrometry), particularly in cases where the latter approach is constrained by sample limitation or other practical considerations.

A cnidarian parasite of salmon (Myxozoa: Henneguya) lacks a mitochondrial genome

Although aerobic respiration is a hallmark of eukaryotes, a few unicellular lineages, growing in hypoxic environments, have secondarily lost this ability. In the absence of oxygen, the mitochondria of these organisms have lost all or parts of their genomes and evolved into mitochondria-related organelles (MROs). There has been debate regarding the presence of MROs in animals. Using deep sequencing approaches, we discovered that a member of the Cnidaria, the myxozoan Henneguya salminicola, has no mitochondrial genome, and thus has lost the ability to perform aerobic cellular respiration. This indicates that these core eukaryotic features are not ubiquitous among animals. Our analyses suggest that H. salminicola lost not only its mitochondrial genome but also nearly all nuclear genes involved in transcription and replication of the mitochondrial genome. In contrast, we identified many genes that encode proteins involved in other mitochondrial pathways and determined that genes involved in aerobic respiration or mitochondrial DNA replication were either absent or present only as pseudogenes. As a control, we used the same sequencing and annotation methods to show that a closely related myxozoan, Myxobolus squamalis, has a mitochondrial genome. The molecular results are supported by fluorescence micrographs, which show the presence of mitochondrial DNA in M. squamalis, but not in H. salminicola. Our discovery confirms that adaptation to an anaerobic environment is not unique to single-celled eukaryotes, but has also evolved in a multicellular, parasitic animal. Hence, H. salminicola provides an opportunity for understanding the evolutionary transition from an aerobic to an exclusive anaerobic metabolism.