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Nakagawa S, Imachi H, Shimamura S, Yanaka S, Yagi H, Yagi-Utsumi M, Sakai H, Kato S, Ohkuma M, Kato K, Takai K. Characterization of protein glycosylation in an Asgard archaeon. BBA ADVANCES 2024; 6:100118. [PMID: 39081798 PMCID: PMC11284389 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbadva.2024.100118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2024] [Revised: 06/30/2024] [Accepted: 07/10/2024] [Indexed: 08/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Archaeal cells are typically enveloped by glycosylated S-layer proteins. Archaeal protein glycosylation provides valuable insights not only into their adaptation to their niches but also into their evolutionary trajectory. Notably, thermophilic Thermoproteota modify proteins with N-glycans that include two GlcNAc units at the reducing end, resembling the "core structure" preserved across eukaryotes. Recently, Asgard archaea, now classified as members of the phylum Promethearchaeota, have offered unprecedented opportunities for understanding the role of archaea in eukaryogenesis. Despite the presence of genes indicative of protein N-glycosylation in this archaeal group, these have not been experimentally investigated. Here we performed a glycoproteome analysis of the firstly isolated Asgard archaeon Promethearchaeum syntrophicum. Over 700 different proteins were identified through high-resolution LC-MS/MS analysis, however, there was no evidence of either the presence or glycosylation of putative S-layer proteins. Instead, N-glycosylation in this archaeon was primarily observed in an extracellular solute-binding protein, possibly related to chemoreception or transmembrane transport of oligopeptides. The glycan modification occurred on an asparagine residue located within the conserved N-X-S/T sequon, consistent with the pattern found in other archaea, bacteria, and eukaryotes. Unexpectedly, three structurally different N-glycans lacking the conventional core structure were identified in this archaeon, presenting unique compositions that included atypical sugars. Notably, one of these sugars was likely HexNAc modified with a threonine residue, similar to modifications previously observed in mesophilic methanogens within the Methanobacteriati. Our findings advance our understanding of Asgard archaea physiology and evolutionary dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satoshi Nakagawa
- Laboratory of Marine Environmental Microbiology, Division of Applied Biosciences, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Oiwake-cho, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
- Institute for Extra-cutting-edge Science and Technology Avant-garde Research (X-star), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka 273-0061, Japan
- Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS), National Institute of Natural Sciences, 5-1 Higashiyama, Myodaiji, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8787, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Imachi
- Institute for Extra-cutting-edge Science and Technology Avant-garde Research (X-star), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka 273-0061, Japan
| | - Shigeru Shimamura
- Institute for Extra-cutting-edge Science and Technology Avant-garde Research (X-star), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka 273-0061, Japan
| | - Saeko Yanaka
- Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS), National Institute of Natural Sciences, 5-1 Higashiyama, Myodaiji, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8787, Japan
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, 3-1 Tanabe-dori, Mizuhoku, Nagoya 467-8603, Japan
- Institute for Molecular Science (IMS), National Institutes of Natural Sciences, 5-1 Higashiyama, Myodaiji, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8787, Japan
| | - Hirokazu Yagi
- Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS), National Institute of Natural Sciences, 5-1 Higashiyama, Myodaiji, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8787, Japan
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, 3-1 Tanabe-dori, Mizuhoku, Nagoya 467-8603, Japan
| | - Maho Yagi-Utsumi
- Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS), National Institute of Natural Sciences, 5-1 Higashiyama, Myodaiji, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8787, Japan
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, 3-1 Tanabe-dori, Mizuhoku, Nagoya 467-8603, Japan
- Institute for Molecular Science (IMS), National Institutes of Natural Sciences, 5-1 Higashiyama, Myodaiji, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8787, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Sakai
- Japan Collection of Microorganisms (JCM), RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Shingo Kato
- Japan Collection of Microorganisms (JCM), RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
- Submarine Resources Research Center, JAMSTEC, Yokosuka 273-0061, Japan
| | - Moriya Ohkuma
- Japan Collection of Microorganisms (JCM), RIKEN BioResource Research Center, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Koichi Kato
- Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS), National Institute of Natural Sciences, 5-1 Higashiyama, Myodaiji, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8787, Japan
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, 3-1 Tanabe-dori, Mizuhoku, Nagoya 467-8603, Japan
- Institute for Molecular Science (IMS), National Institutes of Natural Sciences, 5-1 Higashiyama, Myodaiji, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8787, Japan
| | - Ken Takai
- Institute for Extra-cutting-edge Science and Technology Avant-garde Research (X-star), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka 273-0061, Japan
- Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS), National Institute of Natural Sciences, 5-1 Higashiyama, Myodaiji, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8787, Japan
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Fry M. The discovery of archaea: from observed anomaly to consequential restructuring of the phylogenetic tree. HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE LIFE SCIENCES 2024; 46:16. [PMID: 38530473 PMCID: PMC10965645 DOI: 10.1007/s40656-024-00616-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024]
Abstract
Observational and experimental discoveries of new factual entities such as objects, systems, or processes, are major contributors to some advances in the life sciences. Yet, whereas discovery of theories was extensively deliberated by philosophers of science, very little philosophical attention was paid to the discovery of factual entities. This paper examines historical and philosophical aspects of the experimental discovery by Carl Woese of archaea, prokaryotes that comprise one of the three principal domains of the phylogenetic tree. Borrowing Kuhn's terminology, this discovery of a major biological entity was made during a 'normal science' project of building molecular taxonomy for prokaryotes. Unexpectedly, however, an observed anomaly instigated the discovery of archaea. Substantiation of the existence of the new archaeal entity and consequent reconstruction of the phylogenetic tree prompted replacement of a long-held model of a prokarya and eukarya bipartite tree of life by a new model of a tripartite tree comprising of bacteria, archaea, and eukarya. This paper explores the history and philosophical implications of the progression of Woese's project from normal science to anomaly-instigated model-changing discovery. It is also shown that the consequential discoveries of RNA splicing and of ribozymes were similarly prompted by unexpected irregularities during normal science activities. It is thus submitted that some discoveries of factual biological entities are triggered by unforeseen observational or experimental anomalies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Fry
- Department of Biochemistry, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Efron St., Bat Galim, POB 9649, Haifa, 31096, Israel.
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Zhao P, Bi X, Wang X, Feng X, Shen Y, Yuan G, She Q. Rational design of unrestricted pRN1 derivatives and their application in the construction of a dual plasmid vector system for Saccharolobus islandicus. MLIFE 2024; 3:119-128. [PMID: 38827506 PMCID: PMC11139203 DOI: 10.1002/mlf2.12107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Revised: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2024]
Abstract
Saccharolobus islandicus REY15A represents one of the very few archaeal models with versatile genetic tools, which include efficient genome editing, gene silencing, and robust protein expression systems. However, plasmid vectors constructed for this crenarchaeon thus far are based solely on the pRN2 cryptic plasmid. Although this plasmid coexists with pRN1 in its original host, early attempts to test pRN1-based vectors consistently failed to yield any stable host-vector system for Sa. islandicus. We hypothesized that this failure could be due to the occurrence of CRISPR immunity against pRN1 in this archaeon. We identified a putative target sequence in orf904 encoding a putative replicase on pRN1 (target N1). Mutated targets (N1a, N1b, and N1c) were then designed and tested for their capability to escape the host CRISPR immunity by using a plasmid interference assay. The results revealed that the original target triggered CRISPR immunity in this archaeon, whereas all three mutated targets did not, indicating that all the designed target mutations evaded host immunity. These mutated targets were then incorporated into orf904 individually, yielding corresponding mutated pRN1 backbones with which shuttle plasmids were constructed (pN1aSD, pN1bSD, and pN1cSD). Sa. islandicus transformation revealed that pN1aSD and pN1bSD were functional shuttle vectors, but pN1cSD lost the capability for replication. These results indicate that the missense mutations in the conserved helicase domain in pN1c inactivated the replicase. We further showed that pRN1-based and pRN2-based vectors were stably maintained in the archaeal cells either alone or in combination, and this yielded a dual plasmid system for genetic study with this important archaeal model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengpeng Zhao
- CRISPR and Archaea Biology Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology and Microbial Technology InstituteShandong UniversityQingdaoChina
| | - Xiaonan Bi
- CRISPR and Archaea Biology Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology and Microbial Technology InstituteShandong UniversityQingdaoChina
| | - Xiaoning Wang
- CRISPR and Archaea Biology Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology and Microbial Technology InstituteShandong UniversityQingdaoChina
| | - Xu Feng
- CRISPR and Archaea Biology Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology and Microbial Technology InstituteShandong UniversityQingdaoChina
| | - Yulong Shen
- CRISPR and Archaea Biology Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology and Microbial Technology InstituteShandong UniversityQingdaoChina
| | - Guanhua Yuan
- CRISPR and Archaea Biology Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology and Microbial Technology InstituteShandong UniversityQingdaoChina
| | - Qunxin She
- CRISPR and Archaea Biology Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology and Microbial Technology InstituteShandong UniversityQingdaoChina
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Siebieszuk A, Sejbuk M, Witkowska AM. Studying the Human Microbiota: Advances in Understanding the Fundamentals, Origin, and Evolution of Biological Timekeeping. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:16169. [PMID: 38003359 PMCID: PMC10671191 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242216169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The recently observed circadian oscillations of the intestinal microbiota underscore the profound nature of the human-microbiome relationship and its importance for health. Together with the discovery of circadian clocks in non-photosynthetic gut bacteria and circadian rhythms in anucleated cells, these findings have indicated the possibility that virtually all microorganisms may possess functional biological clocks. However, they have also raised many essential questions concerning the fundamentals of biological timekeeping, its evolution, and its origin. This narrative review provides a comprehensive overview of the recent literature in molecular chronobiology, aiming to bring together the latest evidence on the structure and mechanisms driving microbial biological clocks while pointing to potential applications of this knowledge in medicine. Moreover, it discusses the latest hypotheses regarding the evolution of timing mechanisms and describes the functions of peroxiredoxins in cells and their contribution to the cellular clockwork. The diversity of biological clocks among various human-associated microorganisms and the role of transcriptional and post-translational timekeeping mechanisms are also addressed. Finally, recent evidence on metabolic oscillators and host-microbiome communication is presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Siebieszuk
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Bialystok, Mickiewicza 2C, 15-222 Białystok, Poland;
| | - Monika Sejbuk
- Department of Food Biotechnology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Bialystok, Szpitalna 37, 15-295 Białystok, Poland;
| | - Anna Maria Witkowska
- Department of Food Biotechnology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Bialystok, Szpitalna 37, 15-295 Białystok, Poland;
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Craig JM, Kumar S, Hedges SB. The origin of eukaryotes and rise in complexity were synchronous with the rise in oxygen. FRONTIERS IN BIOINFORMATICS 2023; 3:1233281. [PMID: 37727796 PMCID: PMC10505794 DOI: 10.3389/fbinf.2023.1233281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The origin of eukaryotes was among the most important events in the history of life, spawning a new evolutionary lineage that led to all complex multicellular organisms. However, the timing of this event, crucial for understanding its environmental context, has been difficult to establish. The fossil and biomarker records are sparse and molecular clocks have thus far not reached a consensus, with dates spanning 2.1-0.91 billion years ago (Ga) for critical nodes. Notably, molecular time estimates for the last common ancestor of eukaryotes are typically hundreds of millions of years younger than the Great Oxidation Event (GOE, 2.43-2.22 Ga), leading researchers to question the presumptive link between eukaryotes and oxygen. We obtained a new time estimate for the origin of eukaryotes using genetic data of both archaeal and bacterial origin, the latter rarely used in past studies. We also avoided potential calibration biases that may have affected earlier studies. We obtained a conservative interval of 2.2-1.5 Ga, with an even narrower core interval of 2.0-1.8 Ga, for the origin of eukaryotes, a period closely aligned with the rise in oxygen. We further reconstructed the history of biological complexity across the tree of life using three universal measures: cell types, genes, and genome size. We found that the rise in complexity was temporally consistent with and followed a pattern similar to the rise in oxygen. This suggests a causal relationship stemming from the increased energy needs of complex life fulfilled by oxygen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack M. Craig
- Center for Biodiversity, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Institute for Genomics and Evolutionary Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Sudhir Kumar
- Center for Biodiversity, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Institute for Genomics and Evolutionary Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - S. Blair Hedges
- Center for Biodiversity, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Institute for Genomics and Evolutionary Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
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Řezanka T, Kyselová L, Murphy DJ. Archaeal lipids. Prog Lipid Res 2023; 91:101237. [PMID: 37236370 DOI: 10.1016/j.plipres.2023.101237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The major archaeal membrane glycerolipids are distinguished from those of bacteria and eukaryotes by the contrasting stereochemistry of their glycerol backbones, and by the use of ether-linked isoprenoid-based alkyl chains rather than ester-linked fatty acyl chains for their hydrophobic moieties. These fascinating compounds play important roles in the extremophile lifestyles of many species, but are also present in the growing numbers of recently discovered mesophilic archaea. The past decade has witnessed significant advances in our understanding of archaea in general and their lipids in particular. Much of the new information has come from the ability to screen large microbial populations via environmental metagenomics, which has revolutionised our understanding of the extent of archaeal biodiversity that is coupled with a strict conservation of their membrane lipid compositions. Significant additional progress has come from new culturing and analytical techniques that are gradually enabling archaeal physiology and biochemistry to be studied in real time. These studies are beginning to shed light on the much-discussed and still-controversial process of eukaryogenesis, which probably involved both bacterial and archaeal progenitors. Puzzlingly, although eukaryotes retain many attributes of their putative archaeal ancestors, their lipid compositions only reflect their bacterial progenitors. Finally, elucidation of archaeal lipids and their metabolic pathways have revealed potentially interesting applications that have opened up new frontiers for biotechnological exploitation of these organisms. This review is concerned with the analysis, structure, function, evolution and biotechnology of archaeal lipids and their associated metabolic pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomáš Řezanka
- Institute of Microbiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Vídeňská 1083, 142 00 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Lucie Kyselová
- Research Institute of Brewing and Malting, Lípová 511, 120 44 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Denis J Murphy
- School of Applied Sciences, University of South Wales, Pontypridd, CF37 1DL, United Kingdom.
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Forterre P. Carl Woese: Still ahead of our time. MLIFE 2022; 1:359-367. [PMID: 38818481 PMCID: PMC10989812 DOI: 10.1002/mlf2.12049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Revised: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/01/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Forterre
- Institut Pasteur, Departement de MicrobiologieParisFrance
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell, équipeBiologie Cellulaire des Archées, Département de MicrobiologieGif sur YvetteFrance
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Forterre P, Gaïa M. [Viruses and the evolution of modern eukaryotic cells]. Med Sci (Paris) 2022; 38:990-998. [PMID: 36692278 DOI: 10.1051/medsci/2022164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
It is now well accepted that viruses have played an important role in the evolution of modern eukaryotes. In this review, we suggest that interactions between ancient eukaryoviruses and proto-eukaryotes also played a major role in eukaryogenesis. We discuss phylogenetic analyses that highlight the viral origin of several key proteins in the molecular biology of eukaryotes. We also discuss recent observations that, by analogy, could suggest a viral origin of the cellular nucleus. Finally, we hypothesize that mechanisms of cell differentiation in multicellular organisms might have originated from mechanisms implemented by viruses to transform infected cells into virocells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Forterre
- Département de microbiologie, Institut Pasteur, 25 rue du Docteur Roux, 75015 Paris, France - Institut de biologie intégrative de la cellule (I2BC), Département de microbiologie, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Morgan Gaïa
- Génomique métabolique, Genoscope, Institut François Jacob, CEA, CNRS, Univ. Evry, Université Paris-Saclay, 91057 Évry, France
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Liu Y, Li M. The unstable evolutionary position of Korarchaeota and its relationship with other TACK and Asgard archaea. MLIFE 2022; 1:218-222. [PMID: 38817676 PMCID: PMC10989867 DOI: 10.1002/mlf2.12020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Revised: 02/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/01/2024]
Abstract
The applications of marker gene concatenation have been advanced to resolve the key questions in the Tree of Life. However, the interphylum evolutionary relationship between Korarchaeota of TACK (Thaumarchaeota, Aigarchaeota, Crenarchaeota, Korarchaeota) and Asgard archaea remains uncertain. We applied a marker gene ranking procedure to examine their evolutionary history. Our updated trees showed confident placements of (1) Korarchaeota as the basal branch to other TACK archaea and as a sister group to Asgard archaea; (2) Njordarchaeota at basal branch to Korarchaeota instead of within Asgard archaea. They highlight the importance of evaluating marker genes for phylogeny inference of the Archaea domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Liu
- Archaeal Biology Center, Institute for Advanced StudyShenzhen UniversityShenzhenChina
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced StudyShenzhen UniversityShenzhenChina
| | - Meng Li
- Archaeal Biology Center, Institute for Advanced StudyShenzhen UniversityShenzhenChina
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced StudyShenzhen UniversityShenzhenChina
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