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Koslová A, Hackl T, Bade F, Sanchez Kasikovic A, Barenhoff K, Schimm F, Mersdorf U, Fischer MG. Endogenous virophages are active and mitigate giant virus infection in the marine protist Cafeteria burkhardae. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2314606121. [PMID: 38446847 PMCID: PMC10945749 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2314606121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Endogenous viral elements (EVEs) are common genetic passengers in various protists. Some EVEs represent viral fossils, whereas others are still active. The marine heterotrophic flagellate Cafeteria burkhardae contains several EVE types related to the virophage mavirus, a small DNA virus that parasitizes the lytic giant virus CroV. We hypothesized that endogenous virophages may act as an antiviral defense system in protists, but no protective effect of virophages in wild host populations has been shown so far. Here, we tested the activity of virophage EVEs and studied their impact on giant virus replication. We found that endogenous mavirus-like elements (EMALEs) from globally distributed Cafeteria populations produced infectious virus particles specifically in response to CroV infection. However, reactivation was stochastic, often inefficient, and poorly reproducible. Interestingly, only one of eight EMALE types responded to CroV infection, implying that other EMALEs may be linked to different giant viruses. We isolated and cloned several reactivated virophages and characterized their particles, genomes, and infection dynamics. All tested virophages inhibited the production of CroV during coinfection, thereby preventing lysis of the host cultures in a dose-dependent manner. Comparative genomics of different C. burkhardae strains revealed that inducible EMALEs are common and are not linked to specific geographic locations. We demonstrate that naturally occurring virophage EVEs reactivate upon giant virus infection, thus providing a striking example that eukaryotic EVEs can become active under specific conditions. Moreover, our results support the hypothesis that virophages can act as an adaptive antiviral defense system in protists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Koslová
- Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg69120, Germany
| | - Thomas Hackl
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen9747 AG, The Netherlands
| | - Felix Bade
- Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg69120, Germany
| | | | - Karina Barenhoff
- Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg69120, Germany
| | - Fiona Schimm
- Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg69120, Germany
| | - Ulrike Mersdorf
- Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg69120, Germany
| | - Matthias G. Fischer
- Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg69120, Germany
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2
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Šafranek M, Shumbusho A, Johansen W, Šarkanová J, Voško S, Bokor B, Jásik J, Demko V. Membrane-anchored calpains - hidden regulators of growth and development beyond plants? FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1289785. [PMID: 38173928 PMCID: PMC10762896 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1289785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Calpains are modulatory proteases that modify diverse cellular substrates and play essential roles in eukaryots. The best studied are animal cytosolic calpains. Here, we focus on enigmatic membrane-anchored calpains, their structural and functional features as well as phylogenetic distribution. Based on domain composition, we identified four types of membrane-anchored calpains. Type 1 and 2 show broad phylogenetic distribution among unicellular protists and streptophytes suggesting their ancient evolutionary origin. Type 3 and 4 diversified early and are present in brown algae and oomycetes. The plant DEK1 protein is the only representative of membrane-anchored calpains that has been functionally studied. Here, we present up to date knowledge about its structural features, putative regulation, posttranslational modifications, and biological role. Finally, we discuss potential model organisms and available tools for functional studies of membrane-anchored calpains with yet unknown biological role. Mechanistic understanding of membrane-anchored calpains may provide important insights into fundamental principles of cell polarization, cell fate control, and morphogenesis beyond plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Å afranek
- Institute of Botany, Plant Science and Biodiversity Centre, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Alain Shumbusho
- Department of Plant Physiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Wenche Johansen
- Faculty of Applied Ecology, Agricultural Sciences and Biotechnology, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Hamar, Norway
| | - Júlia Šarkanová
- Comenius University Science Park, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Stanislav Voško
- Comenius University Science Park, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Boris Bokor
- Department of Plant Physiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
- Comenius University Science Park, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Ján Jásik
- Institute of Botany, Plant Science and Biodiversity Centre, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Viktor Demko
- Institute of Botany, Plant Science and Biodiversity Centre, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
- Department of Plant Physiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
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3
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Lind AL, McDonald NA, Gerrick ER, Bhatt AS, Pollard KS. Hybrid assemblies of microbiome Blastocystis protists reveal evolutionary diversification reflecting host ecology. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.11.20.567959. [PMID: 38045412 PMCID: PMC10690189 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.20.567959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
The most prevalent microbial eukaryote in the human gut is Blastocystis , an obligate commensal protist also common in many other vertebrates. Blastocystis is descended from free-living stramenopile ancestors; how it has adapted to thrive within humans and a wide range of hosts is unclear. Here, we cultivated six Blastocystis strains spanning the diversity of the genus and generated highly contiguous, annotated genomes with long-read DNA-seq, Hi-C, and RNA-seq. Comparative genomics between these strains and two closely related stramenopiles with different lifestyles, the lizard gut symbiont Proteromonas lacertae and the free-living marine flagellate Cafeteria burkhardae , reveal the evolutionary history of the Blastocystis genus. We find substantial gene content variability between Blastocystis strains. Blastocystis isolated from an herbivorous tortoise has many plant carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes, some horizontally acquired from bacteria, likely reflecting fermentation within the host gut. In contrast, human- isolated Blastocystis have gained many heat shock proteins, and we find numerous subtype- specific expansions of host-interfacing genes, including cell adhesion and cell surface glycan genes. In addition, we observe that human-isolated Blastocystis have substantial changes in gene structure, including shortened introns and intergenic regions, as well as genes lacking canonical termination codons. Finally, our data indicate that the common ancestor of Blastocystis lost nearly all ancestral genes for heterokont flagella morphology, including cilia proteins, microtubule motor proteins, and ion channel proteins. Together, these findings underscore the huge functional variability within the Blastocystis genus and provide candidate genes for the adaptations these lineages have undergone to thrive in the gut microbiomes of diverse vertebrates.
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4
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Roux S, Fischer MG, Hackl T, Katz LA, Schulz F, Yutin N. Updated Virophage Taxonomy and Distinction from Polinton-like Viruses. Biomolecules 2023; 13:204. [PMID: 36830574 PMCID: PMC9952930 DOI: 10.3390/biom13020204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Revised: 01/02/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Virophages are small dsDNA viruses that hijack the machinery of giant viruses during the co-infection of a protist (i.e., microeukaryotic) host and represent an exceptional case of "hyperparasitism" in the viral world. While only a handful of virophages have been isolated, a vast diversity of virophage-like sequences have been uncovered from diverse metagenomes. Their wide ecological distribution, idiosyncratic infection and replication strategy, ability to integrate into protist and giant virus genomes and potential role in antiviral defense have made virophages a topic of broad interest. However, one limitation for further studies is the lack of clarity regarding the nomenclature and taxonomy of this group of viruses. Specifically, virophages have been linked in the literature to other "virophage-like" mobile genetic elements and viruses, including polinton-like viruses (PLVs), but there are no formal demarcation criteria and proper nomenclature for either group, i.e., virophage or PLVs. Here, as part of the ICTV Virophage Study Group, we leverage a large set of genomes gathered from published datasets as well as newly generated protist genomes to propose delineation criteria and classification methods at multiple taxonomic ranks for virophages 'sensu stricto', i.e., genomes related to the prototype isolates Sputnik and mavirus. Based on a combination of comparative genomics and phylogenetic analyses, we show that this group of virophages forms a cohesive taxon that we propose to establish at the class level and suggest a subdivision into four orders and seven families with distinctive ecogenomic features. Finally, to illustrate how the proposed delineation criteria and classification method would be used, we apply these to two recently published datasets, which we show include both virophages and other virophage-related elements. Overall, we see this proposed classification as a necessary first step to provide a robust taxonomic framework in this area of the virosphere, which will need to be expanded in the future to cover other virophage-related viruses such as PLVs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Roux
- DOE Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Matthias G. Fischer
- Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Thomas Hackl
- Groningen Institute of Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, 9700 AB Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Laura A. Katz
- Department of Biological Sciences, Smith College, Northampton, MA 01063, USA
| | - Frederik Schulz
- DOE Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Natalya Yutin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA
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5
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Crystal structures of FNIP/FGxxFN motif-containing leucine-rich repeat proteins. Sci Rep 2022; 12:16430. [PMID: 36180492 PMCID: PMC9525666 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-20758-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The Cafeteria roenbergensis virus (Crov), Dictyostelium, and other species encode a large family of leucine-rich repeat (LRR) proteins with FGxxFN motifs. We determined the structures of two of them and observed several unique structural features that set them aside from previously characterized LRR family members. Crov588 comprises 25 regular repeats with a LxxLxFGxxFNQxIxENVLPxx consensus, forming a unique closed circular repeat structure. Novel features include a repositioning of a conserved asparagine at the middle of the repeat, a double phenylalanine spine that generates an alternate core packing arrangement, and a histidine/tyrosine ladder on the concave surface. Crov539 is smaller, comprising 12 repeats of a similar LxxLxFGxxFNQPIExVxW/LPxx consensus and forming an unusual cap-swapped dimer structure. The phenylalanine spine of Crov539 is supplemented with a tryptophan spine, while a hydrophobic isoleucine-rich patch is found on the central concave surface. We present a detailed analysis of the structures of Crov588 and Crov539 and compare them to related repeat proteins and other LRR classes.
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6
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Draft Genome Sequence of the Freshwater Diatom Fragilaria crotonensis SAG 28.96. Microbiol Resour Announc 2022; 11:e0028922. [PMID: 35976009 PMCID: PMC9476933 DOI: 10.1128/mra.00289-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Here, we report the assembled and annotated genome of the freshwater diatom Fragilaria crotonensis SAG 28.96. The 61.85-Mb nuclear genome was assembled into 879 contigs, has a GC content of 47.40%, contains 26,015 predicted genes, and shows completeness of 81%.
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7
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Cho A, Tikhonenkov DV, Hehenberger E, Karnkowska A, Mylnikov AP, Keeling PJ. Monophyly of Diverse Bigyromonadea and their Impact on Phylogenomic Relationships Within Stramenopiles. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2022; 171:107468. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2021] [Revised: 02/11/2022] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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8
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Gann ER, Truchon AR, Papoulis SE, Dyhrman ST, Gobler CJ, Wilhelm SW. Aureococcus anophagefferens (Pelagophyceae) genomes improve evaluation of nutrient acquisition strategies involved in brown tide dynamics. JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY 2022; 58:146-160. [PMID: 34773248 DOI: 10.1111/jpy.13221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Revised: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The pelagophyte Aureococcus anophagefferens causes harmful brown tide blooms in marine embayments on three continents. Aureococcus anophagefferens was the first harmful algal bloom species to have its genome sequenced, an advance that evidenced genes important for adaptation to environmental conditions that prevail during brown tides. To expand the genomic tools available for this species, genomes for four strains were assembled, including three newly sequenced strains and one assembled from publicly available data. These genomes ranged from 57.11 to 73.62 Mb, encoding 13,191-17,404 potential proteins. All strains shared ~90% of their encoded proteins as determined by homology searches and shared most functional orthologs as determined by KEGG, although each strain also possessed coding sequences with unique functions. Like the original reference genome, the genomes assembled in this study possessed genes hypothesized to be important in bloom proliferation, including genes involved in organic compound metabolism and growth at low light. Cross-strain informatics and culture experiments suggest that the utilization of purines is a potentially important source of organic nitrogen for brown tides. Analyses of metatranscriptomes from a brown tide event demonstrated that use of a single genome yielded a lower read mapping percentage (~30% of library reads) as compared to a database generated from all available genomes (~43%), suggesting novel information about bloom ecology can be gained from expanding genomic space. This work demonstrates the continued need to sequence ecologically relevant algae to understand the genomic potential and their ecology in the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric R Gann
- Department of Microbiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, 37996, USA
| | - Alexander R Truchon
- Department of Microbiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, 37996, USA
| | - Spiridon E Papoulis
- Department of Microbiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, 37996, USA
| | - Sonya T Dyhrman
- Biology and Paleo Environment Division, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York, 10964, USA
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, Palisades, New York, 10964, USA
| | - Christopher J Gobler
- School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, 11790, USA
| | - Steven W Wilhelm
- Department of Microbiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, 37996, USA
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9
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Govorunova EG, Sineshchekov OA, Spudich JL. Emerging Diversity of Channelrhodopsins and Their Structure-Function Relationships. Front Cell Neurosci 2022; 15:800313. [PMID: 35140589 PMCID: PMC8818676 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2021.800313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 12/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cation and anion channelrhodopsins (CCRs and ACRs, respectively) from phototactic algae have become widely used as genetically encoded molecular tools to control cell membrane potential with light. Recent advances in polynucleotide sequencing, especially in environmental samples, have led to identification of hundreds of channelrhodopsin homologs in many phylogenetic lineages, including non-photosynthetic protists. Only a few CCRs and ACRs have been characterized in detail, but there are indications that ion channel function has evolved within the rhodopsin superfamily by convergent routes. The diversity of channelrhodopsins provides an exceptional platform for the study of structure-function evolution in membrane proteins. Here we review the current state of channelrhodopsin research and outline perspectives for its further development.
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10
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MOSGA 2: Comparative genomics and validation tools. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2021; 19:5504-5509. [PMID: 34712396 PMCID: PMC8517542 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2021.09.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Revised: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Due to the highly growing number of available genomic information, the need for accessible and easy-to-use analysis tools is increasing. To facilitate eukaryotic genome annotations, we created MOSGA. In this work, we show how MOSGA 2 is developed by including several advanced analyses for genomic data. Since the genomic data quality greatly impacts the annotation quality, we included multiple tools to validate and ensure high-quality user-submitted genome assemblies. Moreover, thanks to the integration of comparative genomics methods, users can benefit from a broader genomic view by analyzing multiple genomic data sets simultaneously. Further, we demonstrate the new functionalities of MOSGA 2 by different use-cases and practical examples. MOSGA 2 extends the already established application to the quality control of the genomic data and integrates and analyzes multiple genomes in a larger context, e.g., by phylogenetics.
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11
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Hackl T, Duponchel S, Barenhoff K, Weinmann A, Fischer MG. Virophages and retrotransposons colonize the genomes of a heterotrophic flagellate. eLife 2021; 10:72674. [PMID: 34698016 PMCID: PMC8547959 DOI: 10.7554/elife.72674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Virophages can parasitize giant DNA viruses and may provide adaptive anti-giant virus defense in unicellular eukaryotes. Under laboratory conditions, the virophage mavirus integrates into the nuclear genome of the marine flagellate Cafeteria burkhardae and reactivates upon superinfection with the giant virus CroV. In natural systems, however, the prevalence and diversity of host-virophage associations has not been systematically explored. Here, we report dozens of integrated virophages in four globally sampled C. burkhardae strains that constitute up to 2% of their host genomes. These endogenous mavirus-like elements (EMALEs) separated into eight types based on GC-content, nucleotide similarity, and coding potential and carried diverse promoter motifs implicating interactions with different giant viruses. Between host strains, some EMALE insertion loci were conserved indicating ancient integration events, whereas the majority of insertion sites were unique to a given host strain suggesting that EMALEs are active and mobile. Furthermore, we uncovered a unique association between EMALEs and a group of tyrosine recombinase retrotransposons, revealing yet another layer of parasitism in this nested microbial system. Our findings show that virophages are widespread and dynamic in wild Cafeteria populations, supporting their potential role in antiviral defense in protists. Viruses exist in all ecosystems in vast numbers and infect many organisms. Some of them are harmful but others can protect the organisms they infect. For example, a group of viruses called virophages protect microscopic sea creatures called plankton from deadly infections by so-called giant viruses. In fact, virophages need plankton infected with giant viruses to survive because they use enzymes from the giant viruses to turn on their own genes. A virophage called mavirus integrates its genes into the DNA of a type of plankton called Cafeteria. It lays dormant in the DNA until a giant virus called CroV infects the plankton. This suggests that the mavirus may be a built-in defense against CroV infections and laboratory studies seem to confirm this. But whether wild Cafeteria also use these defenses is unknown. Hackl et al. show that virophages are common in the DNA of wild Cafeteria and that the two appear to have a mutually beneficial relationship. In the experiments, the researchers sequenced the genomes of four Cafeteria populations from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and looked for virophages in their DNA. Each of the four Cafeteria genomes contained dozens of virophages, which suggests that virophages are important to these plankton. This included several relatives of the mavirus and seven new virophages. Virophage genes were often interrupted by so called jumping genes, which may take advantage of the virophages the way the virophages use giant viruses to meet their own needs. The experiments show that virophages often co-exist with marine plankton from around the world and these relationships are likely beneficial. In fact, the experiments suggest that the virophages may have played an important role in the evolution of these plankton. Further studies may help scientists learn more about virus ecology and how viruses have shaped the evolution of other creatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Hackl
- Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Sarah Duponchel
- Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Karina Barenhoff
- Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Alexa Weinmann
- Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Matthias G Fischer
- Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms, Heidelberg, Germany
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12
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Latorre F, Deutschmann IM, Labarre A, Obiol A, Krabberød AK, Pelletier E, Sieracki ME, Cruaud C, Jaillon O, Massana R, Logares R. Niche adaptation promoted the evolutionary diversification of tiny ocean predators. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2020955118. [PMID: 34155140 PMCID: PMC8237690 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2020955118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Unicellular eukaryotic predators play a crucial role in the functioning of the ocean ecosystem by recycling nutrients and energy that are channeled to upper trophic levels. Traditionally, these evolutionarily diverse organisms have been combined into a single functional group (heterotrophic flagellates), overlooking their organismal differences. Here, we investigated four evolutionarily related species belonging to one cosmopolitan group of uncultured marine picoeukaryotic predators: marine stramenopiles (MAST)-4 (species A, B, C, and E). Co-occurrence and distribution analyses in the global surface ocean indicated contrasting patterns in MAST-4A and C, suggesting adaptation to different temperatures. We then investigated whether these spatial distribution patterns were mirrored by MAST-4 genomic content using single-cell genomics. Analyses of 69 single cells recovered 66 to 83% of the MAST-4A/B/C/E genomes, which displayed substantial interspecies divergence. MAST-4 genomes were similar in terms of broad gene functional categories, but they differed in enzymes of ecological relevance, such as glycoside hydrolases (GHs), which are part of the food degradation machinery in MAST-4. Interestingly, MAST-4 species featuring a similar GH composition (A and C) coexcluded each other in the surface global ocean, while species with a different set of GHs (B and C) appeared to be able to coexist, suggesting further niche diversification associated with prey digestion. We propose that differential niche adaptation to temperature and prey type has promoted adaptive evolutionary diversification in MAST-4. We show that minute ocean predators from the same phylogenetic group may have different biogeography and genomic content, which needs to be accounted for to better comprehend marine food webs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Latorre
- Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones CientÃficas (CSIC), Barcelona E-08003, Spain;
| | - Ina M Deutschmann
- Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones CientÃficas (CSIC), Barcelona E-08003, Spain
| | - Aurélie Labarre
- Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones CientÃficas (CSIC), Barcelona E-08003, Spain
| | - Aleix Obiol
- Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones CientÃficas (CSIC), Barcelona E-08003, Spain
| | - Anders K Krabberød
- Department of Biosciences, Section for Genetics and Evolutionary Biology, University of Oslo, Oslo N-0316, Norway
| | - Eric Pelletier
- Metabolic Genomics, Genoscope, Institut de Biologie François Jacob, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, CNRS, Univ Evry, Université Paris-Saclay, 91000 Evry, France
- Research Federation for the Study of Global Ocean Systems Ecology & Evolution, FR2022/Tara Oceans Global Ocean System Ecology & Evolution, 75016 Paris, France
| | - Michael E Sieracki
- Ocean Science Division, National Science Foundation, Alexandria, VA 22314
| | - Corinne Cruaud
- Genoscope, Institut de Biologie François Jacob, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, Université Paris-Saclay, 91000 Evry, France
| | - Olivier Jaillon
- Metabolic Genomics, Genoscope, Institut de Biologie François Jacob, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, CNRS, Univ Evry, Université Paris-Saclay, 91000 Evry, France
- Research Federation for the Study of Global Ocean Systems Ecology & Evolution, FR2022/Tara Oceans Global Ocean System Ecology & Evolution, 75016 Paris, France
| | - Ramon Massana
- Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones CientÃficas (CSIC), Barcelona E-08003, Spain
| | - Ramiro Logares
- Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones CientÃficas (CSIC), Barcelona E-08003, Spain;
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13
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Martin R, Hackl T, Hattab G, Fischer MG, Heider D. MOSGA: Modular Open-Source Genome Annotator. Bioinformatics 2021; 36:5514-5515. [PMID: 33258916 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btaa1003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2020] [Revised: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 11/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION The generation of high-quality assemblies, even for large eukaryotic genomes, has become a routine task for many biologists thanks to recent advances in sequencing technologies. However, the annotation of these assemblies-a crucial step toward unlocking the biology of the organism of interest-has remained a complex challenge that often requires advanced bioinformatics expertise. RESULTS Here, we present MOSGA (Modular Open-Source Genome Annotator), a genome annotation framework for eukaryotic genomes with a user-friendly web-interface that generates and integrates annotations from various tools. The aggregated results can be analyzed with a fully integrated genome browser and are provided in a format ready for submission to NCBI. MOSGA is built on a portable, customizable and easily extendible Snakemake backend, and thus, can be tailored to a wide range of users and projects. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION We provide MOSGA as a web service at https://mosga.mathematik.uni-marburg.de and as a docker container at registry.gitlab.com/mosga/mosga: latest. Source code can be found at https://gitlab.com/mosga/mosga. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roman Martin
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Marburg, 35032 Marburg, Germany.,Department of Organic-Analytical Chemistry, TUM Campus Straubing, 94315 Straubing, Germany
| | - Thomas Hackl
- Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg 69120, Germany
| | - Georges Hattab
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Marburg, 35032 Marburg, Germany
| | - Matthias G Fischer
- Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg 69120, Germany
| | - Dominik Heider
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Marburg, 35032 Marburg, Germany
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Massana R, Labarre A, López-Escardó D, Obiol A, Bucchini F, Hackl T, Fischer MG, Vandepoele K, Tikhonenkov DV, Husnik F, Keeling PJ. Gene expression during bacterivorous growth of a widespread marine heterotrophic flagellate. THE ISME JOURNAL 2021; 15:154-167. [PMID: 32920602 PMCID: PMC7852580 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-020-00770-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2020] [Revised: 08/19/2020] [Accepted: 09/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Phagocytosis is a fundamental process in marine ecosystems by which prey organisms are consumed and their biomass incorporated in food webs or remineralized. However, studies searching for the genes underlying this key ecological process in free-living phagocytizing protists are still scarce, in part due to the lack of appropriate ecological models. Our reanalysis of recent molecular datasets revealed that the cultured heterotrophic flagellate Cafeteria burkhardae is widespread in the global oceans, which prompted us to design a transcriptomics study with this species, grown with the cultured flavobacterium Dokdonia sp. We compared the gene expression between exponential and stationary phases, which were complemented with three starvation by dilution phases that appeared as intermediate states. We found distinct expression profiles in each condition and identified 2056 differentially expressed genes between exponential and stationary samples. Upregulated genes at the exponential phase were related to DNA duplication, transcription and translational machinery, protein remodeling, respiration and phagocytosis, whereas upregulated genes in the stationary phase were involved in signal transduction, cell adhesion, and lipid metabolism. We identified a few highly expressed phagocytosis genes, like peptidases and proton pumps, which could be used to target this ecologically relevant process in marine ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramon Massana
- Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC), Passeig MarÃtim de la Barceloneta 37-49, ES-08003, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
| | - Aurelie Labarre
- Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC), Passeig MarÃtim de la Barceloneta 37-49, ES-08003, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - David López-Escardó
- Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC), Passeig MarÃtim de la Barceloneta 37-49, ES-08003, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Aleix Obiol
- Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC), Passeig MarÃtim de la Barceloneta 37-49, ES-08003, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - François Bucchini
- Department of Plant Systems Biology, VIB, B-9052, Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, B-9052, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Thomas Hackl
- Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Klaas Vandepoele
- Department of Plant Systems Biology, VIB, B-9052, Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, B-9052, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Denis V Tikhonenkov
- Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences, Borok, 152742, Russia
| | - Filip Husnik
- University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
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15
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Saary P, Mitchell AL, Finn RD. Estimating the quality of eukaryotic genomes recovered from metagenomic analysis with EukCC. Genome Biol 2020; 21:244. [PMID: 32912302 PMCID: PMC7488429 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-020-02155-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbial eukaryotes constitute a significant fraction of biodiversity and have recently gained more attention, but the recovery of high-quality metagenomic assembled eukaryotic genomes is limited by the current availability of tools. To help address this, we have developed EukCC, a tool for estimating the quality of eukaryotic genomes based on the automated dynamic selection of single copy marker gene sets. We demonstrate that our method outperforms current genome quality estimators, particularly for estimating contamination, and have applied EukCC to datasets derived from two different environments to enable the identification of novel eukaryote genomes, including one from the human skin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Saary
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK
| | - Alex L Mitchell
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK
| | - Robert D Finn
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK.
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Zheng L, Prestwich BD, Harrison PT, Mackrill JJ. Polycystic Kidney Disease Ryanodine Receptor Domain (PKDRR) Proteins in Oomycetes. Pathogens 2020; 9:pathogens9070577. [PMID: 32708691 PMCID: PMC7399828 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens9070577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Revised: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 07/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In eukaryotes, two sources of Ca2+ are accessed to allow rapid changes in the cytosolic levels of this second messenger: the extracellular medium and intracellular Ca2+ stores, such as the endoplasmic reticulum. One class of channel that permits Ca2+ entry is the transient receptor potential (TRP) superfamily, including the polycystic kidney disease (PKD) proteins, or polycystins. Channels that release Ca2+ from intracellular stores include the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate/ryanodine receptor (ITPR/RyR) superfamily. Here, we characterise a family of proteins that are only encoded by oomycete genomes, that we have named PKDRR, since they share domains with both PKD and RyR channels. We provide evidence that these proteins belong to the TRP superfamily and are distinct from the ITPR/RyR superfamily in terms of their evolutionary relationships, protein domain architectures and predicted ion channel structures. We also demonstrate that a hypothetical PKDRR protein from Phytophthora infestans is produced by this organism, is located in the cell-surface membrane and forms multimeric protein complexes. Efforts to functionally characterise this protein in a heterologous expression system were unsuccessful but support a cell-surface localisation. These PKDRR proteins represent potential targets for the development of new "fungicides", since they are of a distinctive structure that is only found in oomycetes and not in any other cellular organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Limian Zheng
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, University College Cork, T12 XF62 Cork, Ireland; (L.Z.); (P.T.H.)
| | - Barbara Doyle Prestwich
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, T23 TK30 Cork, Ireland;
| | - Patrick T. Harrison
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, University College Cork, T12 XF62 Cork, Ireland; (L.Z.); (P.T.H.)
| | - John J. Mackrill
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, University College Cork, T12 XF62 Cork, Ireland; (L.Z.); (P.T.H.)
- Correspondence:
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