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Lu Z, Xia R, Zhang S, Pan J, Liu Y, Wolf YI, Koonin EV, Li M. Evolution of optimal growth temperature in Asgard archaea inferred from the temperature dependence of GDP binding to EF-1A. Nat Commun 2024; 15:515. [PMID: 38225278 PMCID: PMC10789797 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-44806-1] [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: 04/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/17/2024] Open
Abstract
The archaeal ancestor of eukaryotes apparently belonged to the phylum Asgardarchaeota, but the ecology and evolution of Asgard archaea are poorly understood. The optimal GDP-binding temperature of a translation elongation factor (EF-1A or EF-Tu) has been previously shown to correlate with the optimal growth temperature of diverse prokaryotes. Here, we reconstruct ancestral EF-1A sequences and experimentally measure the optimal GDP-binding temperature of EF-1A from ancient and extant Asgard archaea, to infer the evolution of optimal growth temperatures in Asgardarchaeota. Our results suggest that the Asgard ancestor of eukaryotes was a moderate thermophile, with an optimal growth temperature around 53 °C. The origin of eukaryotes appears to coincide with a transition from thermophilic to mesophilic lifestyle during the evolution of Asgard archaea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongyi Lu
- Archaeal Biology Center, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
| | - Runyue Xia
- Archaeal Biology Center, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
| | - Siyu Zhang
- Archaeal Biology Center, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
| | - Jie Pan
- Archaeal Biology Center, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
| | - Yang Liu
- Archaeal Biology Center, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
| | - Yuri I Wolf
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD, 20894, USA
| | - Eugene V Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD, 20894, USA
| | - Meng Li
- Archaeal Biology Center, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
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Donoghue PCJ, Kay C, Spang A, Szöllősi G, Nenarokova A, Moody ERR, Pisani D, Williams TA. Defining eukaryotes to dissect eukaryogenesis. Curr Biol 2023; 33:R919-R929. [PMID: 37699353 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.07.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/14/2023]
Abstract
The origin of eukaryotes is among the most contentious debates in evolutionary biology, attracting multiple seemingly incompatible theories seeking to explain the sequence in which eukaryotic characteristics were acquired. Much of the controversy arises from differing views on the defining characteristics of eukaryotes. We argue that eukaryotes should be defined phylogenetically, and that doing so clarifies where competing hypotheses of eukaryogenesis agree and how we may test among aspects of disagreement. Some hypotheses make predictions about the phylogenetic origins of eukaryotic genes and are distinguishable on that basis. However, other hypotheses differ only in the order of key evolutionary steps, like mitochondrial endosymbiosis and nuclear assembly, which cannot currently be distinguished phylogenetically. Stages within eukaryogenesis may be made identifiable through the absolute dating of gene duplicates that map to eukaryotic traits, such as in genes of host or mitochondrial origin that duplicated and diverged functionally prior to emergence of the last eukaryotic common ancestor. In this way, it may finally be possible to distinguish heat from light in the debate over eukaryogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip C J Donoghue
- Bristol Palaeobiology Group, School of Earth Sciences, Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK.
| | - Chris Kay
- Bristol Palaeobiology Group, School of Earth Sciences, Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Anja Spang
- Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, NIOZ, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Utrecht University, Den Burg 1790 AB, The Netherlands
| | - Gergely Szöllősi
- Department of Biological Physics, Eötvös Lorand University, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary; MTA-ELTE "Lendü let" Evolutionary Genomics Research Group, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary; Institute of Evolution, Centre for Ecological Research, H-1113 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Anna Nenarokova
- Bristol Palaeobiology Group, School of Earth Sciences, Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Edmund R R Moody
- Bristol Palaeobiology Group, School of Earth Sciences, Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Davide Pisani
- Bristol Palaeobiology Group, School of Earth Sciences, Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK; Bristol Palaeobiology Group, School of Biological Sciences, Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK.
| | - Tom A Williams
- Bristol Palaeobiology Group, School of Biological Sciences, Life Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK.
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