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Novikova PV, Bhanu Busi S, Probst AJ, May P, Wilmes P. Functional prediction of proteins from the human gut archaeome. ISME COMMUNICATIONS 2024; 4:ycad014. [PMID: 38486809 PMCID: PMC10939349 DOI: 10.1093/ismeco/ycad014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2023] [Revised: 12/16/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2024]
Abstract
The human gastrointestinal tract contains diverse microbial communities, including archaea. Among them, Methanobrevibacter smithii represents a highly active and clinically relevant methanogenic archaeon, being involved in gastrointestinal disorders, such as inflammatory bowel disease and obesity. Herein, we present an integrated approach using sequence and structure information to improve the annotation of M. smithii proteins using advanced protein structure prediction and annotation tools, such as AlphaFold2, trRosetta, ProFunc, and DeepFri. Of an initial set of 873 481 archaeal proteins, we found 707 754 proteins exclusively present in the human gut. Having analysed archaeal proteins together with 87 282 994 bacterial proteins, we identified unique archaeal proteins and archaeal-bacterial homologs. We then predicted and characterized functional domains and structures of 73 unique and homologous archaeal protein clusters linked the human gut and M. smithii. We refined annotations based on the predicted structures, extending existing sequence similarity-based annotations. We identified gut-specific archaeal proteins that may be involved in defense mechanisms, virulence, adhesion, and the degradation of toxic substances. Interestingly, we identified potential glycosyltransferases that could be associated with N-linked and O-glycosylation. Additionally, we found preliminary evidence for interdomain horizontal gene transfer between Clostridia species and M. smithii, which includes sporulation Stage V proteins AE and AD. Our study broadens the understanding of archaeal biology, particularly M. smithii, and highlights the importance of considering both sequence and structure for the prediction of protein function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Polina V Novikova
- Systems Ecology, Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette L-4362, Luxembourg
| | - Susheel Bhanu Busi
- Systems Ecology, Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette L-4362, Luxembourg
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, OX10 8 BB, United Kingdom
| | - Alexander J Probst
- Environmental Metagenomics, Department of Chemistry, Research Center One Health Ruhr of the University Alliance Ruhr, for Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology, University Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg 47057, Germany
| | - Patrick May
- Bioinformatics Core, Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette L-4362, Luxembourg
| | - Paul Wilmes
- Systems Ecology, Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette L-4362, Luxembourg
- Department of Life Sciences and Medicine, Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette L-4362, Luxembourg
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Zheng Y, Young ND, Song J, Chang BC, Gasser RB. An informatic workflow for the enhanced annotation of excretory/secretory proteins of Haemonchus contortus. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2023; 21:2696-2704. [PMID: 37143762 PMCID: PMC10151223 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2023.03.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Revised: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Major advances in genomic and associated technologies have demanded reliable bioinformatic tools and workflows for the annotation of genes and their products via comparative analyses using well-curated reference data sets, accessible in public repositories. However, the accurate in silico annotation of molecules (proteins) encoded in organisms (e.g., multicellular parasites) which are evolutionarily distant from those for which these extensive reference data sets are available, including invertebrate model organisms (e.g., Caenorhabditis elegans - free-living nematode, and Drosophila melanogaster - the vinegar fly) and vertebrate species (e.g., Homo sapiens and Mus musculus), remains a major challenge. Here, we constructed an informatic workflow for the enhanced annotation of biologically-important, excretory/secretory (ES) proteins ("secretome") encoded in the genome of a parasitic roundworm, called Haemonchus contortus (commonly known as the barber's pole worm). We critically evaluated the performance of five distinct methods, refined some of them, and then combined the use of all five methods to comprehensively annotate ES proteins, according to gene ontology, biological pathways and/or metabolic (enzymatic) processes. Then, using optimised parameter settings, we applied this workflow to comprehensively annotate 2591 of all 3353 proteins (77.3%) in the secretome of H. contortus. This result is a substantial improvement (10-25%) over previous annotations using individual, "off-the-shelf" algorithms and default settings, indicating the ready applicability of the present, refined workflow to gene/protein sequence data sets from a wide range of organisms in the Tree-of-Life.
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Mokrousov I, Slavchev I, Solovieva N, Dogonadze M, Vyazovaya A, Valcheva V, Masharsky A, Belopolskaya O, Dimitrov S, Zhuravlev V, Portugal I, Perdigão J, Dobrikov GM. Molecular Insight into Mycobacterium tuberculosis Resistance to Nitrofuranyl Amides Gained through Metagenomics-like Analysis of Spontaneous Mutants. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2022; 15:ph15091136. [PMID: 36145357 PMCID: PMC9504009 DOI: 10.3390/ph15091136] [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: 08/12/2022] [Revised: 09/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
We performed synthesis of new nitrofuranyl amides and investigated their anti-TB activity and primary genetic response of mycobacteria through whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of spontaneous resistant mutants. The in vitro activity was assessed on reference strain Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. The most active compound 11 was used for in vitro selection of spontaneous resistant mutants. The same mutations in six genes were detected in bacterial cultures grown under increased concentrations of 11 (2×, 4×, 8× MIC). The mutant positions were presented as mixed wild type and mutant alleles while increasing the concentration of the compound led to the semi-proportional and significant increase in mutant alleles. The identified genes belong to different categories and pathways. Some of them were previously reported as mediating drug resistance or drug tolerance, and counteracting oxidative and nitrosative stress, in particular: Rv0224c, fbiC, iniA, and Rv1592c. Gene-set interaction analysis revealed a certain weak interaction for gene pairs Rv1592–Rv1639c and Rv1592–Rv0224c. To conclude, this study experimentally demonstrated a multifaceted primary genetic response of M. tuberculosis to the action of nitrofurans. All three 11-treated subcultures independently presented the same six SNPs, which suggests their non-random occurrence and likely causative relationship between compound action and possible resistance mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Mokrousov
- Laboratory of Molecular Epidemiology and Evolutionary Genetics, St. Petersburg Pasteur Institute, 197101 St. Petersburg, Russia
- Henan International Joint Laboratory of Children’s Infectious Diseases, Children’s Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450018, China
- Correspondence: (I.M.); (G.M.D.)
| | - Ivaylo Slavchev
- Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry, Acad. G. Bonchev Street, bl. 9, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Natalia Solovieva
- St. Petersburg Research Institute of Phthisiopulmonology, 191036 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Marine Dogonadze
- St. Petersburg Research Institute of Phthisiopulmonology, 191036 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Anna Vyazovaya
- Laboratory of Molecular Epidemiology and Evolutionary Genetics, St. Petersburg Pasteur Institute, 197101 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Violeta Valcheva
- The Stephan Angeloff Institute of Microbiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Street, bl. 26, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Aleksey Masharsky
- Resource Center “Bio-bank Center”, Research Park of St. Petersburg State University, 198504 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Olesya Belopolskaya
- Resource Center “Bio-bank Center”, Research Park of St. Petersburg State University, 198504 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Simeon Dimitrov
- The Stephan Angeloff Institute of Microbiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Street, bl. 26, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Viacheslav Zhuravlev
- St. Petersburg Research Institute of Phthisiopulmonology, 191036 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Isabel Portugal
- iMed.ULisboa–Instituto de Investigação do Medicamento, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649004 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - João Perdigão
- iMed.ULisboa–Instituto de Investigação do Medicamento, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649004 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Georgi M. Dobrikov
- Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry, Acad. G. Bonchev Street, bl. 9, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
- Correspondence: (I.M.); (G.M.D.)
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Montini N, Doughty TW, Domenzain I, Fenton DA, Baranov PV, Harrington R, Nielsen J, Siewers V, Morrissey JP. Identification of a novel gene required for competitive growth at high temperature in the thermotolerant yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus. MICROBIOLOGY (READING, ENGLAND) 2022; 168. [PMID: 35333706 PMCID: PMC9558357 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.001148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
It is important to understand the basis of thermotolerance in yeasts to broaden their application in industrial biotechnology. The capacity to run bioprocesses at temperatures above 40 °C is of great interest but this is beyond the growth range of most of the commonly used yeast species. In contrast, some industrial yeasts such as Kluyveromyces marxianus can grow at temperatures of 45 °C or higher. Such species are valuable for direct use in industrial biotechnology and as a vehicle to study the genetic and physiological basis of yeast thermotolerance. In previous work, we reported that evolutionarily young genes disproportionately changed expression when yeast were growing under stressful conditions and postulated that such genes could be important for long-term adaptation to stress. Here, we tested this hypothesis in K. marxianus by identifying and studying species-specific genes that showed increased expression during high-temperature growth. Twelve such genes were identified and 11 were successfully inactivated using CRISPR-mediated mutagenesis. One gene, KLMX_70384, is required for competitive growth at high temperature, supporting the hypothesis that evolutionary young genes could play roles in adaptation to harsh environments. KLMX_70384 is predicted to encode an 83 aa peptide, and RNA sequencing and ribo-sequencing were used to confirm transcription and translation of the gene. The precise function of KLMX_70384 remains unknown but some features are suggestive of RNA-binding activity. The gene is located in what was previously considered an intergenic region of the genome, which lacks homologues in other yeasts or in databases. Overall, the data support the hypothesis that genes that arose de novo in K. marxianus after the speciation event that separated K. marxianus and K. lactis contribute to some of its unique traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noemi Montini
- School of Microbiology, APC Microbiome Ireland, Environmental Research Institute and SUSFERM Centre, University College Cork, Cork T12 K8AF, Ireland
| | - Tyler W Doughty
- Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Iván Domenzain
- Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Darren A Fenton
- School of Microbiology, APC Microbiome Ireland, Environmental Research Institute and SUSFERM Centre, University College Cork, Cork T12 K8AF, Ireland.,School of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, University College Cork, Cork T12 K8AF, Ireland
| | - Pavel V Baranov
- School of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, University College Cork, Cork T12 K8AF, Ireland
| | - Ronan Harrington
- School of Microbiology, APC Microbiome Ireland, Environmental Research Institute and SUSFERM Centre, University College Cork, Cork T12 K8AF, Ireland
| | - Jens Nielsen
- Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Verena Siewers
- Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - John P Morrissey
- School of Microbiology, APC Microbiome Ireland, Environmental Research Institute and SUSFERM Centre, University College Cork, Cork T12 K8AF, Ireland
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