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Rizos I, Frada MJ, Bittner L, Not F. Life cycle strategies in free-living unicellular eukaryotes: Diversity, evolution, and current molecular tools to unravel the private life of microorganisms. J Eukaryot Microbiol 2024:e13052. [PMID: 39085163 DOI: 10.1111/jeu.13052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2023] [Revised: 06/12/2024] [Accepted: 07/08/2024] [Indexed: 08/02/2024]
Abstract
An astonishing range of morphologies and life strategies has arisen across the vast diversity of protists, allowing them to thrive in most environments. In model protists, like Tetrahymena, Dictyostelium, or Trypanosoma, life cycles involving multiple life stages with different morphologies have been well characterized. In contrast, knowledge of the life cycles of free-living protists, which primarily consist of uncultivated environmental lineages, remains largely fragmentary. Various life stages and lineage-specific cellular innovations have been observed in the field for uncultivated protists, but such innovations generally lack functional characterization and have unknown physiological and ecological roles. In the actual state of knowledge, evidence of sexual processes is confirmed for 20% of free-living protist lineages. Nevertheless, at the onset of eukaryotic diversification, common molecular trends emerged to promote genetic recombination, establishing sex as an inherent feature of protists. Here, we review protist life cycles from the viewpoint of life cycle transitions and genetics across major eukaryotic lineages. We focus on the scarcely observed sexual cycle of free-living protists, summarizing evidence for its existence and describing key genes governing its progression, as well as, current methods for studying the genetics of sexual cycles in both cultivable and uncultivated protist groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iris Rizos
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université Des Antilles, Paris, France
- CNRS, AD2M-UMR7144 Station Biologique de Roscoff, Sorbonne Université, Roscoff, France
| | - Miguel J Frada
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- The Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat, Eilat, Israel
| | - Lucie Bittner
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université Des Antilles, Paris, France
- Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France
| | - Fabrice Not
- CNRS, AD2M-UMR7144 Station Biologique de Roscoff, Sorbonne Université, Roscoff, France
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2
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Ma Y, Yan G, Zhang J, Xiong J, Miao W. Cip1, a CDK regulator, determines heterothallic mating or homothallic selfing in a protist. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2315531121. [PMID: 38498704 PMCID: PMC10990102 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2315531121] [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: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Mating type (sex) plays a crucial role in regulating sexual reproduction in most extant eukaryotes. One of the functions of mating types is ensuring self-incompatibility to some extent, thereby promoting genetic diversity. However, heterothallic mating is not always the best mating strategy. For example, in low-density populations or specific environments, such as parasitic ones, species may need to increase the ratio of potential mating partners. Consequently, many species allow homothallic selfing (i.e., self-fertility or intraclonal mating). Throughout the extensive evolutionary history of species, changes in environmental conditions have influenced mating strategies back and forth. However, the mechanisms through which mating-type recognition regulates sexual reproduction and the dynamics of mating strategy throughout evolution remain poorly understood. In this study, we show that the Cip1 protein is responsible for coupling sexual reproduction initiation to mating-type recognition in the protozoal eukaryote Tetrahymena thermophila. Deletion of the Cip1 protein leads to the loss of the selfing-avoidance function of mating-type recognition, resulting in selfing without mating-type recognition. Further experiments revealed that Cip1 is a regulatory subunit of the Cdk19-Cyc9 complex, which controls the initiation of sexual reproduction. These results reveal a mechanism that regulates the choice between mating and selfing. This mechanism also contributes to the debate about the ancestral state of sexual reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Ma
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan430072, China
| | - Guanxiong Yan
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan430072, China
| | - Jing Zhang
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan430072, China
| | - Jie Xiong
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan430072, China
- Key Laboratory of Breeding Biotechnology and Sustainable Aquaculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan430072, China
| | - Wei Miao
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan430072, China
- College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100049, China
- Key laboratory of Lake and Watershed Science for Water Security, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing210000, China
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan430000, China
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Yan G, Ma Y, Wang Y, Zhang J, Cheng H, Tan F, Wang S, Zhang D, Xiong J, Yin P, Miao W. A seven-sex species recognizes self and non-self mating-type via a novel protein complex. eLife 2024; 13:RP93770. [PMID: 38415774 PMCID: PMC10901506 DOI: 10.7554/elife.93770] [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] [Indexed: 02/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Although most species have two sexes, multisexual (or multi-mating type) species are also widespread. However, it is unclear how mating-type recognition is achieved at the molecular level in multisexual species. The unicellular ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila has seven mating types, which are determined by the MTA and MTB proteins. In this study, we found that both proteins are essential for cells to send or receive complete mating-type information, and transmission of the mating-type signal requires both proteins to be expressed in the same cell. We found that MTA and MTB form a mating-type recognition complex that localizes to the plasma membrane, but not to the cilia. Stimulation experiments showed that the mating-type-specific regions of MTA and MTB mediate both self- and non-self-recognition, indicating that T. thermophila uses a dual approach to achieve mating-type recognition. Our results suggest that MTA and MTB form an elaborate multifunctional protein complex that can identify cells of both self and non-self mating types in order to inhibit or activate mating, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guanxiong Yan
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Yang Ma
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Yanfang Wang
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Jing Zhang
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Haoming Cheng
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Fanjie Tan
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Su Wang
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Delin Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Jie Xiong
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
- Key Laboratory of Breeding Biotechnology and Sustainable Aquaculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Ping Yin
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Wei Miao
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Key Laboratory of Breeding Biotechnology and Sustainable Aquaculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
- Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, China
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4
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Zhang L, Cervantes MD, Pan S, Lindsley J, Dabney A, Kapler GM. Transcriptome analysis of the binucleate ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila with asynchronous nuclear cell cycles. Mol Biol Cell 2023; 34:rs1. [PMID: 36475712 PMCID: PMC9930529 DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e22-08-0326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Tetrahymena thermophila harbors two functionally and physically distinct nuclei within a shared cytoplasm. During vegetative growth, the "cell cycles" of the diploid micronucleus and polyploid macronucleus are offset. Micronuclear S phase initiates just before cytokinesis and is completed in daughter cells before onset of macronuclear DNA replication. Mitotic micronuclear division occurs mid-cell cycle, while macronuclear amitosis is coupled to cell division. Here we report the first RNA-seq cell cycle analysis of a binucleated ciliated protozoan. RNA was isolated across 1.5 vegetative cell cycles, starting with a macronuclear G1 population synchronized by centrifugal elutriation. Using MetaCycle, 3244 of the 26,000+ predicted genes were shown to be cell cycle regulated. Proteins present in both nuclei exhibit a single mRNA peak that always precedes their macronuclear function. Nucleus-limited genes, including nucleoporins and importins, are expressed before their respective nucleus-specific role. Cyclin D and A/B gene family members exhibit different expression patterns that suggest nucleus-restricted roles. Periodically expressed genes cluster into seven cyclic patterns. Four clusters have known PANTHER gene ontology terms associated with G1/S and G2/M phase. We propose that these clusters encode known and novel factors that coordinate micro- and macronuclear-specific events such as mitosis, amitosis, DNA replication, and cell division.
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Affiliation(s)
- L. Zhang
- Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, College Station, TX 77840,Department of Statistics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843
| | - M. D. Cervantes
- Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, College Station, TX 77840
| | - S. Pan
- Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, College Station, TX 77840,Department of Statistics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843
| | - J. Lindsley
- Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, College Station, TX 77840
| | - A. Dabney
- Department of Statistics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843,*Address correspondence to: Geoffrey Kapler (); A. Dabney ()
| | - G. M. Kapler
- Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, College Station, TX 77840,*Address correspondence to: Geoffrey Kapler (); A. Dabney ()
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Zhang J, Tian M, Chen K, Yan G, Xiong J, Miao W. Zfp1, a Cys2His2 zinc finger protein is required for meiosis initiation in Tetrahymena thermophila. Cell Cycle 2022; 21:1422-1433. [PMID: 35293272 PMCID: PMC9345619 DOI: 10.1080/15384101.2022.2053449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Meiosis is an important and highly conserved process that occurs during eukaryotic sexual reproduction. Diverse mechanisms are responsible for meiosis initiation among eukaryotes, and transcription factors have been established to have an important role in many species. However, the specific function of transcription factors in initiating meiosis in ciliates is unknown. Here we show that a putative Cys2His2 zinc finger-containing transcription factor encoded by the ZFP1 gene is specifically expressed during sexual reproduction in Tetrahymena thermophila. Meiosis is not initiated in the cells lacking ZFP1. Transcriptome sequencing analyses reveal that Zfp1 is required for the expression of many meiosis-specific genes. Our results indicate that Zfp1 could be a transcriptional activator required for meiosis initiation in T. thermophila.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Miao Tian
- Department of Chromosome Biology and Max F. Perutz Laboratories, Center for Molecular Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Kai Chen
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Guanxiong Yan
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, China.,College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, Shanghai, China
| | - Jie Xiong
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Wei Miao
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, China.,State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology of China, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Kunming, Yunnan, China
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Abstract
The presence of meiosis, which is a conserved component of sexual reproduction, across organisms from all eukaryotic kingdoms, strongly argues that sex is a primordial feature of eukaryotes. However, extant meiotic structures and processes can vary considerably between organisms. The ciliated protist Tetrahymena thermophila, which diverged from animals, plants, and fungi early in evolution, provides one example of a rather unconventional meiosis. Tetrahymena has a simpler meiosis compared with most other organisms: It lacks both a synaptonemal complex (SC) and specialized meiotic machinery for chromosome cohesion and has a reduced capacity to regulate meiotic recombination. Despite this, it also features several unique mechanisms, including elongation of the nucleus to twice the cell length to promote homologous pairing and prevent recombination between sister chromatids. Comparison of the meiotic programs of Tetrahymena and higher multicellular organisms may reveal how extant meiosis evolved from proto-meiosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josef Loidl
- Department of Chromosome Biology, Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- * E-mail:
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7
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Nabeel-Shah S, Garg J, Saettone A, Ashraf K, Lee H, Wahab S, Ahmed N, Fine J, Derynck J, Pu S, Ponce M, Marcon E, Zhang Z, Greenblatt JF, Pearlman RE, Lambert JP, Fillingham J. Functional characterization of RebL1 highlights the evolutionary conservation of oncogenic activities of the RBBP4/7 orthologue in Tetrahymena thermophila. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:6196-6212. [PMID: 34086947 PMCID: PMC8216455 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Revised: 04/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Retinoblastoma-binding proteins 4 and 7 (RBBP4 and RBBP7) are two highly homologous human histone chaperones. They function in epigenetic regulation as subunits of multiple chromatin-related complexes and have been implicated in numerous cancers. Due to their overlapping functions, our understanding of RBBP4 and 7, particularly outside of Opisthokonts, has remained limited. Here, we report that in the ciliate protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila a single orthologue of human RBBP4 and 7 proteins, RebL1, physically interacts with histone H4 and functions in multiple epigenetic regulatory pathways. Functional proteomics identified conserved functional links for Tetrahymena RebL1 protein as well as human RBBP4 and 7. We found that putative subunits of multiple chromatin-related complexes including CAF1, Hat1, Rpd3, and MuvB, co-purified with RebL1 during Tetrahymena growth and conjugation. Iterative proteomics analyses revealed that the cell cycle regulatory MuvB-complex in Tetrahymena is composed of at least five subunits including evolutionarily conserved Lin54, Lin9 and RebL1 proteins. Genome-wide analyses indicated that RebL1 and Lin54 (Anqa1) bind within genic and intergenic regions. Moreover, Anqa1 targets primarily promoter regions suggesting a role for Tetrahymena MuvB in transcription regulation. RebL1 depletion inhibited cellular growth and reduced the expression levels of Anqa1 and Lin9. Consistent with observations in glioblastoma tumors, RebL1 depletion suppressed DNA repair protein Rad51 in Tetrahymena, thus underscoring the evolutionarily conserved functions of RBBP4/7 proteins. Our results suggest the essentiality of RebL1 functions in multiple epigenetic regulatory complexes in which it impacts transcription regulation and cellular viability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Syed Nabeel-Shah
- Department of Chemistry and Biology, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria St., Toronto M5B 2K3, Canada
| | - Jyoti Garg
- Department of Chemistry and Biology, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria St., Toronto M5B 2K3, Canada.,Department of Biology, York University, 4700 Keele St., Toronto M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Alejandro Saettone
- Department of Chemistry and Biology, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria St., Toronto M5B 2K3, Canada
| | - Kanwal Ashraf
- Department of Biology, York University, 4700 Keele St., Toronto M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Hyunmin Lee
- Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 1A8, Canada.,Donnelly Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 3E1, Canada
| | - Suzanne Wahab
- Department of Chemistry and Biology, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria St., Toronto M5B 2K3, Canada
| | - Nujhat Ahmed
- Donnelly Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 3E1, Canada.,Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Jacob Fine
- Department of Biology, York University, 4700 Keele St., Toronto M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Joanna Derynck
- Department of Chemistry and Biology, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria St., Toronto M5B 2K3, Canada
| | - Shuye Pu
- Donnelly Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 3E1, Canada
| | - Marcelo Ponce
- SciNet HPC Consortium, University of Toronto, 661 University Avenue, Suite 1140, Toronto M5G 1M1, Canada
| | - Edyta Marcon
- Donnelly Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 3E1, Canada
| | - Zhaolei Zhang
- Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 1A8, Canada.,Donnelly Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 3E1, Canada.,Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Jack F Greenblatt
- Donnelly Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 3E1, Canada.,Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Ronald E Pearlman
- Department of Biology, York University, 4700 Keele St., Toronto M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Jean-Philippe Lambert
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cancer Research Center, Big Data Research Center, Université Laval, Quebec City, Canada; CHU de Québec Research Center, CHUL, 2705 Laurier Boulevard, Quebec City G1V 4G2, Canada
| | - Jeffrey Fillingham
- Department of Chemistry and Biology, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria St., Toronto M5B 2K3, Canada
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Yan G, Yang W, Han X, Chen K, Xiong J, Hamilton EP, Orias E, Miao W. Erratum: Evolution of the mating type gene pair and multiple sexes in Tetrahymena. iScience 2021; 24:102669. [PMID: 34159303 PMCID: PMC8193607 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
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