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Pende N, Sogues A, Megrian D, Sartori-Rupp A, England P, Palabikyan H, Rittmann SKMR, Graña M, Wehenkel AM, Alzari PM, Gribaldo S. SepF is the FtsZ anchor in archaea, with features of an ancestral cell division system. Nat Commun 2021; 12:3214. [PMID: 34088904 PMCID: PMC8178401 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23099-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 04/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Most archaea divide by binary fission using an FtsZ-based system similar to that of bacteria, but they lack many of the divisome components described in model bacterial organisms. Notably, among the multiple factors that tether FtsZ to the membrane during bacterial cell constriction, archaea only possess SepF-like homologs. Here, we combine structural, cellular, and evolutionary analyses to demonstrate that SepF is the FtsZ anchor in the human-associated archaeon Methanobrevibacter smithii. 3D super-resolution microscopy and quantitative analysis of immunolabeled cells show that SepF transiently co-localizes with FtsZ at the septum and possibly primes the future division plane. M. smithii SepF binds to membranes and to FtsZ, inducing filament bundling. High-resolution crystal structures of archaeal SepF alone and in complex with the FtsZ C-terminal domain (FtsZCTD) reveal that SepF forms a dimer with a homodimerization interface driving a binding mode that is different from that previously reported in bacteria. Phylogenetic analyses of SepF and FtsZ from bacteria and archaea indicate that the two proteins may date back to the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA), and we speculate that the archaeal mode of SepF/FtsZ interaction might reflect an ancestral feature. Our results provide insights into the mechanisms of archaeal cell division and pave the way for a better understanding of the processes underlying the divide between the two prokaryotic domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nika Pende
- Evolutionary Biology of the Microbial Cell Unit, CNRS UMR2001, Department of Microbiology, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Adrià Sogues
- Structural Microbiology Unit, Institut Pasteur, CNRS UMR 3528, Université de Paris, Paris, France
| | - Daniela Megrian
- Evolutionary Biology of the Microbial Cell Unit, CNRS UMR2001, Department of Microbiology, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
- École Doctorale Complexité du vivant, Sorbonne University, Paris, France
| | | | - Patrick England
- Plate-forme de biophysique moléculaire, C2RT-Institut Pasteur, CNRS, UMR 3528, Paris, France
| | - Hayk Palabikyan
- Archaea Physiology & Biotechnology Group, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Wien, Austria
| | - Simon K-M R Rittmann
- Archaea Physiology & Biotechnology Group, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Wien, Austria
| | - Martín Graña
- Bioinformatics Unit, Institut Pasteur of Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Anne Marie Wehenkel
- Structural Microbiology Unit, Institut Pasteur, CNRS UMR 3528, Université de Paris, Paris, France.
| | - Pedro M Alzari
- Structural Microbiology Unit, Institut Pasteur, CNRS UMR 3528, Université de Paris, Paris, France
| | - Simonetta Gribaldo
- Evolutionary Biology of the Microbial Cell Unit, CNRS UMR2001, Department of Microbiology, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
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Samuel BS, Hansen EE, Manchester JK, Coutinho PM, Henrissat B, Fulton R, Latreille P, Kim K, Wilson RK, Gordon JI. Genomic and metabolic adaptations of Methanobrevibacter smithii to the human gut. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2007; 104:10643-8. [PMID: 17563350 PMCID: PMC1890564 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0704189104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 357] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The human gut is home to trillions of microbes, thousands of bacterial phylotypes, as well as hydrogen-consuming methanogenic archaea. Studies in gnotobiotic mice indicate that Methanobrevibacter smithii, the dominant archaeon in the human gut ecosystem, affects the specificity and efficiency of bacterial digestion of dietary polysaccharides, thereby influencing host calorie harvest and adiposity. Metagenomic studies of the gut microbial communities of genetically obese mice and their lean littermates have shown that the former contain an enhanced representation of genes involved in polysaccharide degradation, possess more archaea, and exhibit a greater capacity to promote adiposity when transplanted into germ-free recipients. These findings have led to the hypothesis that M. smithii may be a therapeutic target for reducing energy harvest in obese humans. To explore this possibility, we have sequenced its 1,853,160-bp genome and compared it to other human gut-associated M. smithii strains and other Archaea. We have also examined M. smithii's transcriptome and metabolome in gnotobiotic mice that do or do not harbor Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, a prominent saccharolytic bacterial member of our gut microbiota. Our results indicate that M. smithii is well equipped to persist in the distal intestine through (i) production of surface glycans resembling those found in the gut mucosa, (ii) regulated expression of adhesin-like proteins, (iii) consumption of a variety of fermentation products produced by saccharolytic bacteria, and (iv) effective competition for nitrogenous nutrient pools. These findings provide a framework for designing strategies to change the representation and/or properties of M. smithii in the human gut microbiota.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Pedro M. Coutinho
- Unité Mixte de Recherche 6098, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Universités Aix-Marseille I & II, 13288 Marseille Cedex 9, France
| | - Bernard Henrissat
- Unité Mixte de Recherche 6098, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Universités Aix-Marseille I & II, 13288 Marseille Cedex 9, France
| | - Robert Fulton
- Genome Sequencing Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63108; and
| | - Philippe Latreille
- Genome Sequencing Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63108; and
| | - Kung Kim
- Genome Sequencing Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63108; and
| | - Richard K. Wilson
- *Center for Genome Sciences and
- Genome Sequencing Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63108; and
| | - Jeffrey I. Gordon
- *Center for Genome Sciences and
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
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