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Truong C, Bernard S, Le Pape P, Morin G, Baya C, Merrot P, Gorlas A, Guyot F. Production of carbon-containing pyrite spherules induced by hyperthermophilic Thermococcales: a biosignature? Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1145781. [PMID: 37303784 PMCID: PMC10248028 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1145781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Thermococcales, a major order of hyperthermophilic archaea inhabiting iron- and sulfur-rich anaerobic parts of hydrothermal deep-sea vents, are known to induce the formation of iron phosphates, greigite (Fe3S4) and abundant quantities of pyrite (FeS2), including pyrite spherules. In the present study, we report the characterization of the sulfide and phosphate minerals produced in the presence of Thermococcales using X-ray diffraction, synchrotron-based X ray absorption spectroscopy and scanning and transmission electron microscopies. Mixed valence Fe(II)-Fe(III) phosphates are interpreted as resulting from the activity of Thermococcales controlling phosphorus-iron-sulfur dynamics. The pyrite spherules (absent in abiotic control) consist of an assemblage of ultra-small nanocrystals of a few ten nanometers in size, showing coherently diffracting domain sizes of few nanometers. The production of these spherules occurs via a sulfur redox swing from S0 to S-2 and then to S-1, involving a comproportionation of (-II) and (0) oxidation states of sulfur, as supported by S-XANES data. Importantly, these pyrite spherules sequester biogenic organic compounds in small but detectable quantities, possibly making them good biosignatures to be searched for in extreme environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chloé Truong
- Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie (IMPMC), MNHN, CNRS, IRD, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
| | - Sylvain Bernard
- Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie (IMPMC), MNHN, CNRS, IRD, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
| | - Pierre Le Pape
- Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie (IMPMC), MNHN, CNRS, IRD, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
| | - Guillaume Morin
- Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie (IMPMC), MNHN, CNRS, IRD, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
| | - Camille Baya
- Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie (IMPMC), MNHN, CNRS, IRD, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
| | - Pauline Merrot
- Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie (IMPMC), MNHN, CNRS, IRD, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
| | - Aurore Gorlas
- CEA, CNRS, Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - François Guyot
- Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie (IMPMC), MNHN, CNRS, IRD, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
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Chatain J, Blond A, Phan AT, Saintomé C, Alberti P. GGGCTA repeats can fold into hairpins poorly unfolded by replication protein A: a possible origin of the length-dependent instability of GGGCTA variant repeats in human telomeres. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:7588-7601. [PMID: 34214172 PMCID: PMC8287962 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Revised: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 06/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Human telomeres are composed of GGGTTA repeats and interspersed with variant repeats. The GGGCTA variant motif was identified in the proximal regions of human telomeres about 10 years ago and was shown to display a length-dependent instability. In parallel, a structural study showed that four GGGCTA repeats folded into a non-canonical G-quadruplex (G4) comprising a Watson-Crick GCGC tetrad. It was proposed that this non-canonical G4 might be an additional obstacle for telomere replication. In the present study, we demonstrate that longer GGGCTA arrays fold into G4 and into hairpins. We also demonstrate that replication protein A (RPA) efficiently binds to GGGCTA repeats structured into G4 but poorly binds to GGGCTA repeats structured into hairpins. Our results (along with results obtained with a more stable variant motif) suggest that GGGCTA hairpins are at the origin of GGGCTA length-dependent instability. They also suggest, as working hypothesis, that failure of efficient binding of RPA to GGGCTA structured into hairpins might be involved in the mechanism of GGGCTA array instability. On the basis of our present and past studies about telomeric G4 and their interaction with RPA, we propose an original point of view about telomeric G4 and the evolution of telomeric motifs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean Chatain
- Laboratoire Structure et Instabilité des Génomes (StrInG), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Inserm, Paris 75005, France
| | - Alain Blond
- Laboratoire Molécules de Communication et Adaptation des Microorganismes (MCAM), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Paris 75005, France
| | - Anh Tuân Phan
- School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637371, Singapore
- NTU Institute of Structural Biology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 636921, Singapore
| | - Carole Saintomé
- Laboratoire Structure et Instabilité des Génomes (StrInG), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Inserm, Paris 75005, France
- Sorbonne Université, UFR927, Paris 75005, France
| | - Patrizia Alberti
- Laboratoire Structure et Instabilité des Génomes (StrInG), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Inserm, Paris 75005, France
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Markov GV, Gutierrez-Mazariegos J, Pitrat D, Billas IML, Bonneton F, Moras D, Hasserodt J, Lecointre G, Laudet V. Origin of an ancient hormone/receptor couple revealed by resurrection of an ancestral estrogen. Sci Adv 2017; 3:e1601778. [PMID: 28435861 PMCID: PMC5375646 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1601778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2016] [Accepted: 02/10/2017] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
The origin of ancient ligand/receptor couples is often analyzed via reconstruction of ancient receptors and, when ligands are products of metabolic pathways, they are not supposed to evolve. However, because metabolic pathways are inherited by descent with modification, their structure can be compared using cladistic analysis. Using this approach, we studied the evolution of steroid hormones. We show that side-chain cleavage is common to most vertebrate steroids, whereas aromatization was co-opted for estrogen synthesis from a more ancient pathway. The ancestral products of aromatic activity were aromatized steroids with a side chain, which we named "paraestrols." We synthesized paraestrol A and show that it effectively binds and activates the ancestral steroid receptor. Our study opens the way to comparative studies of biologically active small molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel V. Markov
- Molecular Zoology Team, Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, CNRS, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 allée d’Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France
- Evolution des Régulations Endocriniennes, Département Régulations, Développement et Diversité Moléculaire, CNRS UMR 7221, Sorbonne Universités, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (MNHN), Paris, France
| | - Juliana Gutierrez-Mazariegos
- Molecular Zoology Team, Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, CNRS, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 allée d’Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France
| | - Delphine Pitrat
- Laboratoire de Chimie, Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, CNRS UMR 5182, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 allée d’Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France
| | - Isabelle M. L. Billas
- Centre for Integrative Biology, Department of Integrated Structural Biology, Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology, Illkirch, France
- CNRS UMR 7104, Illkirch, France
- INSERM U964, Illkirch, France
- Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - François Bonneton
- Molecular Zoology Team, Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, CNRS, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 allée d’Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France
| | - Dino Moras
- Centre for Integrative Biology, Department of Integrated Structural Biology, Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology, Illkirch, France
- CNRS UMR 7104, Illkirch, France
- INSERM U964, Illkirch, France
- Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Jens Hasserodt
- Laboratoire de Chimie, Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, CNRS UMR 5182, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 allée d’Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France
| | - Guillaume Lecointre
- Département Systématique et Evolution, Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité, UMR 7205, CNRS–MNHN–Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC)–École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Sorbonne Universités, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CP 30, 57 rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Vincent Laudet
- Molecular Zoology Team, Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, CNRS, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 allée d’Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France
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