Evolutionary novelty in gravity sensing through horizontal gene transfer and high-order protein assembly

Nguyen, Tu Anh; Greig, Jamie; Khan, Asif; Goh, Cara; Jedd, Gregory

doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2004920

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Gravitropism in Phycomyces is apparently mediated by a differential flux of H + and Ca 2+ in the mycelium (Živanović, , , ; Göttig & Galland, ). However, statoliths in this fungus seem to have originated from a recent bacterial gene transfer (Nguyen et al ., ). In the absence of crystalline structures in other lineages, it has been proposed that nuclei themselves might act as statolith‐like structures in Agaricomycotina (Monzer, , ; Moore et al ., ; Kern, Mendgen & Hock, ).…”

Section: Cellular Complexitymentioning

confidence: 97%

Fungal evolution: cellular, genomic and metabolic complexity

Naranjo‐Ortiz

Gabaldón

2020

Biological Reviews

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The question of how phenotypic and genomic complexity are inter‐related and how they are shaped through evolution is a central question in biology that historically has been approached from the perspective of animals and plants. In recent years, however, fungi have emerged as a promising alternative system to address such questions. Key to their ecological success, fungi present a broad and diverse range of phenotypic traits. Fungal cells can adopt many different shapes, often within a single species, providing them with great adaptive potential. Fungal cellular organizations span from unicellular forms to complex, macroscopic multicellularity, with multiple transitions to higher or lower levels of cellular complexity occurring throughout the evolutionary history of fungi. Similarly, fungal genomes are very diverse in their architecture. Deep changes in genome organization can occur very quickly, and these phenomena are known to mediate rapid adaptations to environmental changes. Finally, the biochemical complexity of fungi is huge, particularly with regard to their secondary metabolites, chemical products that mediate many aspects of fungal biology, including ecological interactions. Herein, we explore how the interplay of these cellular, genomic and metabolic traits mediates the emergence of complex phenotypes, and how this complexity is shaped throughout the evolutionary history of Fungi.

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Section: Cellular Complexitymentioning

confidence: 97%

Fungal evolution: cellular, genomic and metabolic complexity

Naranjo‐Ortiz

Gabaldón

2020

Biological Reviews

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“…in lichens and mycorrhizal species) that often involve prokaryotes have predisposed some lineages to higher rates of LGT [35,[78][79][80][81][82]. In fact, interdomain LGT has been implicated in important fungal innovations from gravity-sensing organs to pathogenic mechanisms and toxin-encoding genes [34,35,83,84]. In addition, some fungal species and genera seem to be especially prone to receiving LGTs, including the genera Aspergillus and Fusarium, for which genomic data are available [35,85] and in which we also observe frequently in putative LTG trees.…”

Section: Ltgs Unique To Non-photosynthetic Eukaryotesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Old genes in new places: A taxon-rich analysis of interdomain lateral gene transfer events

Cote-L'Heureux

Maurer‐Alcalá²,

Katz³

2022

PLoS Genet

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Vertical inheritance is foundational to Darwinian evolution, but fails to explain major innovations such as the rapid spread of antibiotic resistance among bacteria and the origin of photosynthesis in eukaryotes. While lateral gene transfer (LGT) is recognized as an evolutionary force in prokaryotes, the role of LGT in eukaryotic evolution is less clear. With the exception of the transfer of genes from organelles to the nucleus, a process termed endosymbiotic gene transfer (EGT), the extent of interdomain transfer from prokaryotes to eukaryotes is highly debated. A common critique of studies of interdomain LGT is the reliance on the topology of single-gene trees that attempt to estimate more than one billion years of evolution. We take a more conservative approach by identifying cases in which a single clade of eukaryotes is found in an otherwise prokaryotic gene tree (i.e. exclusive presence). Starting with a taxon-rich dataset of over 13,600 gene families and passing data through several rounds of curation, we identify and categorize the function of 306 interdomain LGT events into diverse eukaryotes, including 189 putative EGTs, 52 LGTs into Opisthokonta (i.e. animals, fungi and their microbial relatives), and 42 LGTs nearly exclusive to anaerobic eukaryotes. To assess differential gene loss as an explanation for exclusive presence, we compare branch lengths within each LGT tree to a set of vertically-inherited genes subsampled to mimic gene loss (i.e. with the same taxonomic sampling) and consistently find shorter relative distance between eukaryotes and prokaryotes in LGT trees, a pattern inconsistent with gene loss. Our methods provide a framework for future studies of interdomain LGT and move the field closer to an understanding of how best to model the evolutionary history of eukaryotes.

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“…Furthermore, all magnetoreceptive microorganisms identified to date are those coupling magnetoreception and geolocalization to navigation. But other biological systems showed that geolocalization may be used for a purpose other than navigation, as some immobile fungi that use gravity instead to sense verticality and direct the spread of spores [66]. Thus, beyond exploring the diversity of magnetotactic organisms, alternative protocols should be developed to isolate magnetoreceptive microorganisms that are not magnetotactic.…”

Section: Concluding Remarks and Future Prospectsmentioning

confidence: 99%