Horizontal acquisition of prokaryotic hopanoid biosynthesis reorganizes membrane physiology driving lifestyle innovation in a eukaryote

Bhagyashree Rao; Elisa Gomez Gil; Maria Peter; Gabor Balogh; Vanessa Nunes; James  MacRae; Qu Chen; Peter B Rosenthal; Snezhana Oliferenko

doi:10.1038/s41467-025-58515-w

Horizontal acquisition of prokaryotic hopanoid biosynthesis reorganizes membrane physiology driving lifestyle innovation in a eukaryote

Bhagyashree Rao, Elisa Gomez Gil, Maria Peter, Gabor Balogh, Vanessa Nunes, James MacRae, Qu Chen, Peter B Rosenthal, Snezhana Oliferenko

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Abstract

Horizontal gene transfer is a source of metabolic innovation and adaptation to new environments. How new metabolic functionalities are integrated into host cell biology is largely unknown. Here, we probe this fundamental question using the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces japonicus, which has acquired a squalene-hopene cyclase Shc1 through horizontal gene transfer. We show that Shc1-dependent production of hopanoids, mimics of eukaryotic sterols, allows S. japonicus to thrive in anoxia, where sterol biosynthesis is not possible. We demonstrate that glycerophospholipid fatty acyl asymmetry, prevalent in S. japonicus, is crucial for accommodating both sterols and hopanoids in membranes, and explain how Shc1 functions alongside the sterol biosynthetic pathway to support membrane properties. Reengineering experiments in the sister species S. pombe show that hopanoids entail new traits in a naïve organism, but the acquisition of a new enzyme may trigger profound reorganization of the host metabolism and physiology.

Original language	English
Article number	3291
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	16
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58515-w
Publication status	Published - 7 Apr 2025

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10.1038/s41467-025-58515-wLicence: CC BY

539459_2_merged_1742911134Accepted author manuscript, 3.13 MBLicence: CC BY

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abstract = "Horizontal gene transfer is a source of metabolic innovation and adaptation to new environments. How new metabolic functionalities are integrated into host cell biology is largely unknown. Here, we probe this fundamental question using the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces japonicus, which has acquired a squalene-hopene cyclase Shc1 through horizontal gene transfer. We show that Shc1-dependent production of hopanoids, mimics of eukaryotic sterols, allows S. japonicus to thrive in anoxia, where sterol biosynthesis is not possible. We demonstrate that glycerophospholipid fatty acyl asymmetry, prevalent in S. japonicus, is crucial for accommodating both sterols and hopanoids in membranes, and explain how Shc1 functions alongside the sterol biosynthetic pathway to support membrane properties. Reengineering experiments in the sister species S. pombe show that hopanoids entail new traits in a na{\"i}ve organism, but the acquisition of a new enzyme may trigger profound reorganization of the host metabolism and physiology.",

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AU - Peter, Maria

AU - Balogh, Gabor

AU - Nunes, Vanessa

AU - MacRae, James

AU - Chen, Qu

AU - Rosenthal, Peter B

AU - Oliferenko, Snezhana

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Horizontal acquisition of prokaryotic hopanoid biosynthesis reorganizes membrane physiology driving lifestyle innovation in a eukaryote

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