Convergence in Amino Acid Outsourcing Between Animals and Predatory Bacteria.
Niko Kasalo1, Mirjana Domazet-Lošo2, Tomislav Domazet-Lošo1,3
1Laboratory of Evolutionary Genetics, Division of Molecular Biology, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička Cesta 54, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
|April 17, 2025
Summary
Animals and some bacteria outsource amino acid (AA) synthesis for energy savings, a process driven by environmental factors and respiration. Bdellovibrionota bacteria mirror animal AA outsourcing, unlike Myxococcota, supporting a universal model of metabolic evolution.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Biochemistry
- Microbial Ecology
Background:
- Animals and bacteria can lose the ability to synthesize certain amino acids (AAs), relying on external sources.
- This loss, termed 'outsourcing' or auxotrophy, is linked to energy conservation strategies.
- Previous work suggested environmental availability and respiration drive AA auxotrophy in animals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the universality of the animal amino acid (AA) outsourcing model in bacteria.
- To investigate the evolutionary drivers of AA auxotrophy in closely related bacterial phyla, Bdellovibrionota and Myxococcota.
- To compare the proteomic costs and life cycle strategies associated with AA auxotrophy.
Main Methods:
- Comparative genomic analysis of amino acid biosynthetic pathways.
- Phylogenetic analysis to identify patterns of amino acid auxotrophy.
- Proteomic cost analysis and correlation with lifestyle.
- Examination of gene expression during specific life cycle stages.
Main Results:
- Bdellovibrionota exhibit extensive amino acid (AA) auxotrophy, similar to animals, driven by energy-saving selection.
- Myxococcota show significantly fewer AA auxotrophies and lack strong signatures of energy-driven selection.
- Bdellovibrionota proteomes are metabolically more expensive than Myxococcota proteomes.
- Costly protein expression is crucial for the predatory phase in Bdellovibrio.
Conclusions:
- Bdellovibrionota's obligate predatory lifestyle drives amino acid (AA) auxotrophy analogous to animals.
- Facultative predation in Myxococcota limits the evolution of AA auxotrophy.
- Cross-domain convergence supports the general validity of the amino acid outsourcing model.
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