Evidence for loss and reacquisition of alcoholic fermentation in a fructophilic yeast lineage

• Autor(a) principal: Gonçalves, Carla
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Outros Autores: Wisecaver, Jennifer H., Kominek, Jacek, Oom, Madalena Salema, Leandro, Maria José, Shen, Xing-Xing, Opulente, Dana A., Zhou, Xiaofan, Peris, David, Kurtzman, Cletus P., Hittinger, Chris Todd, Rokas, Antonis, Gonçalves, Paula
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/30510
• topic: Tarmerella; Alcoholic fermentation; Evolutionary biology; Floral niche; Fructophilic yeasts; Genomics; Horizontal gene transfer; Sugar metabolism

Fructophily is a rare trait that consists of the preference for fructose over other carbon sources. Here, we show that in a yeast lineage (the Wickerhamiella/Starmerella, W/S clade) comprised of fructophilic species thriving in the high-sugar floral niche, the acquisition of fructophily is concurrent with a wider remodeling of central carbon metabolism. Coupling comparative genomics with biochemical and genetic approaches, we gathered ample evidence for the loss of alcoholic fermentation in an ancestor of the W/S clade and subsequent reinstatement through either horizontal acquisition of homologous bacterial genes or modification of a pre-existing yeast gene. An enzyme required for sucrose assimilation was also acquired from bacteria, suggesting that the genetic novelties identified in the W/S clade may be related to adaptation to the high-sugar environment. This work shows how even central carbon metabolism can be remodeled by a surge of HGT events.