The cell biology of archaea

Wolferen, Marleen van; Pulschen, André Arashiro; Baum, Buzz; Gribaldo, Simonetta; Albers, Sonja‐Verena

doi:10.1038/s41564-022-01215-8

Cited by 42 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 153 publications

(211 reference statements)

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“…Actin proteins are found in all three domains of life and are involved in a variety of cellular processes. Yet, actins appear to be poorly distributed among archaea (21, 51, 52). Curiously, despite resembling bacterial MreB (Extended Data Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Archaeal species also exhibit diverse morphologies, ranging from rods (20) and cocci (21) to triangular or square-shaped cells (22)(23)(24). While knowledge about archaeal cell-shape determinants is limited, the few components identified include the actin homolog crenactin in Pyrobaculum calidifontis, which is correlated with rod-shape in this species (25).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Identification and characterization of structural and regulatory cell-shape determinants inHaloferax volcanii

Schiller

Kouassi

Hong

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Archaea play indispensable roles in global biogeochemical cycles, yet many critical cellular processes, including cell-shape determination, are poorly understood.Haloferax volcanii, a model haloarchaeon, forms rods and disks, depending on growth conditions. Here, we used a combination of iterative proteomics, genetics, and live-cell imaging to identify distinct mutants that only form rods or disks. We compared the proteomes of the mutants with wild-type cells across growth phases, thereby distinguishing between protein abundance changes specific to cell shape and those related to growth phases. The corresponding results indicated a diverse set of proteins, including transporters, transducers, signaling components, and transcriptional regulators, as important for cell-shape determination. We also identified structural proteins, including a previously unknown cytoskeletal element, theHfx. volcaniiactin homolog volactin, which plays a role in disk-shape morphogenesis. In summary, we gleaned important insights into archaeal cell-shape determination, with possible implications for understanding the evolution of cell morphology regulation across domains.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification and characterization of structural and regulatory cell-shape determinants inHaloferax volcanii

Schiller

Kouassi

Hong

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…Recent work on archaeal cell division revealed interesting mechanisms for controlling this process and cell organization, and provided insights into the diversifying evolution of the division machinery of LUCA 13,14,21,[24][25][26] . However, compared to the extensive knowledge on bacterial and eukaryotic cell division, relatively little is known about this process in archaea.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In most bacteria, the FtsZ protein, a tubulin homolog, polymerizes into a dynamic ring-like structure (Z ring) at the division site to recruit other division proteins, forming the division machinery that splits the cell in two [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] . Archaea employ multiple division mechanisms, the two most common ones are centered around FtsZ or the endosomal sorting complex required for transport system (ESCRT-III system); some archaea lack both of these systems, suggesting yet to be discovered division mechanisms [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] . Recent studies of the Cdv system revealed that it shares structural similarities to the eukaryotic ESCRT machinery and possibly functions in a similar manner [17][18][19][20][21][22][23] .…”

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confidence: 99%

Widespread PRC barrel proteins play critical roles in archaeal cell division

Zhao

Makarova

Zheng

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Cell division is fundamental to all cellular life. Most of the archaea employ one of two alternative division machineries, one centered around the prokaryotic tubulin homolog FtsZ and the other around the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT). However, neither of these mechanisms has been thoroughly characterized in archaea. Here, we show that three of the four PRC (Photosynthetic Reaction Center) barrel domain proteins of Haloferax volcanii (renamed Cell division proteins B1/2/3 (CdpB1/2/3)), play important roles in division. CdpB1 interacts directly with the FtsZ membrane anchor SepF and is essential for division, whereas deletion of cdpB2 and cdpB3 causes a major and a minor division defect, respectively. Orthologs of CdpB proteins are also involved in cell division in other haloarchaea. Phylogenetic analysis shows that PRC barrel proteins are widely distributed among archaea, including the highly conserved CdvA protein of the crenarchaeal ESCRT-based division system. Thus, diverse PRC barrel proteins appear to be central to cell division in most if not all archaea. Further study of these proteins is expected to elucidate the division mechanisms in archaea and their evolution.

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“…Archaea usually present two ancestral copies of FtsZ that appear to have non-overlapping functions ( Liao et al, 2021 ). The cell division process in Archaea is not as well understood as in Bacteria, but there are some similarities with the bacterial machinery, for example, FtsA and SepF ( Pende et al, 2021 ; van Wolferen et al, 2022 ). Alternatively, some archaea that do not have FtsZ appear to have a cell division system based on ESCRT-III homologs ( Caspi and Dekker, 2018 ; Pulschen et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early origin and evolution of the FtsZ/tubulin protein family

2023

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The origin of the FtsZ/tubulin protein family was extremely relevant for life since these proteins are present in nearly all organisms, carrying out essential functions such as cell division or forming a major part of the cytoskeleton in eukaryotes. Therefore, investigating the early evolution of the FtsZ/tubulin protein family could reveal crucial aspects of the diversification of the three domains of life. In this study, we revisited the phylogenies of the FtsZ/tubulin protein family in an extensive prokaryotic diversity, focusing on the main evolutionary events that occurred during its evolution. We found evidence of its early origin in the last universal common ancestor since FtsZ was present in the last common ancestor of Bacteria and Archaea. In bacteria, ftsZ genes are genomically associated with the bacterial division gene cluster, while in archaea, ftsZ duplicated prior to archaeal diversification, and one of the copies is associated with protein biosynthesis genes. Archaea have expanded the FtsZ/tubulin protein family with sequences closely related to eukaryotic tubulins. In addition, we report novel CetZ-like groups in Halobacterota and Asgardarchaeota. Investigating the C-termini of prokaryotic paralogs basal to eukaryotic tubulins, we show that archaeal CetZ, as well as the plasmidic TubZ from Firmicutes, most likely originated from archaeal FtsZ. Finally, prokaryotic tubulins are restricted to Odinarchaeaota and Prosthecobacter species, and they seem to belong to different molecular systems. However, their phylogenies suggest that they are closely related to α/β-tubulins pointing to a potential ancestrality of these eukaryotic paralogs of tubulins.

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The cell biology of archaea

Cited by 42 publications

References 153 publications

Identification and characterization of structural and regulatory cell-shape determinants inHaloferax volcanii

Identification and characterization of structural and regulatory cell-shape determinants inHaloferax volcanii

Widespread PRC barrel proteins play critical roles in archaeal cell division

Early origin and evolution of the FtsZ/tubulin protein family

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