Title |
Lateral transfer of tetrahymanol-synthesizing genes has allowed multiple diverse eukaryote lineages to independently adapt to environments without oxygen
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Published in |
Biology Direct, February 2012
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DOI | 10.1186/1745-6150-7-5 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Kiyotaka Takishita, Yoshito Chikaraishi, Michelle M Leger, Eunsoo Kim, Akinori Yabuki, Naohiko Ohkouchi, Andrew J Roger |
Abstract |
Sterols are key components of eukaryotic cellular membranes that are synthesized by multi-enzyme pathways that require molecular oxygen. Because prokaryotes fundamentally lack sterols, it is unclear how the vast diversity of bacterivorous eukaryotes that inhabit hypoxic environments obtain, or synthesize, sterols. Here we show that tetrahymanol, a triterpenoid that does not require molecular oxygen for its biosynthesis, likely functions as a surrogate of sterol in eukaryotes inhabiting oxygen-poor environments. Genes encoding the tetrahymanol synthesizing enzyme squalene-tetrahymanol cyclase were found from several phylogenetically diverged eukaryotes that live in oxygen-poor environments and appear to have been laterally transferred among such eukaryotes. |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 1 | 2% |
Czechia | 1 | 2% |
Canada | 1 | 2% |
Unknown | 60 | 95% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Researcher | 19 | 30% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 12 | 19% |
Student > Master | 8 | 13% |
Professor > Associate Professor | 5 | 8% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 4 | 6% |
Other | 8 | 13% |
Unknown | 7 | 11% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 21 | 33% |
Earth and Planetary Sciences | 14 | 22% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 9 | 14% |
Environmental Science | 2 | 3% |
Chemistry | 2 | 3% |
Other | 5 | 8% |
Unknown | 10 | 16% |