Open AccessDeterminism and contingencies shaped the evolution of mitochondrial protein import
Author(s) -
Samuel Rout,
Silke Oeljeklaus,
Abhijith Makki,
Jan Tachezy,
Bettina Warscheid,
André Schneider
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2017774118
Subject(s) - trypanosoma brucei , biology , yeast , microbiology and biotechnology , transmembrane protein , transport protein , biochemistry , receptor , saccharomyces cerevisiae , transmembrane domain , fungal protein , proteomics , membrane protein , mitochondrion , complementation , membrane , phenotype , gene
Significance All mitochondria import most of their proteins from the cytosol. Even though the targeting signals of imported proteins are well conserved within eukaryotes, this is not the case for the mitochondrial outer membrane receptors that recognize these signals. Here we compare the substrate preferences of protein import receptors from the parasitic protozoansTrypanosoma brucei andTrichomonas vaginalis , as well as from yeast. Using biochemical and proteomic analysis, combined with complementation experiments, we show that evolutionarily unrelated receptors can share the same substrate preferences. Moreover, we provide evidence that receptors sharing the same domain structure and topology can have different substrate specificity. In summary, our study illustrates how determinism and contingencies have shaped the evolution of mitochondrial import receptors.