Kingdom-specific lipid unsaturation calibrates sequence evolution in membrane arm subunits of eukaryotic respiratory complexes

Abstract Sequence evolution of protein complexes (PCs) is constrained by protein-protein interactions (PPIs). PPI-interfaces are predominantly conserved and hotspots for disease-related mutations. How do lipid-protein interactions (LPIs) constrain sequence evolution of membrane-PCs? We explore Respi...

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Main Authors: Pooja Gupta, Sristi Chakroborty, Arun K. Rathod, K. Ranjith Kumar, Shreya Bhat, Suparna Ghosh, Pallavi Rao T, Kameshwari Yele, Raman Bakthisaran, R. Nagaraj, Moutusi Manna, Swasti Raychaudhuri
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-02-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-57295-7
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author Pooja Gupta
Sristi Chakroborty
Arun K. Rathod
K. Ranjith Kumar
Shreya Bhat
Suparna Ghosh
Pallavi Rao T
Kameshwari Yele
Raman Bakthisaran
R. Nagaraj
Moutusi Manna
Swasti Raychaudhuri
author_facet Pooja Gupta
Sristi Chakroborty
Arun K. Rathod
K. Ranjith Kumar
Shreya Bhat
Suparna Ghosh
Pallavi Rao T
Kameshwari Yele
Raman Bakthisaran
R. Nagaraj
Moutusi Manna
Swasti Raychaudhuri
author_sort Pooja Gupta
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Sequence evolution of protein complexes (PCs) is constrained by protein-protein interactions (PPIs). PPI-interfaces are predominantly conserved and hotspots for disease-related mutations. How do lipid-protein interactions (LPIs) constrain sequence evolution of membrane-PCs? We explore Respiratory Complexes (RCs) as a case study as these allow to compare sequence evolution in subunits exposed to both lipids in inner-mitochondrial membrane (IMM) and lipid-free aqueous matrix. We find that lipid-exposed surfaces of the IMM-subunits but not of the matrix subunits are populated with non-PPI disease-causing mutations signifying LPIs in stabilizing RCs. Further, IMM-subunits including their exposed surfaces show high intra-kingdom sequence conservation but remarkably diverge beyond. Molecular Dynamics simulation suggests contrasting LPIs of structurally superimposable but sequence-wise diverged IMM-exposed helices of Complex I (CI) subunit Ndufa1 from human and Arabidopsis depending on kingdom-specific unsaturation of cardiolipin fatty acyl chains. in cellulo assays consolidate inter-kingdom incompatibility of Ndufa1-helices due to the lipid-exposed amino acids. Plant-specific unsaturated fatty acids in human cells also trigger CI-instability. Taken together, we posit that altered LPIs calibrate sequence evolution at the IMM-arms of eukaryotic RCs.
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spelling doaj-art-a40fdda397374745841d50e78f0d91cf2025-08-20T03:04:34ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-02-0116112010.1038/s41467-025-57295-7Kingdom-specific lipid unsaturation calibrates sequence evolution in membrane arm subunits of eukaryotic respiratory complexesPooja Gupta0Sristi Chakroborty1Arun K. Rathod2K. Ranjith Kumar3Shreya Bhat4Suparna Ghosh5Pallavi Rao T6Kameshwari Yele7Raman Bakthisaran8R. Nagaraj9Moutusi Manna10Swasti Raychaudhuri11CSIR- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Uppal RoadCSIR- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Uppal RoadAcademy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR)CSIR- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Uppal RoadCSIR- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Uppal RoadCSIR- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Uppal RoadCSIR- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Uppal RoadCSIR- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Uppal RoadCSIR- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Uppal RoadCSIR- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Uppal RoadAcademy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR)CSIR- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Uppal RoadAbstract Sequence evolution of protein complexes (PCs) is constrained by protein-protein interactions (PPIs). PPI-interfaces are predominantly conserved and hotspots for disease-related mutations. How do lipid-protein interactions (LPIs) constrain sequence evolution of membrane-PCs? We explore Respiratory Complexes (RCs) as a case study as these allow to compare sequence evolution in subunits exposed to both lipids in inner-mitochondrial membrane (IMM) and lipid-free aqueous matrix. We find that lipid-exposed surfaces of the IMM-subunits but not of the matrix subunits are populated with non-PPI disease-causing mutations signifying LPIs in stabilizing RCs. Further, IMM-subunits including their exposed surfaces show high intra-kingdom sequence conservation but remarkably diverge beyond. Molecular Dynamics simulation suggests contrasting LPIs of structurally superimposable but sequence-wise diverged IMM-exposed helices of Complex I (CI) subunit Ndufa1 from human and Arabidopsis depending on kingdom-specific unsaturation of cardiolipin fatty acyl chains. in cellulo assays consolidate inter-kingdom incompatibility of Ndufa1-helices due to the lipid-exposed amino acids. Plant-specific unsaturated fatty acids in human cells also trigger CI-instability. Taken together, we posit that altered LPIs calibrate sequence evolution at the IMM-arms of eukaryotic RCs.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-57295-7
spellingShingle Pooja Gupta
Sristi Chakroborty
Arun K. Rathod
K. Ranjith Kumar
Shreya Bhat
Suparna Ghosh
Pallavi Rao T
Kameshwari Yele
Raman Bakthisaran
R. Nagaraj
Moutusi Manna
Swasti Raychaudhuri
Kingdom-specific lipid unsaturation calibrates sequence evolution in membrane arm subunits of eukaryotic respiratory complexes
Nature Communications
title Kingdom-specific lipid unsaturation calibrates sequence evolution in membrane arm subunits of eukaryotic respiratory complexes
title_full Kingdom-specific lipid unsaturation calibrates sequence evolution in membrane arm subunits of eukaryotic respiratory complexes
title_fullStr Kingdom-specific lipid unsaturation calibrates sequence evolution in membrane arm subunits of eukaryotic respiratory complexes
title_full_unstemmed Kingdom-specific lipid unsaturation calibrates sequence evolution in membrane arm subunits of eukaryotic respiratory complexes
title_short Kingdom-specific lipid unsaturation calibrates sequence evolution in membrane arm subunits of eukaryotic respiratory complexes
title_sort kingdom specific lipid unsaturation calibrates sequence evolution in membrane arm subunits of eukaryotic respiratory complexes
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-57295-7
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