Cited by 168Fungal and yeast genetics researchYeasts and Rust Fungi StudiesDNA Repair Mechanisms

Extensive loss of cell-cycle and DNA repair genes in an ancient lineage of bipolar budding yeasts

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Steenwyk, Jacob L., Opulente, Dana A., Kominek, Jacek, Shen, Xing-Xing, Zhou, Xiaofan, Labella, Abigail L., Bradley, Noah P., Eichman, Brandt F. +7 more·2019·PLoS Biology

Published version of a preprint

Abstract

Cell-cycle checkpoints and DNA repair processes protect organisms from potentially lethal mutational damage. Compared to other budding yeasts in the subphylum Saccharomycotina, we noticed that a lineage in the genus Hanseniaspora exhibited very high evolutionary rates, low Guanine-Cytosine (GC) content, small genome sizes, and lower gene numbers. To better understand Hanseniaspora evolution, we analyzed 25 genomes, including 11 newly sequenced, representing 18/21 known species in the genus. Our phylogenomic analyses identify two Hanseniaspora lineages, a faster-evolving lineage (FEL), which began diversifying approximately 87 million years ago (mya), and a slower-evolving lineage (SEL), which began diversifying approximately 54 mya. Remarkably, both lineages lost genes associated with the cell cycle and genome integrity, but these losses were greater in the FEL. E.g., all species lost the cell-cycle regulator WHIskey 5 (WHI5), and the FEL lost components of the spindle checkpoint pathway (e.g., Mitotic Arrest-Deficient 1 [MAD1], Mitotic Arrest-Deficient 2 [MAD2]) and DNA-damage-checkpoint pathway (e.g., Mitosis Entry Checkpoint 3 [MEC3], RADiation sensitive 9 [RAD9]). Similarly, both lineages lost genes involved in DNA repair pathways, including the DNA glycosylase gene 3-MethylAdenine DNA Glycosylase 1 (MAG1), which is part of the base-excision repair pathway, and the DNA photolyase gene PHotoreactivation Repair deficient 1 (PHR1), which is involved in pyrimidine dimer repair. Strikingly, the FEL lost 33 additional genes, including polymerases (i.e., POLymerase 4 [POL4] and POL32) and telomere-associated genes (e.g., Repressor/activator site binding protein-Interacting Factor 1 [RIF1], Replication Factor A 3 [RFA3], Cell Division Cycle 13 [CDC13], Pbp1p Binding Protein [PBP2]). Echoing these losses, molecular evolutionary analyses reveal that, compared to the SEL, the FEL stem lineage underwent a burst of accelerated evolution, which resulted in greater mutational loads, homopolymer instabilities, and higher fractions of mutations associated with the common endogenously damaged base, 8-oxoguanine. We conclude that Hanseniaspora is an ancient lineage that has diversified and thrived, despite lacking many otherwise highly conserved cell-cycle and genome integrity genes and pathways, and may represent a novel, to our knowledge, system for studying cellular life without them.

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Crossref · 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000255

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  • PEX11 was clearly lost in 25 species belonging to the fast-evolving lineage of Hanseniaspora sp. Saccharomycodales, known for multiple gene losses.

    “It was, however, clearly lost in 25 species belonging to the fast-evolving lineage of Hanseniaspora sp. Saccharomycodales, known for multiple gene losses (Steenwyk et al. 2019).”

    From Mitochondrial retrograde control of transcription evolves with respiratory stress, metabolic adaptation, and virulence in budding yeasts (2026) · cites this paper as Steenwyk et al. 2019

    The Introduction (page unavailable) describes a faster-evolving Hanseniaspora lineage with extensive gene losses, supporting that background description. It says the study analyzed 25 genomes from 18 species across two lineages—not 25 species in the faster-evolving lineage. A search for PEX11 found no passage in our copy establishing its loss. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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  • In 12 genomes, four or more Cit homologs were found, and the only genome where no citrate synthase gene could be identified belongs to Hanseniaspora jakobsenii, a member of a clade known for multiple gene losses and high divergence.

    “In 12 genomes, we found four or more Cit homologs, and the only genome where no citrate synthase gene could be identified belongs to Hanseniaspora jakobsenii—a member of a clade known for multiple gene losses and high divergence (Steenwyk et al. 2019; Gonçalves et al. 2025).”

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Authors
Steenwyk, J. L., Opulente, D. A., Kominek, J., Shen, X.-X., Zhou, X., Labella, A. L., Bradley, N. P., Eichman, B. F., Čadež, N., Libkind, D., DeVirgilio, J., Hulfachor, A. B., Kurtzman, C. P., Hittinger, C. T., & Rokas, A.
Affiliations
  • Vanderbilt University (US)
  • University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
  • South China Agricultural University (CN)
  • University of Ljubljana (SI)
  • Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (AR)
  • Agricultural Research Service (US)
Corresponding author
  • Hittinger, Chris Todd
  • Rokas, Antonis
Venue
PLoS Biology
Published
2019-05-21
Volume
17
Issue
5
Pages
e3000255
ISSN
  • 1544-9173 (ISSN-L)
  • 1545-7885
OpenAlex
W2911336472
Cited by
162
References
169
Citations by year
2026: 14 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 34 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 38 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 1
FWCI
6.78
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • PLoS Biology (publishedVersion, public-domain)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, public-domain)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) (submittedVersion)
  • LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Figshare (cc-by)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (DEB-1442113, DEB-1442148, DGE-1445197)
  • DOE Office of Science (BER DE-FC02-07ER64494 and DE-SC0018409)
  • Pew Charitable Trusts (Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences)
  • Vilas Trust Estate (Vilas Faculty Early Career Investigator)
  • John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (2018 Guggenheim Fellowship)
  • National Key Project for Basic Research of China (973 Program, No. 2015CB150600)
  • Slovenian Research Agency (P4-0116)
  • CONICET (PIP 392)
  • FONCyT (PICT 2542)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Fungal and yeast genetics research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Yeasts and Rust Fungi Studies
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › DNA Repair Mechanisms
Keywords
PorA, gene loss, cell cycle checkpoint genes, DNA repair genes, spindle assembly checkpoint, DNA damage checkpoint, base excision repair, pyrimidine dimer repair, mutational load, 8-oxoguanine, genome size reduction, genome stability, Saccharomycotina, yeast evolution, phylogenomics
MeSH terms
Base Sequence, Cell Cycle, DNA Damage, DNA Repair, Saccharomycetales, Genes, Fungal, Phenotype, Phylogeny, Evolution, Molecular

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