Congratulations to Valeriya Karavaeva and Filipa Sousa on their new publication in Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics:

Modular structure of complex II: An evolutionary perspective

In this paper, Karavaeva and Sousa conduct a large-scale comparative genomic analysis of prokaryotic complex II to look into the taxonomic distribution and evolution of different structural types of this complex, and propose a evolutionary scenario.

Abstract:

Succinate dehydrogenases (SDHs) and fumarate reductases (FRDs) catalyse the interconversion of succinate and fumarate, a reaction highly conserved in all domains of life. The current classification of SDH/FRDs is based on the structure of the membrane anchor subunits and their cofactors. It is, however, unknown whether this classification would hold in the context of evolution. In this work, a large-scale comparative genomic analysis of complex II addresses the questions of its taxonomic distribution and phylogeny. Our findings report that for types C, D, and F, structural classification and phylogeny go hand in hand, while for types A, B and E the situation is more complex, highlighting the possibility for their classification into subgroups. Based on these findings, we proposed a revised version of the evolutionary scenario for these enzymes in which a primordial soluble module, corresponding to the cytoplasmatic subunits, would give rise to the current diversity via several independent membrane anchor attachment events.

Read the full article here: Modular structure of complex II: An evolutionary perspective - ScienceDirect

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Original paper:

BBA - Bioenergetics, DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.bbabio.2022.148916

Modular structure of complex II: An evolutionary perspective

Val Karavaeva, Filipa L. Sousa