Evolution of a chimeric mitochondrial carbonic anhydrase through gene fusion in a haptophyte alga.

Yoshihisa Hirakawa, Yutaka Hanawa, Kohei Yoneda, Iwane Suzuki

FEBS letters 2022 Dec

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Carbonic anhydrases (CAs) are a universal enzyme family that catalyses the interconversion of carbon dioxide and bicarbonate, and they are localized in most compartments including mitochondria and plastids. Thus far, eight classes of CAs (α-, β-, γ-, δ-, ζ-, η-, θ- and ι-CA) have been characterized. This study reports an interesting gene encoding a fusion protein of β-CA and ι-CA found in the haptophyte Isochrysis galbana. Recombinant protein assays demonstrated that the C-terminal ι-CA region catalyses CO2 hydration, whereas the N-terminal β-CA region no longer exhibits enzymatic activity. Considering that haptophytes generally have mitochondrion-localized β-CAs and plastid-localized ι-CAs, the fusion CA would show an intermediate stage in which mitochondrial β-CA is replaced by ι-CA in a haptophyte species. © 2022 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

Citation

Yoshihisa Hirakawa, Yutaka Hanawa, Kohei Yoneda, Iwane Suzuki. Evolution of a chimeric mitochondrial carbonic anhydrase through gene fusion in a haptophyte alga. FEBS letters. 2022 Dec;596(23):3051-3059