Convergent evolution of aerobic fermentation through divergent mechanisms acting on key shared glycolytic genes.

ABSTRACT: As the tree of life becomes increasingly accessible to molecular investigations, describing mechanisms underlying evolutionary convergence and constraint will be crucial to understanding diversification. The lineage including the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae evolved aerobic fermentation in part through an ancient whole genome duplication and retention of glycolytic genes. To evaluate the glycolytic rates across diverse yeasts, we developed and deployed an extracellular acidification rates (ECAR) assay on 299 species that span more than 400 million years of evolution and identified a clade in the genus Saturnispora that convergently evolved aerobic fermentation. Through comparative genomics and transcriptomics, we found that several glycolytic genes had higher expressi

SUBMITTER: Horianopoulos LC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12621822 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature