Ancestral Chaperonins Provide the First Structural Glimpse into Early Multimeric Protein Evolution.

ABSTRACT: Chaperonins are essential protein-folding machines, classified into three structural and phylogenetic groups: Group I (bacterial GroEL), Group II (archaeal thermosome and eukaryotic CCT), and Group III (bacterial thermosome-like). Using ancestral sequence reconstruction (ASR) and protein resurrection, we inferred and experimentally characterized the last common ancestors of these groups (ancestral chaperonins ACI, ACII, and ACIII). The resurrected proteins exhibited ATPase activity (except ACII) and protected client proteins from heat-induced inactivation. Structural analyses by electron microscopy and Cryo-EM revealed that ACI forms single 7-mer rings, whereas ACII adopts a mixed population of single/double 8-mer rings, representing the first experimental observation of intermediate oligo

SUBMITTER: Severino R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12696368 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature