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author Wang, Yaohai
Ni, Jiahao
Pan, Jiao
Feng, Ruobing
Li, Weiyi
Zhang, Xuetao
Gao, Chao
Liao, Lijian
Zhang, Zhirong
Yue, Hongwei
Zhang, Kexin
Zhang, Lin
Feng, Chunhui
Yao, Dongji
Han, Yumin
Li, Xunrong
Zhou, Xuan
Deng, Ziguang
Zhang, Jia
Zhou, Pin
Jing, Gongchao
Zhang, Yu
Chen, Lingyun
Pan, Xuming
Chen, Xiangrui
Bai, Yang
Yan, Ying
Huang, Jie
Ye, Zhiqiang
Shen, Xiaopeng
Tian, Miao
Zufall, Rebecca A
Wang, Pingyuan
Lynch, Michael
Long, Hongan
author_facet Wang, Yaohai
Ni, Jiahao
Pan, Jiao
Feng, Ruobing
Li, Weiyi
Zhang, Xuetao
Gao, Chao
Liao, Lijian
Zhang, Zhirong
Yue, Hongwei
Zhang, Kexin
Zhang, Lin
Feng, Chunhui
Yao, Dongji
Han, Yumin
Li, Xunrong
Zhou, Xuan
Deng, Ziguang
Zhang, Jia
Zhou, Pin
Jing, Gongchao
Zhang, Yu
Chen, Lingyun
Pan, Xuming
Chen, Xiangrui
Bai, Yang
Yan, Ying
Huang, Jie
Ye, Zhiqiang
Shen, Xiaopeng
Tian, Miao
Zufall, Rebecca A
Wang, Pingyuan
Lynch, Michael
Long, Hongan
Wang, Yaohai
Ni, Jiahao
Pan, Jiao
Feng, Ruobing
Li, Weiyi
Zhang, Xuetao
Gao, Chao
Liao, Lijian
Zhang, Zhirong
Yue, Hongwei
Zhang, Kexin
Zhang, Lin
Feng, Chunhui
Yao, Dongji
Han, Yumin
Li, Xunrong
Zhou, Xuan
Deng, Ziguang
Zhang, Jia
Zhou, Pin
Jing, Gongchao
Zhang, Yu
Chen, Lingyun
Pan, Xuming
Chen, Xiangrui
Bai, Yang
Yan, Ying
Huang, Jie
Ye, Zhiqiang
Shen, Xiaopeng
Tian, Miao
Zufall, Rebecca A
Wang, Pingyuan
Lynch, Michael
Long, Hongan
collection PubMed - marine biology
contents Cross-domain transfer of trehalose biosynthesis genes contributes to adaptation in high-altitude environments. Wang, Yaohai Ni, Jiahao Pan, Jiao Feng, Ruobing Li, Weiyi Zhang, Xuetao Gao, Chao Liao, Lijian Zhang, Zhirong Yue, Hongwei Zhang, Kexin Zhang, Lin Feng, Chunhui Yao, Dongji Han, Yumin Li, Xunrong Zhou, Xuan Deng, Ziguang Zhang, Jia Zhou, Pin Jing, Gongchao Zhang, Yu Chen, Lingyun Pan, Xuming Chen, Xiangrui Bai, Yang Yan, Ying Huang, Jie Ye, Zhiqiang Shen, Xiaopeng Tian, Miao Zufall, Rebecca A Wang, Pingyuan Lynch, Michael Long, Hongan High altitudes pose extreme survival challenges for organisms, yet the origins and molecular strategies underlying their resilience remain poorly understood. Here, we report the molecular and evolutionary mechanisms underlying stress resilience in sp. LHA081A01, a ciliate isolated from a high-altitude Tibetan salt lake that endures high salinity, low temperature, and hypoxia. We identified TreT glycosyltransferases, acquired through horizontal gene transfer from an anaerobic and halophilic Desulfobacteraceae bacterium, to be involved in the synthesis of α,α-trehalose-a universal protein stabilizer absent in most other ciliates but essential for counteracting multiple environmental stressors. Additional strategies include β-carotene accumulation to mitigate oxidative stress from hypoxia, along with numerous others common to many eukaryotes. Extensive gene family expansions and rapid divergence of stress‑responsive genes underscore their evolutionary significance and critical role in surviving harsh habitats. Intolerance to low salinity may render this ciliate, and other protists, vulnerable to climate‑driven salinity declines in Tibetan salt lakes. Together, these extraordinary features-shaped by horizontal gene transfer, natural selection, and regulatory plasticity-position high-altitude microbial eukaryotes as powerful extremophile models for uncovering the molecular mechanisms of stress resilience and adaptive evolution across life.
format Artículo científico
id pubmed_42130746
institution PubMed
language en
publishDate 2026
publisher National science review
record_format pubmed
spellingShingle Cross-domain transfer of trehalose biosynthesis genes contributes to adaptation in high-altitude environments.
Wang, Yaohai
Ni, Jiahao
Pan, Jiao
Feng, Ruobing
Li, Weiyi
Zhang, Xuetao
Gao, Chao
Liao, Lijian
Zhang, Zhirong
Yue, Hongwei
Zhang, Kexin
Zhang, Lin
Feng, Chunhui
Yao, Dongji
Han, Yumin
Li, Xunrong
Zhou, Xuan
Deng, Ziguang
Zhang, Jia
Zhou, Pin
Jing, Gongchao
Zhang, Yu
Chen, Lingyun
Pan, Xuming
Chen, Xiangrui
Bai, Yang
Yan, Ying
Huang, Jie
Ye, Zhiqiang
Shen, Xiaopeng
Tian, Miao
Zufall, Rebecca A
Wang, Pingyuan
Lynch, Michael
Long, Hongan
Cross-domain transfer of trehalose biosynthesis genes contributes to adaptation in high-altitude environments. Wang, Yaohai Ni, Jiahao Pan, Jiao Feng, Ruobing Li, Weiyi Zhang, Xuetao Gao, Chao Liao, Lijian Zhang, Zhirong Yue, Hongwei Zhang, Kexin Zhang, Lin Feng, Chunhui Yao, Dongji Han, Yumin Li, Xunrong Zhou, Xuan Deng, Ziguang Zhang, Jia Zhou, Pin Jing, Gongchao Zhang, Yu Chen, Lingyun Pan, Xuming Chen, Xiangrui Bai, Yang Yan, Ying Huang, Jie Ye, Zhiqiang Shen, Xiaopeng Tian, Miao Zufall, Rebecca A Wang, Pingyuan Lynch, Michael Long, Hongan High altitudes pose extreme survival challenges for organisms, yet the origins and molecular strategies underlying their resilience remain poorly understood. Here, we report the molecular and evolutionary mechanisms underlying stress resilience in sp. LHA081A01, a ciliate isolated from a high-altitude Tibetan salt lake that endures high salinity, low temperature, and hypoxia. We identified TreT glycosyltransferases, acquired through horizontal gene transfer from an anaerobic and halophilic Desulfobacteraceae bacterium, to be involved in the synthesis of α,α-trehalose-a universal protein stabilizer absent in most other ciliates but essential for counteracting multiple environmental stressors. Additional strategies include β-carotene accumulation to mitigate oxidative stress from hypoxia, along with numerous others common to many eukaryotes. Extensive gene family expansions and rapid divergence of stress‑responsive genes underscore their evolutionary significance and critical role in surviving harsh habitats. Intolerance to low salinity may render this ciliate, and other protists, vulnerable to climate‑driven salinity declines in Tibetan salt lakes. Together, these extraordinary features-shaped by horizontal gene transfer, natural selection, and regulatory plasticity-position high-altitude microbial eukaryotes as powerful extremophile models for uncovering the molecular mechanisms of stress resilience and adaptive evolution across life.
title Cross-domain transfer of trehalose biosynthesis genes contributes to adaptation in high-altitude environments.
url https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42130746/