Membrane function is fundamental to life. Each species explores membrane lipid diversity within a genetically predefined range of possibilities. How membrane lipid composition in turn defines the functional space available for evolution of membrane-centered processes remains largely unknown. We address this fundamental question using related fission yeasts Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Schizosaccharomyces japonicus. We show that, unlike S. pombe that generates membranes where both glycerophospholipid acyl tails are predominantly 16-18 carbons long, S. japonicus synthesizes unusual "asymmetrical" glycerophospholipids where the tails differ in length by 6-8 carbons. This results in stiffer bilayers with distinct lipid packing properties. Retroengineered S. pombe synthesizing the S.-japonicus-type phospholipids exhibits unfolded protein response and downregulates secretion. Importantly, our protein sequence comparisons and domain swap experiments support the hypothesis that transmembrane helices co-evolve with membranes, suggesting that, on the evolutionary scale, changes in membrane lipid composition may necessitate extensive adaptation of the membrane-associated proteome.

中文翻译：

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描绘膜相关蛋白结构适应膜脂质组进化变化的规则。

膜功能是生命的基础。每个物种都在遗传预定义的可能性范围内探索膜脂多样性。膜脂组成如何反过来定义可用于以膜为中心的过程进化的功能空间仍然很大程度上未知。我们使用相关裂变酵母 Schizosaccharomyces pombe 和 Schizosaccharomyces japonicus 来解决这个基本问题。我们表明，与 S. pombe 生成的膜不同，其中两个甘油磷脂酰基尾巴的长度主要为 16-18 个碳，S. japonicus 合成不寻常的“不对称”甘油磷脂，其中尾巴的长度相差 6-8 个碳。这导致具有不同脂质堆积特性的更硬的双层。经改造的 S. pombe 合成了 S. pombe。-japonicus 型磷脂表现出未折叠蛋白反应并下调分泌。重要的是，我们的蛋白质序列比较和域交换实验支持跨膜螺旋与膜共同进化的假设，这表明，在进化尺度上，膜脂成分的变化可能需要对膜相关蛋白质组进行广泛的适应。