- Authors: Tengölics Roland, Szappanos Balázs, Michael Mülleder, Kalapis Dorottya, Grézal Gábor, Sajben Csilla, Federica Agostini, João Benhur Mokochinski, Bálint Balázs, G. Nagy László, Markus Ralser, Papp Balázs
- Publication: 2024, PNAS
- URL: https://www.pnas.org/doi/epub/10.1073/pnas.2313354121
- MTMT Identifier: 34479463
Abstract: Metabolic networks evolve through changes in enzyme content and activity states, but the latter aspect remains elusive. This is a major knowledge gap since differences in enzyme kinetic properties and regulation can lead to vastly different metabolic activities despite similar enzyme contents. Here, we profiled metabolite levels across several budding yeast species and populations to delineate the evolutionary dynamics of metabolic states at exceptional phylogenetic resolution. The approach allowed us to uncover a global signature of domestication that evolved convergently in independently domesticated groups of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and likely reflects adaptation to human-made niches. More broadly, our results show that studying metabolic evolution through metabolomics provides largely complementary information that cannot be obtained by studying enzyme content alone.