Decoding the Evolution of Ribonucleotide Reductases: A Deep Dive with Dr. Ando

We are excited to welcome Dr. Ando, an expert in phylogenetic reconstruction and evolutionary biology, in this episode. Dr. Ando's intriguing work centers on Ribonucleotide Reductases (RNRs) - essential enzymes used by all free-living organisms and many viruses in the biosynthesis of DNA precursors.RNRs exhibit tremendous diversity in terms of primary sequence and cofactor requirements while retaining a conserved fold and a radical-based mechanism for nucleotide reduction. Dr. Ando and his team have pieced together the most extensive phylogeny of RNRs to date, including a whopping 6779 sequences that unite all extant classes of the RNR family.During our discussion, Dr. Ando shares fascinating insights into their discovery of a novel, phylogenetically distinct clade that they have dubbed 'clade Ø'. This clade is ancestral to the classes I and II RNRs, and is a significant addition to our understanding of RNR evolution.Through a combination of techniques, including small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), cryogenic-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), and AlphaFold2, the team delves into the structure of a member of clade Ø, presenting the most minimal RNR architecture known to date. Based on their thorough analyses, Dr. Ando puts forth an evolutionary model for the diversification in the RNR family and discusses how their phylogeny could serve as a roadmap for future studies.Join us for this engrossing episode as we explore the fascinating evolution of the RNR family with Dr. Ando. This episode is an enlightening journey for anyone interested in evolutionary biology, phylogenetic reconstruction, structural biology, and the mechanisms of life at the molecular level.Key Words: Ribonucleotide Reductases, Phylogeny, Evolutionary Biology, Structural Biology, AlphaFold2, Cryogenic-Electron Microscopy, Small-Angle X-ray Scattering, DNA Biosynthesis, Protein Family Evolution.Nozomi Ando et al. (2022) Comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the ribonucleotide reductase family reveals an ancestral clade eLife 11:e79790 https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.79790