Published in

Nature Research, Nature Communications, 1(14), 2023

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44333-5

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Pervasive epistasis exposes intramolecular networks in adaptive enzyme evolution

Journal article published in 2023 by Karol Buda ORCID, Charlotte M. Miton ORCID, Nobuhiko Tokuriki ORCID
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

AbstractEnzyme evolution is characterized by constant alterations of the intramolecular residue networks supporting their functions. The rewiring of these network interactions can give rise to epistasis. As mutations accumulate, the epistasis observed across diverse genotypes may appear idiosyncratic, that is, exhibit unique effects in different genetic backgrounds. Here, we unveil a quantitative picture of the prevalence and patterns of epistasis in enzyme evolution by analyzing 41 fitness landscapes generated from seven enzymes. We show that >94% of all mutational and epistatic effects appear highly idiosyncratic, which greatly distorted the functional prediction of the evolved enzymes. By examining seemingly idiosyncratic changes in epistasis along adaptive trajectories, we expose several instances of higher-order, intramolecular rewiring. Using complementary structural data, we outline putative molecular mechanisms explaining higher-order epistasis along two enzyme trajectories. Our work emphasizes the prevalence of epistasis and provides an approach to exploring this phenomenon through a molecular lens.