A Proteome-wide Fission Yeast Interactome Reveals Network Evolution Principles from Yeasts to Human.

Here, we present FissionNet, a proteome-wide binary protein interactome for S. pombe, comprising 2,278 high-quality interactions, of which ∼ 50% were previously not reported in any species. FissionNet unravels previously unreported interactions implicated in processes such as gene silencing and pre-mRNA splicing. We developed a rigorous network comparison framework that accounts for assay sensitivity and specificity, revealing extensive species-specific network rewiring between fission yeast, budding yeast, and human. Surprisingly, although genes are better conserved between the yeasts, S. pombe interactions are significantly better conserved in human than in S. cerevisiae. Our framework also reveals that different modes of gene duplication influence the extent to which paralogous proteins are functionally repurposed. Finally, cross-species interactome mapping demonstrates that coevolution of interacting proteins is remarkably prevalent, a result with important implications for studying human disease in model organisms. Overall, FissionNet is a valuable resource for understanding protein functions and their evolution.

Cross-species protein interactome mapping reveals species-specific wiring of stress response pathways.

The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe has more metazoan-like features than the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, yet it has similarly facile genetics. We present a large-scale verified binary protein-protein interactome network, "StressNet," based on high-throughput yeast two-hybrid screens of interacting proteins classified as part of stress response and signal transduction pathways in S. pombe. We performed systematic, cross-species interactome mapping using StressNet and a protein interactome network of orthologous proteins in S. cerevisiae. With cross-species comparative network studies, we detected a previously unidentified component (Snr1) of the S. pombe mitogen-activated protein kinase Sty1 pathway. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments showed that Snr1 interacted with Sty1 and that deletion of snr1 increased the sensitivity of S. pombe cells to stress. Comparison of StressNet with the interactome network of orthologous proteins in S. cerevisiae showed that most of the interactions among these stress response and signaling proteins are not conserved between species but are "rewired"; orthologous proteins have different binding partners in both species. In particular, transient interactions connecting proteins in different functional modules were more likely to be rewired than conserved. By directly testing interactions between proteins in one yeast species and their corresponding binding partners in the other yeast species with yeast two-hybrid assays, we found that about half of the interactions that are traditionally considered "conserved" form modified interaction interfaces that may potentially accommodate novel functions.