Isoprenoids and their derivatives, essential for all cellular life on Earth, are particularly crucial in archaeal membrane lipids, suggesting that their biosynthesis pathways have ancient origins and play pivotal roles in the evolution of early life. Despite all eukaryotes, archaea, and a few bacterial lineages being known to exclusively use the mevalonate (MVA) pathway to synthesize isoprenoids, the origin and evolutionary trajectory of the MVA pathway remain controversial. Here, we conducted a thorough comparison and phylogenetic analysis of key enzymes across the four types of MVA pathway, with the particular inclusion of metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs) from uncultivated archaea. Our findings support an archaeal origin of the MVA pathway, likely postdating the divergence of Bacteria and Archaea from the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA), thus implying the LUCA's enzymatic inability for isoprenoid biosynthesis. Notably, the Asgard archaea are implicated in playing central roles in the evolution of the MVA pathway, serving not only as putative ancestors of the eukaryote- and Thermoplasma-type routes, but also as crucial mediators in the gene transfer to eukaryotes, possibly during eukaryogenesis. Overall, this study advances our understanding of the origin and evolutionary history of the MVA pathway, providing unique insights into the lipid divide and the evolution of early life.
Keywords: Asgard archaea; LUCA; eukaryogenesis; isoprenoids; mevalonate pathway.