C-4 sterol demethylation enzymes distinguish bacterial and eukaryotic sterol synthesis

Sterols are essential eukaryotic lipids that are required for a variety of physiological roles. The diagenetic products of sterol lipids, sterane hydrocarbons, are preserved in ancient sedimentary rocks and are utilized as geological biomarkers, indicating the presence of both eukaryotes and oxic environments throughout Earth’s history. However, a few bacterial species are also known to produce sterols, bringing into question the significance of bacterial sterol synthesis for our interpretation of sterane biomarkers. Recent studies suggest that bacterial sterol synthesis may be distinct from what is observed in eukaryotes. In particular, phylogenomic analyses of sterol-producing bacteria have failed to identify homologs of several key eukaryotic sterol synthesis enzymes, most notably those required for demethylation at the C-4 position. In this study, we identified two genes of previously unknown function in the aerobic methanotrophic γ-Proteobacterium Methylococcus capsulatus that encode sterol demethylase proteins (Sdm). We show that a Rieske-type oxygenase (SdmA) and an NAD(P)-dependent reductase (SdmB) are responsible for converting 4,4-dimethylsterols to 4α-methylsterols. Identification of intermediate products synthesized during heterologous expression of SdmA-SdmB along with 13C-labeling studies support a sterol C-4 demethylation mechanism distinct from that of eukaryotes. SdmA-SdmB homologs were identified in several other sterol-producing bacterial genomes but not in any eukaryotic genomes, indicating that these proteins are unrelated to the eukaryotic C-4 sterol demethylase enzymes. These findings reveal a separate pathway for sterol synthesis exclusive to bacteria and show that demethylation of sterols evolved at least twice—once in bacteria and once in eukaryotes.