The filamentous γ-prefoldin chaperone is not essential for growth and thermal adaptation in Methanocaldococcus jannaschii

Elucidating the role of molecular chaperones in extremely thermophilic archaea, including the gamma prefoldin (γPFD) in the deep-sea methanogen Methanocaldococcus jannaschii, is integral to understanding microbial adaptation to hot environments. This study focuses on genetically engineered knock-out and overexpression strains to evaluate the importance of γPFD in the growth and thermal tolerance of M. jannaschii. An in-depth analysis of cell growth, morphology and transcriptional responses to heat stress revealed that although the gene encoding γPFD is substantially upregulated in response to heat shock, the γPFD is not indispensable for high-temperature survival. Instead, its absence in the knock-out strain is compensated for by the upregulation of several proteolytic proteins in the absence of heat shock, nearly matching the corresponding transcription profile of selected transcripts for proteins involved in protein synthesis and folding in the wild-type strain following heat shock, using quantitative reverse-transcription PCR (RT-qPCR). These findings bridge environmental adaptation with molecular biology, underscoring the versatility of extremophiles and providing a deeper mechanistic understanding of how they cope with stress.