Fumarate reductase superfamily: A diverse group of enzymes whose evolution is correlated to the establishment of different metabolic pathways

•The fumarate and succinate interconversion reactions are found in all living organisms and are catalyzed by succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) and fumarate reductase (FRD).•We showed that different FRD/SDH are members of a superfamily, which we named as “fumarate reductase superfamily”.•The proteins have a central role in the establishment of metabolic pathway essentials to energy transduction in the current organisms.•Evolutionary process encompassed the endosymbiosis processes that originated the mitochondria and chloroplastic.

Fumarate and succinate are known to be present in prebiotic systems essential for the origin of life. The fumarate and succinate interconversion reactions have been conserved throughout evolution and are found in all living organisms. The fumarate and succinate interconversion is catalyzed by the enzymes succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) and fumarate reductase (FRD).In this work we show that SDH and FRD are part of a group of enzymes that we propose to designate “fumarate reductase superfamily”. Our results demonstrate that these enzymes emerged from a common ancestor and were essential in the development of metabolic pathways involved in energy transduction.