Editing Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (section)

==Evolutionary history==
It was found that pyruvate dehydrogenase enzyme found in the mitochondria of eukaryotic cells closely resembles an enzyme from ''[[Geobacillus stearothermophilus]]'', which is a species of [[gram-positive bacteria]]. Despite similarities of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex with gram-positive bacteria, there is little resemblance with those of [[gram-negative bacteria]].  Similarities of the quaternary structures between pyruvate dehydrogenase and enzymes in gram-positive bacteria point to a shared evolutionary history which is distinctive from the evolutionary history of corresponding enzymes found in gram-negative bacteria. Through an endosymbiotic event, pyruvate dehydrogenase found in the eukaryotic mitochondria points to ancestral linkages dating back to gram-positive bacteria.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Henderson|first1=Christopher E.|last2=Perham|first2=Richard N.|last3=Finch|first3=John T.|date=May 1979|title=Structure and symmetry of B. stearothermophilus pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex and implications for eucaryote evolution|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0092-8674(79)90297-6|journal=Cell|volume=17|issue=1|pages=85–93|doi=10.1016/0092-8674(79)90297-6|pmid=455461|s2cid=35282258|issn=0092-8674|url-access=subscription}}</ref> 

Pyruvate dehydrogenase complexes share many similarities with branched chain 2-oxoacid dehydrogenase (BCOADH), particularly in their substrate specificity for alpha-keto acids. Specifically, BCOADH catalyzes the degradation of amino acids and these enzymes would have been prevalent during the periods on prehistoric Earth dominated by rich amino acid environments. The E2 subunit from pyruvate dehydrogenase evolved from the E2 gene found in BCOADH while both enzymes contain identical E3 subunits due to the presence of only one E3 gene. Since the E1 subunits have a distinctive specificity for particular substrates, the E1 subunits of pyruvate dehydrogenase and BCOADH vary but share genetic similarities. The gram-positive bacteria and cyanobacteria that would later give rise to mitochondria and chloroplast found in eukaryotic cells retained the E1 subunits that are genetically related to those found in the BCOADH enzymes.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Schreiner|first1=Mark E.|last2=Fiur|first2=Diana|last3=Holátko|first3=Jiří|last4=Pátek|first4=Miroslav|last5=Eikmanns|first5=Bernhard J.|date=2005-09-01|title=E1 Enzyme of the Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex in Corynebacterium glutamicum: Molecular Analysis of the Gene and Phylogenetic Aspects|url= |journal=Journal of Bacteriology|volume=187|issue=17|pages=6005–6018|doi=10.1128/jb.187.17.6005-6018.2005|pmid=16109942|pmc=1196148|issn=0021-9193}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Schnarrenberger|first1=Claus|last2=Martin|first2=William|date=2002-02-01|title=Evolution of the enzymes of the citric acid cycle and the glyoxylate cycle of higher plants|journal=European Journal of Biochemistry|volume=269|issue=3|pages=868–883|doi=10.1046/j.0014-2956.2001.02722.x|pmid=11846788|issn=0014-2956|doi-access=free}}</ref>