Multiple intermolecular interactions facilitate rapid evolution of essential genes

Essential genes are commonly assumed to function in basic cellular processes and to change slowly. However, it remains unclear whether all essential genes are similarly conserved or if their evolutionary rates can be accelerated by specific factors. To address these questions, we replaced 86 essential genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with orthologues from four other species that diverged from S. cerevisiae about 50, 100, 270 and 420 Myr ago. We identify a group of fast-evolving genes that often encode subunits of large protein complexes, including anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C). Incompatibility of fast-evolving genes is rescued by simultaneously replacing interacting components, suggesting it is caused by protein co-evolution. Detailed investigation of APC/C further revealed that co-evolution involves not only primary interacting proteins but also secondary ones, suggesting the evolutionary impact of epistasis. Multiple intermolecular interactions in protein complexes may provide a microenvironment facilitating rapid evolution of their subunits.