Microbial heliorhodopsins are a new type of rhodopsins, currently believed to engage in light sensing, with an opposite membrane topology compared to type-1 and type-2 rhodopsins. We determined heliorhodopsins presence/absence is monoderms and diderms representatives from the Tara Oceans and freshwater metagenomes as well as metagenome assembled genome collections. Heliorhodopsins are absent in diderms, confirming our previous observations in cultured Proteobacteria. We do not rule out the possibility that heliorhodopsins serve as light sensors. However, this does not easily explain their absence from diderms. Based on these observations, we speculate on the putative role of heliorhodopsins in light-driven transport of amphiphilic molecules.

Department of Life Science and Applied Chemistry Nagoya Institute of Technology Showa ku Aichi 466 8555 Japan

Faculty of Biology Technion Israel Institute of Technology Haifa Israel

Institute of Hydrobiology Department of Aquatic Microbial Ecology Biology Center of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic České Budějovice Czech Republic

OptoBioTechnology Research Center Nagoya Institute of Technology Showa ku Nagoya 466 8555 Japan

PRESTO Japan Science and Technology Agency 4 1 8 Honcho Kawaguchi Saitama 332 0012 Japan

The Institute for Solid State Physics The University of Tokyo 5 1 5 Kashiwanoha Kashiwa Chiba 277 8581 Japan

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