TY - JOUR
T1 - Red and green algal monophyly and extensive gene sharing found in a rich repertoire of red algal genes
AU - Chan, Cheong Xin
AU - Yang, Eun Chan
AU - Banerjee, Titas
AU - Yoon, Hwan Su
AU - Martone, Patrick T.
AU - Estevez, José M.
AU - Bhattacharya, Debashish
PY - 2011/2/22
Y1 - 2011/2/22
N2 - The Plantae comprising red, green (including land plants), and glaucophyte algae are postulated to have a single common ancestor that is the founding lineage of photosynthetic eukaryotes [1, 2]. However, recent multiprotein phylogenies provide little [3, 4] or no [5, 6] support for this hypothesis. This may reflect limited complete genome data available for red algae, currently only the highly reduced genome of Cyanidioschyzon merolae [7], a reticulate gene ancestry [5], or variable gene divergence rates that mislead phylogenetic inference [8]. Here, using novel genome data from the mesophilic Porphyridium cruentum and Calliarthron tuberculosum, we analyze 60,000 novel red algal genes to test the monophyly of red + green (RG) algae and their extent of gene sharing with other lineages. Using a gene-by-gene approach, we find an emerging signal of RG monophyly (supported by ∼50% of the examined protein phylogenies) that increases with the number of distinct phyla and terminal taxa in the analysis. A total of 1,808 phylogenies show evidence of gene sharing between Plantae and other lineages. We demonstrate that a rich mesophilic red algal gene repertoire is crucial for testing controversial issues in eukaryote evolution and for understanding the complex patterns of gene inheritance in protists.
AB - The Plantae comprising red, green (including land plants), and glaucophyte algae are postulated to have a single common ancestor that is the founding lineage of photosynthetic eukaryotes [1, 2]. However, recent multiprotein phylogenies provide little [3, 4] or no [5, 6] support for this hypothesis. This may reflect limited complete genome data available for red algae, currently only the highly reduced genome of Cyanidioschyzon merolae [7], a reticulate gene ancestry [5], or variable gene divergence rates that mislead phylogenetic inference [8]. Here, using novel genome data from the mesophilic Porphyridium cruentum and Calliarthron tuberculosum, we analyze 60,000 novel red algal genes to test the monophyly of red + green (RG) algae and their extent of gene sharing with other lineages. Using a gene-by-gene approach, we find an emerging signal of RG monophyly (supported by ∼50% of the examined protein phylogenies) that increases with the number of distinct phyla and terminal taxa in the analysis. A total of 1,808 phylogenies show evidence of gene sharing between Plantae and other lineages. We demonstrate that a rich mesophilic red algal gene repertoire is crucial for testing controversial issues in eukaryote evolution and for understanding the complex patterns of gene inheritance in protists.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.cub.2011.01.037
DO - 10.1016/j.cub.2011.01.037
M3 - Article
C2 - 21315598
AN - SCOPUS:79951774451
VL - 21
SP - 328
EP - 333
JO - Current Biology
JF - Current Biology
SN - 0960-9822
IS - 4
ER -