Red and problematic green phylogenetic signals among thousands of nuclear genes from the photosynthetic and apicomplexa-related Chromera velia

Functional remodeling of RNA processing in replacement chloroplasts by pathways retained from their predecessors

Chloroplasts originate through the endosymbiotic integration of a host and a photosynthetic symbiont, with processes established within the host for the biogenesis and maintenance of the nascent chloroplast. It is thought that several photosynthetic eukaryotes have replaced their original chloroplasts with others derived from different source organisms in a process termed "serial endosymbiosis of chloroplasts." However, it is not known whether replacement chloroplasts are affected by the biogenesis and maintenance pathways established to support their predecessors. Here, we investigate whether pathways established during a previous chloroplast symbiosis function in the replacement chloroplasts of the dinoflagellate alga Karenia mikimotoi. We show that chloroplast transcripts in K. mikimotoi are subject to 3' polyuridylylation and extensive sequence editing. We confirm that these processes do not occur in free-living relatives of the replacement chloroplast lineage, but are otherwise found only in the ancestral, red algal-derived chloroplasts of dinoflagellates and their closest relatives. This indicates that these unusual RNA-processing pathways have been retained from the original symbiont lineage and made use of by the replacement chloroplast. Our results constitute an addition to current theories of chloroplast evolution in which chloroplast biogenesis may be radically remodeled by pathways remaining from previous symbioses.

Distribution of the SELMA translocon in secondary plastids of red algal origin and predicted uncoupling of ubiquitin-dependent translocation from degradation

Protein import into complex plastids of red algal origin is a multistep process including translocons of different evolutionary origins. The symbiont-derived ERAD-like machinery (SELMA), shown to be of red algal origin, is proposed to be the transport system for preprotein import across the periplastidal membrane of heterokontophytes, haptophytes, cryptophytes, and apicomplexans. In contrast to the canonical endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD) system, SELMA translocation is suggested to be uncoupled from proteasomal degradation. We investigated the distribution of known and newly identified SELMA components in organisms with complex plastids of red algal origin by intensive data mining, thereby defining a set of core components present in all examined organisms. These include putative pore-forming components, a ubiquitylation machinery, as well as a Cdc48 complex. Furthermore, the set of known 20S proteasomal components in the periplastidal compartment (PPC) of diatoms was expanded. These newly identified putative SELMA components, as well as proteasomal subunits, were in vivo localized as PPC proteins in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. The presented data allow us to speculate about the specific features of SELMA translocation in contrast to the canonical ERAD system, especially the uncoupling of translocation from degradation.

Anaerobic energy metabolism in unicellular photosynthetic eukaryotes

Anaerobic metabolic pathways allow unicellular organisms to tolerate or colonize anoxic environments. Over the past ten years, genome sequencing projects have brought a new light on the extent of anaerobic metabolism in eukaryotes. A surprising development has been that free-living unicellular algae capable of photoautotrophic lifestyle are, in terms of their enzymatic repertoire, among the best equipped eukaryotes known when it comes to anaerobic energy metabolism. Some of these algae are marine organisms, common in the oceans, others are more typically soil inhabitants. All these species are important from the ecological (O(2)/CO(2) budget), biotechnological, and evolutionary perspectives. In the unicellular algae surveyed here, mixed-acid type fermentations are widespread while anaerobic respiration, which is more typical of eukaryotic heterotrophs, appears to be rare. The presence of a core anaerobic metabolism among the algae provides insights into its evolutionary origin, which traces to the eukaryote common ancestor. The predicted fermentative enzymes often exhibit an amino acid extension at the N-terminus, suggesting that these proteins might be compartmentalized in the cell, likely in the chloroplast or the mitochondrion. The green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlorella NC64 have the most extended set of fermentative enzymes reported so far. Among the eukaryotes with secondary plastids, the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana has the most pronounced anaerobic capabilities as yet. From the standpoints of genomic, transcriptomic, and biochemical studies, anaerobic energy metabolism in C. reinhardtii remains the best characterized among photosynthetic protists. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: The evolutionary aspects of bioenergetic systems.

Reevaluating the green contribution to diatom genomes

Photosynthetic diatom plastids have long been suggested to have originated by the secondary endosymbiosis of a red alga. However, recent phylogenomic studies report a high number of diatom nuclear genes phylogenetically related to green algal and green plant genes. These were interpreted as endosymbiotic gene transfers (EGT) from a cryptic green algal endosymbiosis. We reanalyzed this issue using a larger set of red algal genomic data. We show that previous studies suffer from a taxonomic sampling bias and point out that a majority of gene phylogenies are either poorly resolved or do not describe EGT events. We finally show that genes having a complete descent from cyanobacteria to diatoms through primary and secondary EGTs have been mostly transferred via a red alga. We conclude that, even if some diatom genes still support a putative green algal origin, these are not sufficient to argue for a cryptic green algal secondary endosymbiosis.

Re-evaluating the green versus red signal in eukaryotes with secondary plastid of red algal origin

The transition from endosymbiont to organelle in eukaryotic cells involves the transfer of significant numbers of genes to the host genomes, a process known as endosymbiotic gene transfer (EGT). In the case of plastid organelles, EGTs have been shown to leave a footprint in the nuclear genome that can be indicative of ancient photosynthetic activity in present-day plastid-lacking organisms, or even hint at the existence of cryptic plastids. Here, we evaluated the impact of EGT on eukaryote genomes by reanalyzing the recently published EST dataset for Chromera velia, an interesting test case of a photosynthetic alga closely related to apicomplexan parasites. Previously, 513 genes were reported to originate from red and green algae in a 1:1 ratio. In contrast, by manually inspecting newly generated trees indicating putative algal ancestry, we recovered only 51 genes congruent with EGT, of which 23 and 9 were of red and green algal origin, respectively, whereas 19 were ambiguous regarding the algal provenance. Our approach also uncovered 109 genes that branched within a monocot angiosperm clade, most likely representing a contamination. We emphasize the lack of congruence and the subjectivity resulting from independent phylogenomic screens for EGT, which appear to call for extreme caution when drawing conclusions for major evolutionary events.

Reconstruction of oomycete genome evolution identifies differences in evolutionary trajectories leading to present-day large gene families

The taxonomic class of oomycetes contains numerous pathogens of plants and animals but is related to nonpathogenic diatoms and brown algae. Oomycetes have flexible genomes comprising large gene families that play roles in pathogenicity. The evolutionary processes that shaped the gene content have not yet been studied by applying systematic tree reconciliation of the phylome of these species. We analyzed evolutionary dynamics of ten Stramenopiles. Gene gains, duplications, and losses were inferred by tree reconciliation of 18,459 gene trees constituting the phylome with a highly supported species phylogeny. We reconstructed a strikingly large last common ancestor of the Stramenopiles that contained ∼10,000 genes. Throughout evolution, the genomes of pathogenic oomycetes have constantly gained and lost genes, though gene gains through duplications outnumber the losses. The branch leading to the plant pathogenic Phytophthora genus was identified as a major transition point characterized by increased frequency of duplication events that has likely driven the speciation within this genus. Large gene families encoding different classes of enzymes associated with pathogenicity such as glycoside hydrolases are formed by complex and distinct patterns of duplications and losses leading to their expansion in extant oomycetes. This study unveils the large-scale evolutionary dynamics that shaped the genomes of pathogenic oomycetes. By the application of phylogenetic based analyses methods, it provides additional insights that shed light on the complex history of oomycete genome evolution and the emergence of large gene families characteristic for this important class of pathogens.