The phylogenetic position of the pelobiont Mastigamoeba balamuthi based on sequences of rDNA and translation elongation factors EF-1alpha and EF-2

Centrohelida is still searching for a phylogenetic home: analyses of seven Raphidiophrys contractilis genes

By recent advance in evolutionary biology, the majority of eukaryotes are classified into six eukaryotic assemblages called as "supergroups". However, several eukaryotic groups show no clear evolutionary affinity to any of the six supergroups. Centrohelida, one of major heliozoan groups, are such an unresolved lineage. In this study, we newly determined the genes encoding translation elongation factor 2 (EF2), cytosolic heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), and cytosolic heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) from the centroheliozoan Raphidiophrys contractilis. The three Raphidiophrys genes were then combined with previously determined actin, alpha-tubulin, beta-tubulin, and SSU rRNA sequences to phylogenetically analyze the position of Centrohelida in global eukaryotic phylogeny. Although the multi-gene data sets examined in this study are the largest ones including the centroheliozoan sequences, the relationships between Centrohelida and the eukaryotic groups considered were unresolved. Our careful investigation revealed that the phylogenetic estimates were highly sensitive to genes included in the multi-gene alignment. The signal of SSU rRNA and that of alpha-tubulin appeared to conflict with one another: the former strongly prefers a monophyly of Diplomonadida (e.g., Giardia), Parabasalia (e.g., Trichomonas), Heterolobosea (e.g., Naegleria), and Euglenozoa (e.g., Trypanosoma), while the latter unites Diplomonadida, Parabasalia, Metazoa, and Fungi. In addition, EF2 robustly unites Rhodophyta and Viridiplantae, while the remaining genes considered in this study do not positively support the particular relationship. Thus, it is difficult to identify the phylogenetic relatives of Centrohelida in the present study, since strong (and some are conflicting) gene-specific "signals" are predominant in the current multi-gene data. We concluded that larger scale multi-gene phylogenies are necessary to elucidate the origin and evolution of Centrohelida.

The origin and diversification of eukaryotes: problems with molecular phylogenetics and molecular clock estimation

Determining the relationships among and divergence times for the major eukaryotic lineages remains one of the most important and controversial outstanding problems in evolutionary biology. The sequencing and phylogenetic analyses of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes led to the first nearly comprehensive phylogenies of eukaryotes in the late 1980s, and supported a view where cellular complexity was acquired during the divergence of extant unicellular eukaryote lineages. More recently, however, refinements in analytical methods coupled with the availability of many additional genes for phylogenetic analysis showed that much of the deep structure of early rRNA trees was artefactual. Recent phylogenetic analyses of a multiple genes and the discovery of important molecular and ultrastructural phylogenetic characters have resolved eukaryotic diversity into six major hypothetical groups. Yet relationships among these groups remain poorly understood because of saturation of sequence changes on the billion-year time-scale, possible rapid radiations of major lineages, phylogenetic artefacts and endosymbiotic or lateral gene transfer among eukaryotes. Estimating the divergence dates between the major eukaryote lineages using molecular analyses is even more difficult than phylogenetic estimation. Error in such analyses comes from a myriad of sources including: (i) calibration fossil dates, (ii) the assumed phylogenetic tree, (iii) the nucleotide or amino acid substitution model, (iv) substitution number (branch length) estimates, (v) the model of how rates of evolution change over the tree, (vi) error inherent in the time estimates for a given model and (vii) how multiple gene data are treated. By reanalysing datasets from recently published molecular clock studies, we show that when errors from these various sources are properly accounted for, the confidence intervals on inferred dates can be very large. Furthermore, estimated dates of divergence vary hugely depending on the methods used and their assumptions. Accurate dating of divergence times among the major eukaryote lineages will require a robust tree of eukaryotes, a much richer Proterozoic fossil record of microbial eukaryotes assignable to extant groups for calibration, more sophisticated relaxed molecular clock methods and many more genes sampled from the full diversity of microbial eukaryotes.

Evolution of four gene families with patchy phylogenetic distributions: influx of genes into protist genomes

BACKGROUND

Lateral gene transfer (LGT) in eukaryotes from non-organellar sources is a controversial subject in need of further study. Here we present gene distribution and phylogenetic analyses of the genes encoding the hybrid-cluster protein, A-type flavoprotein, glucosamine-6-phosphate isomerase, and alcohol dehydrogenase E. These four genes have a limited distribution among sequenced prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes and were previously implicated in gene transfer events affecting eukaryotes. If our previous contention that these genes were introduced by LGT independently into the diplomonad and Entamoeba lineages were true, we expect that the number of putative transfers and the phylogenetic signal supporting LGT should be stable or increase, rather than decrease, when novel eukaryotic and prokaryotic homologs are added to the analyses.

RESULTS

The addition of homologs from phagotrophic protists, including several Entamoeba species, the pelobiont Mastigamoeba balamuthi, and the parabasalid Trichomonas vaginalis, and a large quantity of sequences from genome projects resulted in an apparent increase in the number of putative transfer events affecting all three domains of life. Some of the eukaryotic transfers affect a wide range of protists, such as three divergent lineages of Amoebozoa, represented by Entamoeba, Mastigamoeba, and Dictyostelium, while other transfers only affect a limited diversity, for example only the Entamoeba lineage. These observations are consistent with a model where these genes have been introduced into protist genomes independently from various sources over a long evolutionary time.

CONCLUSION

Phylogenetic analyses of the updated datasets using more sophisticated phylogenetic methods, in combination with the gene distribution analyses, strengthened, rather than weakened, the support for LGT as an important mechanism affecting the evolution of these gene families. Thus, gene transfer seems to be an on-going evolutionary mechanism by which genes are spread between unrelated lineages of all three domains of life, further indicating the importance of LGT from non-organellar sources into eukaryotic genomes.

Ultrastructural Description of Breviata anathema, N. Gen., N. Sp., the Organism Previously Studied as "Mastigamoeba invertens"

An understanding of large-scale eukaryotic evolution is beginning to crystallise, as molecular and morphological data demonstrate that eukaryotes fall into six major groups. However, there are several taxa of which the affinities are yet to be resolved, and for which there are only either molecular or morphological data. One of these is the amoeboid flagellate Mastigamoeba invertens. This organism was originally misidentified and studied as a pelobiont using molecular data. We present its first light microscopical and ultrastructural characterisation. We demonstrate that it does not show affinities to the amoebozoan pelobionts, because unlike the pelobionts, it has a double basal body and two flagellar roots, a classical Golgi stack, and a large branching double membrane-bound organelle. Phylogenetic analyses of small subunit ribosomal RNA suggest an affinity with the apusomonads, when a covariotide correction for rate heterogeneity is used. We suggest that previous molecular results have been subject to artefacts from an insufficient correction for rate heterogeneity. We propose a new name for the taxon, Breviata anathema; and the unranked, apomorphy-based name "Breviates" for Breviata and its close relatives.

Alternative oxidase (AOX) genes of African trypanosomes: phylogeny and evolution of AOX and plastid terminal oxidase families

To clarify evolution and phylogenetic relationships of trypanosome alternative oxidase (AOX) molecules, AOX genes (cDNAs) of the African trypanosomes, Trypanosoma congolense and Trypanosoma evansi, were cloned by PCR. Both AOXs possess conserved consensus motifs (-E-, -EXXH-). The putative amino acid sequence of the AOX of T. evansi was exactly the same as that of T. brucei. A protein phylogeny of trypanosome AOXs revealed that three genetically and pathogenically distinct strains of T. congolense are closely related to each other. When all known AOX sequences collected from current databases were analyzed, the common ancestor of these three Trypanosoma species shared a sister-group position to T. brucei/T. evansi. Monophyly of Trypanosoma spp. was clearly supported (100% bootstrap value) with Trypanosoma vivax placed at the most basal position of the Trypanosoma clade. Monophyly of other eukaryotic lineages, terrestrial plants + red algae, Metazoa, diatoms, Alveolata, oomycetes, green algae, and Fungi, was reconstructed in the best AOX tree obtained from maximum likelihood analysis, although some of these clades were not strongly supported. The terrestrial plants + red algae clade showed the closest affinity with an alpha-proteobacterium, Novosphingobium aromaticivorans, and the common ancestor of these lineages, was separated from other eukaryotes. Although the root of the AOX subtree was not clearly determined, subsequent phylogenetic analysis of the composite tree for AOX and plastid terminal oxidase (PTOX) demonstrated that PTOX and related cyanobacterial sequences are of a monophyletic origin and their common ancestor is linked to AOX sequences.

Phylogeny of the Centrohelida inferred from SSU rRNA, tubulins, and actin genes

Amoeboid protists are major targets of recent molecular phylogeny in connection with reconstruction of global phylogeny of eukaryotes as well as the search for the root of eukaryotes. The Centrohelida are one of the major groups of Heliozoa, classified in the Actinopodida, whose evolutionary position is not well understood. To clarify the relationships between the Centrohelida and other eukaryotes, we sequenced SSU rRNA, alpha-tubulin, and beta-tubulin genes from a centroheliozoan protist, Raphidiophrys contractilis. The SSU rRNA phylogeny showed that the Centrohelida are not closely related to other heliozoan groups, Actinophryida, Desmothoracida, or Taxopodida. Maximum likelihood analyses of the combined phylogeny using a concatenate model for an alpha- + beta-tubulin + actin data set, and a separate model for SSU rRNA, alpha- and beta-tubulin, and actin gene data sets revealed the best tree, in which the Centrohelida have a closer relationship to Rhodophyta than to other major eukaryotic groups. However, both weighted Shimodaira-Hasegawa and approximately unbiased tests for the concatenate protein phylogeny did not reject alternative trees in which Centrohelida were constrained to be sisters to the Amoebozoa. Moreover, alternative trees in which Centrohelida were placed at the node branching before and after Amoebozoa or Viridiplantae were not rejected by the WSH tests. These results narrowed the possibilities for the position of Centrohelida to a sister to the Rhodophyta, to the Amoebozoa, or to an independent branch between the branchings of Amoebozoa and Rhodophyta (or possibly Plantae) at the basal position within the bikonts clade in the eukaryotic tree.

Evidence from small-subunit ribosomal RNA sequences for a fungal origin of Microsporidia

The phylum Microsporidia comprises a species-rich group of minute, single-celled, and intra-cellular parasites. Lacking normal mitochondria and with unique cytology, microsporidians have sometimes been thought to be a lineage of ancient eukaryotes. Although phylogenetic analyses using small-subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU-rRNA) genes almost invariably place the Microsporidia among the earliest branches on the eukaryotic tree, many other molecules suggest instead a relationship with fungi. Using maximum likelihood methods and a diverse SSU-rRNA data set, we have re-evaluated the phylogenetic affiliations of Microsporidia. We demonstrate that tree topologies used to estimate likelihood model parameters can materially affect phylogenetic searches. We present a procedure for reducing this bias: "tree-based site partitioning," in which a comprehensive set of alternative topologies is used to estimate sequence data partitions based on inferred evolutionary rates. This hypothesis-driven approach appears to be capable of utilizing phylogenetic information that is not available to standard likelihood implementations (e.g., approximation to a gamma distribution); we have employed it in maximum likelihood and Bayesian analysis. Applying our method to a phylogenetically diverse SSU-rRNA data set revealed that the early diverging ("deep") placement of Microsporidia typically found in SSU-rRNA trees is no better than a fungal placement, and that the likeliest placement of Microsporidia among non-long-branch eukaryotic taxa is actually within fungi. These results illustrate the importance of hypothesis testing in parameter estimation, provide a way to address certain problems in difficult data sets, and support a fungal origin for the Microsporidia.

Comparative analysis of the ribosomal components of the hydrogenosome-containing protist, Trichomonas vaginalis

The ribosomes of the amitochondriate but hydrogenosome-containing protist lineage, the trichomonads, have previously been reported to be prokaryotic or primitive eukaryotic, based on evidence that they have a 70S sedimentation coefficient and a small number of proteins, similar to prokaryotic ribosomes. In order to determine whether the components of the trichomonad ribosome indeed differ from those of typical eukaryotic ribosomes, the ribosome of a representative trichomonad, Trichomonas vaginalis, was characterized. The sedimentation coefficient of the T. vaginalis ribosome was smaller than that of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and larger than that of Escherichia coli. Based on two-dimensional PAGE analysis, the number of different ribosomal proteins was estimated to be approximately 80. This number is the same as those obtained for typical eukaryotes (approximately 80) but larger than that of E. coli (approximately 55). N-Terminal amino acid sequencing of 18 protein spots and the complete sequences of 4 ribosomal proteins as deduced from their genes revealed these sequences to display typical eukaryotic features. Phylogenetic analyses of the five ribosomal proteins currently available also clearly confirmed that the T. vaginalis sequences are positioned within a eukaryotic clade. Comparison of deduced secondary structure models of the small and large subunit rRNAs of T. vaginalis with those of other eukaryotes revealed that all helices commonly found in typical eukaryotes are present and conserved in T. vaginalis, while variable regions are shortened or lost. These lines of evidence demonstrate that the T. vaginalis ribosome has no prokaryotic or primitive eukaryotic features but is clearly a typical eukaryotic type.

The Origin of Dihydroorotate Dehydrogenase Genes of Kinetoplastids, with Special Reference to Their Biological Significance and Adaptation to Anaerobic, Parasitic Conditions

Trypanosoma cruzi dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHOD), the fourth enzyme of the de novo pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway, is localized in the cytosol and utilizes fumarate as electron acceptor (fumarate reductase activity), while the enzyme from other various eukaryotes is mitochondrial membrane-linked. Here we report that DHOD-knockout T. cruzi did not express the enzyme protein and could not survive even in the presence of pyrimidine nucleosides, substrates for the potentially active salvage pathway, suggesting a vital role of fumarate reductase activity in the regulation of cellular redox balance. Cloning and phylogenetic analysis of euglenozoan DHOD genes showed that the euglenoid Euglena gracilis had a mitochondrial DHOD and that biflagellated bodonids, a sister group of trypanosomatids within kinetoplastids, harbor the cytosolic DHOD. Further, Bodo saliens, a bodonid, had an ACT/DHOD gene fusion encoding aspartate carbamoyltransferase (ACT), the second enzyme of the de novo pyrimidine pathway, and DHOD. This is the first report of this novel gene structure. These results are consistent with suggestions that an ancient common ancestor of Euglenozoa had a mitochondrial DHOD whose descendant exists in E. gracilis and that a common ancestor of kinetoplastids (bodonids and trypanosomatids) subsequently acquired a cytosolic DHOD by horizontal gene transfer. The cytosolic DHOD gene thus acquired may have contributed to adaptation to anaerobiosis in the kinetoplastid lineage and further contributed to the subsequent establishment of parasitism in a trypanosomatid ancestor. Different molecular strategies for anaerobic adaptation in pyrimidine biosynthesis, used by kinetoplastids and by euglenoids, are discussed. Evolutionary implications of the ACT/DHOD gene fusion are also discussed.

Root of the Eukaryota Tree as Inferred from Combined Maximum Likelihood Analyses of Multiple Molecular Sequence Data

Extensive studies aiming to establish the structure and root of the Eukaryota tree by phylogenetic analyses of molecular sequences have thus far not resulted in a generally accepted tree. To re-examine the eukaryotic phylogeny using alternative genes, and to obtain a more robust inference for the root of the tree as well as the relationship among major eukaryotic groups, we sequenced the genes encoding isoleucyl-tRNA and valyl-tRNA synthetases, cytosolic-type heat shock protein 90, and the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II from several protists. Combined maximum likelihood analyses of 22 protein-coding genes including the above four genes clearly demonstrated that Diplomonadida and Parabasala shared a common ancestor in the rooted tree of Eukaryota, but only when the fast-evolving sites were excluded from the original data sets. The combined analyses, together with recent findings on the distribution of a fused dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthetase gene, narrowed the possible position of the root of the Eukaryota tree on the branch leading to Opisthokonta or to the common ancestor of Diplomonadida/Parabasala. However, the analyses did not agree with the position of the root located on the common ancestor of Opisthokonta and Amoebozoa, which was argued by Stechmann and Cavalier-Smith [Curr. Biol. 13:R665-666, 2003] based on the presence or absence of a three-gene fusion of the pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway: carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase II, dihydroorotase, and aspartate carbamoyltransferase. The presence of the three-gene fusion recently found in the Cyanidioschyzon merolae (Rhodophyta) genome sequence data supported our analyses against the Stechmann and Cavalier-Smith-rooting in 2003.

Expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis of Gregarine gametocyst development

Gregarines are protozoan parasites of invertebrates in the phylum Apicomplexa. We employed an expressed sequence tag strategy in order to dissect the molecular processes of sexual or gametocyst development of gregarines. Expressed sequence tags provide a rapid way to identify genes, particularly in organisms for which we have very little molecular information. Analysis of approximately 1800 expressed sequence tags from the gametocyst stage revealed highly expressed genes related to cell division and differentiation. Evidence was found for the role of degradation and recycling in gametocyst development. Numerous additional genes uncovered by expressed sequence tag sequencing should provide valuable tools to investigate gametocyst development as well as for molecular phylogenetics, and comparative genomics in this important group of parasites.

A molecular biological approach to the phylogenetic position of the genus Hyperamoeba

In 1923 Alexeieff described a new amoebic species within a new genus and named it Hyperamoeba flagellata. This amoeba exhibits three life cycle stages, an amoeboid trophozoite, a flagellated stage, and a cyst-like the heteroloboseans, the mastigamoebae, and several slime moulds. Since then more strains have been isolated and relationships to the protostelids and cercomonads and to the myxogastrid plasmodial slime moulds have been suggested. However, up to now the classification and phylogenetic position of the hyperamoebae has remained unclear. The aim of our study was to make an approach to the phylogeny of the genus Hyperamoeba with combined morphological and molecular biological data. Since 1988 we have isolated and collected Hyperamoeba-like strains from different aquatic and terrestrial sources. The 18S rDNA-sequences of 8 new Hyperamoeba strains isolated from various habitats were analysed and a cluster analysis was performed including all other available hyperamoebae. Altogether, the results of our study corroborate the relatedness of Hyperamoeba to various slime moulds. However, the hyperamoebae do not seem to be a monophyletic group, clearly putting the validity of the genus Hyperamoeba into question.

Molecular Phylogenetic Analysis Places Percolomonas cosmopolites within Heterolobosea: Evolutionary Implications

Percolomonas cosmopolitus is a common free-living flagellate of uncertain phylogenetic position that was placed within the Heterolobosea on the basis of ultrastructure studies. To test the relationship between Percolomonas and Heterolobosea, we analysed the primary structure of the actin and small-subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) genes of P. cosmopolitus as well as the predicted secondary structure of the SSU rRNA. Percolomonas shares common secondary structure patterns of the SSU rRNA with heterolobosean taxa, which, together with the results of actin gene analysis, confirms that it is closely related to Heterolobosea. Phylogenetic reconstructions based on the sequences of the SSU rRNA gene suggest Percolomonas belongs to the family Vahlkampfiidae. The first Bayesian analysis of a large taxon sampling of heterolobosean SSU rRNA genes clarifies the phylogenetic relationships within this group.

Phylogenomics of Eukaryotes: Impact of Missing Data on Large Alignments

Resolving the relationships between Metazoa and other eukaryotic groups as well as between metazoan phyla is central to the understanding of the origin and evolution of animals. The current view is based on limited data sets, either a single gene with many species (e.g., ribosomal RNA) or many genes but with only a few species. Because a reliable phylogenetic inference simultaneously requires numerous genes and numerous species, we assembled a very large data set containing 129 orthologous proteins ( approximately 30,000 aligned amino acid positions) for 36 eukaryotic species. Included in the alignments are data from the choanoflagellate Monosiga ovata, obtained through the sequencing of about 1,000 cDNAs. We provide conclusive support for choanoflagellates as the closest relative of animals and for fungi as the second closest. The monophyly of Plantae and chromalveolates was recovered but without strong statistical support. Within animals, in contrast to the monophyly of Coelomata observed in several recent large-scale analyses, we recovered a paraphyletic Coelamata, with nematodes and platyhelminths nested within. To include a diverse sample of organisms, data from EST projects were used for several species, resulting in a large amount of missing data in our alignment (about 25%). By using different approaches, we verify that the inferred phylogeny is not sensitive to these missing data. Therefore, this large data set provides a reliable phylogenetic framework for studying eukaryotic and animal evolution and will be easily extendable when large amounts of sequence information become available from a broader taxonomic range.

Glycogen Phosphorylase Sequences from the Amitochondriate Protists, Trichomonas vaginalis, Mastigamoeba balamuthi, Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia intestinalis1

Glycogen phosphorylase genes or messages from four amitochondriate eukaryotes, Trichomonas vaginalis, Mastigamoeba balamuthi, Entamoeba histolytica (two genes) and Giardia intestinalis, have been isolated and sequenced. The sequences of the amitochondriate protist enzymes appear to share a most recent common ancestor. The clade containing these sequences is closest to that of another protist, the slime mold (Dictyostelium discoideum), and is more closely related to fungal and plant phosphorylases than to mammalian and eubacterial homologs. Structure-based amino acid alignment shows conservation of the residues and domains involved in catalysis and allosteric regulation by glucose 6-phosphate but high divergence at domains involved in phosphorylation-dependent regulation and AMP binding in fungi and animals. Protist phosphorylases, as their prokaryotic and plant counterparts, are probably not regulated by phosphorylation.

Phylogenetic analyses of diplomonad genes reveal frequent lateral gene transfers affecting eukaryotes

BACKGROUND

Lateral gene transfer (LGT) is an important evolutionary mechanism among prokaryotes. The situation in eukaryotes is less clear; the human genome sequence failed to give strong support for any recent transfers from prokaryotes to vertebrates, yet a number of LGTs from prokaryotes to protists (unicellular eukaryotes) have been documented. Here, we perform a systematic analysis to investigate the impact of LGT on the evolution of diplomonads, a group of anaerobic protists.

RESULTS

Phylogenetic analyses of 15 genes present in the genome of the Atlantic Salmon parasite Spironucleus barkhanus and/or the intestinal parasite Giardia lamblia show that most of these genes originated via LGT. Half of the genes are putatively involved in processes related to an anaerobic lifestyle, and this finding suggests that a common ancestor, which most probably was aerobic, of Spironucleus and Giardia adapted to an anaerobic environment in part by acquiring genes via LGT from prokaryotes. The sources of the transferred diplomonad genes are found among all three domains of life, including other eukaryotes. Many of the phylogenetic reconstructions show eukaryotes emerging in several distinct regions of the tree, strongly suggesting that LGT not only involved diplomonads, but also involved other eukaryotic groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study shows that LGT is a significant evolutionary mechanism among diplomonads in particular and protists in general. These findings provide insights into the evolution of biochemical pathways in early eukaryote evolution and have important implications for studies of eukaryotic genome evolution and organismal relationships. Furthermore, "fusion" hypotheses for the origin of eukaryotes need to be rigorously reexamined in the light of these results.

Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolases in amitochondriate protists constitute a single protein subfamily with eubacterial relationships

Sequences of putative fructose-1,6-bisphospate aldolases (FBA) in five amitochondriate unicellular eukaryotes, the diplomonads Giardia intestinalis (published earlier) and Spironucleus barkhanus, the pelobiont Mastigamoeba balamuthi,the entamoebid Entamoeba histolytica, and the parabasalid Trichomonas vaginalis all belong to Class II of FBAs and are highly similar to each other (>48% amino acid identity). The five protist sequences, however, do not form a monophyletic group. Diplomonad FBAs share a most recent common ancestor, while FBAs of the three other protist species are part of a lineage that also includes sequences from a few eubacteria (Clostridium difficile, Treponema pallidum, Chlorobium tepidum). Both clades are part of the Type B of Class II aldolases, a complex that contains at least three additional lineages (subgroups) of enzymes. Type B enzymes are distant from Type A Class II aldolases, which consists of a number of bacterial and fungal enzymes and also contains the cytosolic FBA of Euglena gracilis. Class II aldolases are not homologous to Class I enzymes, to which animal and plant enzymes belong. The results indicate that amitochondriate protists acquired their FBAs from separate and different sources, involving lateral gene transfer from eubacteria, than did all other eukaryotes studied so far and underscore the complex composition of the glycolytic machinery in unicellular eukaryotes.

Ancient phylogenetic relationships

Traditional views on deep evolutionary events have been seriously challenged over the last few years, following the identification of major pitfalls affecting molecular phylogeny reconstruction. Here we describe the principally encountered artifacts, notably long branch attraction, and their causes (i.e., difference in evolutionary rates, mutational saturation, compositional biases). Additional difficulties due to phenomena of biological nature (i.e., lateral gene transfer, recombination, hidden paralogy) are also discussed. Moreover, contrary to common beliefs, we show that the use of rare genomic events can also be misleading and should be treated with the same caution as standard molecular phylogeny. The universal tree of life, as described in most textbooks, is partly affected by tree reconstruction artifacts, e.g. (i) the bacterial rooting of the universal tree of life; (ii) the early emergence of amitochondriate lineages in eukaryotic phylogenies; and (iii) the position of hyperthermophilic taxa in bacterial phylogenies. We present an alternative view of this tree, based on recent evidence obtained from reanalyses of ancient data sets and from novel analyses of large combination of genes.