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Choi SW, Graf L, Choi JW, Jo J, Boo GH, Kawai H, Choi CG, Xiao S, Knoll AH, Andersen RA, Yoon HS. Ordovician origin and subsequent diversification of the brown algae. Curr Biol 2024; 34:740-754.e4. [PMID: 38262417 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
Brown algae are the only group of heterokont protists exhibiting complex multicellularity. Since their origin, brown algae have adapted to various marine habitats, evolving diverse thallus morphologies and gamete types. However, the evolutionary processes behind these transitions remain unclear due to a lack of a robust phylogenetic framework and problems with time estimation. To address these issues, we employed plastid genome data from 138 species, including heterokont algae, red algae, and other red-derived algae. Based on a robust phylogeny and new interpretations of algal fossils, we estimated the geological times for brown algal origin and diversification. The results reveal that brown algae first evolved true multicellularity, with plasmodesmata and reproductive cell differentiation, during the late Ordovician Period (ca. 450 Ma), coinciding with a major diversification of marine fauna (the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event) and a proliferation of multicellular green algae. Despite its early Paleozoic origin, the diversification of major orders within this brown algal clade accelerated only during the Mesozoic Era, coincident with both Pangea rifting and the diversification of other heterokont algae (e.g., diatoms), coccolithophores, and dinoflagellates, with their red algal-derived plastids. The transition from ancestral isogamy to oogamy was followed by three simultaneous reappearances of isogamy during the Cretaceous Period. These are concordant with a positive character correlation between parthenogenesis and isogamy. Our new brown algal timeline, combined with a knowledge of past environmental conditions, shed new light on brown algal diversification and the intertwined evolution of multicellularity and sexual reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seok-Wan Choi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Louis Graf
- Department of Biological Sciences, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea; Institut de Biologie de l'École Normale Supérieure, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, Paris 75005, France
| | - Ji Won Choi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Jihoon Jo
- Department of Biological Sciences, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea; Honam National Institute of Biological Resources, Mokpo 58762, Republic of Korea
| | - Ga Hun Boo
- Department of Biological Sciences, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Hiroshi Kawai
- Kobe University Research Center for Inland Seas, Rokkodai, Nadaku, Kobe 657-8501, Japan
| | - Chang Geun Choi
- Department of Ecological Engineering, College of Environmental and Marine Technology, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea
| | - Shuhai Xiao
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Andrew H Knoll
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Robert A Andersen
- Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98250, USA
| | - Hwan Su Yoon
- Department of Biological Sciences, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea.
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2
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Gavrilov-Zimin IA. Ancient reproductive modes and criteria of multicellularity. COMPARATIVE CYTOGENETICS 2023; 17:195-238. [PMID: 37953852 PMCID: PMC10636606 DOI: 10.3897/compcytogen.17.109671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023]
Abstract
It is demonstrated that the initial method of fertilization in animals (Metazoa), embryophyte plants (Embryophyta), most groups of multicellular oogamous algae, oogamous and pseudoogamous multicellular fungi was internal fertilization (in the broad meaning) in/on the body of a maternal organism. Accordingly, during the bisexual process, the initial method of formation of a daughter multicellular organism in animals was viviparity, and in embryophyte plants and most groups of oogamous multicellular algae - the germination of a zygote in/on the body of maternal organism. The reproductive criteria of multicellularity are proposed and discussed. In this regard, the multicellularity is considered to subdivide terminologically into three variants: 1) protonemal, the most simple, characteristic of multicellular prokaryotes, most groups of multicellular algae and gametophytes of some higher plants; 2) siphonoseptal, found among multicellular fungi, some groups of green and yellow-green algae; 3) embryogenic, most complicated, known in all animals (Metazoa), all sporophytes and some gametophytes of higher plants (Embryophyta), charophyte green algae Charophyceae s.s., oogamous species of green and brown algae, some genera of red algae. In addition to the well-known division of reproduction methods into sexual and asexual, it is proposed to divide the reproduction of multicellular organisms into monocytic (the emergence of a new organism from one cell sexually or asexually) and polycytic (fragmentation, longitudinal / transverse division or budding based on many cells of the body of the mother organism), since these two ways have different evolutionary and ontogenetic origins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilya A. Gavrilov-Zimin
- Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya nab. 1, St. Petersburg, 199034, RussiaZoological Institute, Russian Academy of SciencesSt. PetersburgRussia
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3
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James TY. Sex Without Sexes: Can the Cost of Finding a Mate Explain Diversity in Fungal Mating Systems? Integr Comp Biol 2023; 63:922-935. [PMID: 37218718 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icad037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Revised: 05/14/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Eukaryotes have evolved myriad ways of uniting gametes during sexual reproduction. A repeated pattern is the convergent evolution of a mating system with the fusion of larger gametes with smaller gametes (anisogamy) from that of fusion between morphologically identical gametes (isogamy). In anisogamous species, sexes are defined as individuals that produce only one gamete type. Although sexes abound throughout Eukarya, in fungi there are no biological sexes, because even in anisogamous species, individuals are hermaphroditic and produce both gamete types. For this reason, the term mating types is preferred over sexes, and, thus defined, only individuals of differing mating types can mate (homoallelic incompatibility). In anisogamous fungal species, there is scant evidence that there are more than two mating types, and this may be linked to genetic constraints, such as the use of mating types to determine the inheritance of cytoplasmic genomes. However, the mushroom fungi (Agaricomycetes) stand out as having both large numbers of mating types within a species, which will allow nearly all individuals to be compatible with each other, and reciprocal exchange of nuclei during mating, which will avoid cytoplasmic mixing and cyto-nuclear conflicts. Although the limitation of mating types to two in most fungi is consistent with the cyto-nuclear conflicts model, there are many facets of the Agaricomycete life cycle that also suggest they will demand a high outbreeding efficiency. Specifically, they are mostly obligately sexual and outcrossing, inhabit complex competitive niches, and display broadcast spore dispersal. Subsequently, the Agaricomycete individual pays a high cost to being choosy when encountering a mate. Here, I discuss the costs of mate finding and choice and demonstrate how most fungi have multiple ways of reducing these costs, which can explain why mating types are mostly limited to two per species. Nevertheless, it is perplexing that fungi have not evolved multiple mating types on more occasions nor evolved sexes. The few exceptions to these rules suggest that it is dictated by both molecular and evolutionary constraints.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy Y James
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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4
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Geng S, Hamaji T, Ferris PJ, Gao M, Nishimura Y, Umen J. A conserved RWP-RK transcription factor VSR1 controls gametic differentiation in volvocine algae. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2305099120. [PMID: 37436957 PMCID: PMC10629530 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2305099120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Volvocine green algae are a model for understanding the evolution of mating types and sexes. They are facultatively sexual, with gametic differentiation occurring in response to nitrogen starvation (-N) in most genera and to sex inducer hormone in Volvox. The conserved RWP-RK family transcription factor (TF) MID is encoded by the minus mating-type locus or male sex-determining region of heterothallic volvocine species and dominantly determines minus or male gametic differentiation. However, the factor(s) responsible for establishing the default plus or female differentiation programs have remained elusive. We performed a phylo-transcriptomic screen for autosomal RWP-RK TFs induced during gametogenesis in unicellular isogamous Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (Chlamydomonas) and in multicellular oogamous Volvox carteri (Volvox) and identified a single conserved ortho-group we named Volvocine Sex Regulator 1 (VSR1). Chlamydomonas vsr1 mutants of either mating type failed to mate and could not induce expression of key mating-type-specific genes. Similarly, Volvox vsr1 mutants in either sex could initiate sexual embryogenesis, but the presumptive eggs or androgonidia (sperm packet precursors) were infertile and unable to express key sex-specific genes. Yeast two-hybrid assays identified a conserved domain in VSR1 capable of self-interaction or interaction with the conserved N terminal domain of MID. In vivo coimmunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated association of VSR1 and MID in both Chlamydomonas and Volvox. These data support a new model for volvocine sexual differentiation where VSR1 homodimers activate expression of plus/female gamete-specific-genes, but when MID is present, MID-VSR1 heterodimers are preferentially formed and activate minus/male gamete-specific-genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sa Geng
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St Louis, MO63132
| | - Takashi Hamaji
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St Louis, MO63132
- Department of Botany, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto606-8502, Japan
- Research and Development Initiative, Chuo University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo112-8551, Japan
| | | | - Minglu Gao
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St Louis, MO63132
| | - Yoshiki Nishimura
- Department of Botany, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto606-8502, Japan
| | - James Umen
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St Louis, MO63132
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5
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Nova P, Pimenta-Martins A, Maricato É, Nunes C, Abreu H, Coimbra MA, Freitas AC, Gomes AM. Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Potential of Five Algae Cultivated in Fully Controlled Closed Systems. Molecules 2023; 28:4588. [PMID: 37375143 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28124588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
In this study, the chemical composition and antioxidant profile of five edible macroalgae, Fucus vesiculosus, Palmaria palmata, Porphyra dioica, Ulva rigida, and Gracilaria gracilis, cultivated in fully controlled closed systems, were determined. Protein, carbohydrates, and fat contents ranged between 12.4% and 41.8%, 27.6% and 42.0%, and 0.1% and 3.4%, respectively. The tested seaweeds presented considerable amounts of Ca, Mg, K, Mn, and Fe, which reinforce their favorable nutritional profile. Regarding their polysaccharide composition, Gracilaria gracilis and Porphyra dioica were rich in sugars common to agar-producing red algae, and Fucus vesiculosus was composed mainly of uronic acids, mannose, and fucose, characteristic of alginate and fucoidans, whereas rhamnose and uronic acid, characteristic of ulvans, predominated in Ulva rigida. Comparatively, the brown F. vesiculosus clearly stood out, presenting a high polysaccharide content rich in fucoidans, and higher total phenolic content and antioxidant scavenging activity, determined by DPPH and ABTS. The remarkable potential of these marine macroalgae makes them excellent ingredients for a wide range of health, food, and industrial applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulo Nova
- CBQF-Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina-Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Rua Diogo Botelho 1327, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal
| | - Ana Pimenta-Martins
- CBQF-Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina-Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Rua Diogo Botelho 1327, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal
| | - Élia Maricato
- LAQV/REQUIMTE, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Cláudia Nunes
- CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Materials and Ceramic Engineering, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Helena Abreu
- AlgaPlus, Travessa Alexandre da Conceição s/n, 3830-196 Ílhavo, Portugal
| | - Manuel A Coimbra
- LAQV/REQUIMTE, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Ana Cristina Freitas
- CBQF-Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina-Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Rua Diogo Botelho 1327, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal
| | - Ana Maria Gomes
- CBQF-Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina-Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Rua Diogo Botelho 1327, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal
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6
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Henshaw JM, Bittlingmaier M, Schärer L. Hermaphroditic origins of anisogamy. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220283. [PMID: 36934747 PMCID: PMC10024982 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 03/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Anisogamy-the size dimorphism of gametes-is the defining difference between the male and female sexual strategies. Game-theoretic thinking led to the first convincing explanation for the evolutionary origins of anisogamy in the 1970s. Since then, formal game-theoretic models have continued to refine our understanding of when and why anisogamy should evolve. Such models typically presume that the earliest anisogamous organisms had separate sexes. However, in most taxa, there is no empirical evidence to support this assumption. Here, we present a model of the coevolution of gamete size and sex allocation, which allows for anisogamy to emerge alongside either hermaphroditism or separate sexes. We show that hermaphroditic anisogamy can evolve directly from isogamous ancestors when the average size of spawning groups is small and fertilization is relatively efficient. Sex allocation under hermaphroditism becomes increasingly female-biased as group size decreases and the degree of anisogamy increases. When spawning groups are very small, our model also predicts the existence of complex isogamous organisms in which individuals allocate resources equally to two large gamete types. We discuss common, but potentially unwarranted, assumptions in the literature that could be relaxed in future models. This article is part of the theme issue 'Half a century of evolutionary games: a synthesis of theory, application and future directions'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan M. Henshaw
- Institute of Biology I, University of Freiburg, Hauptstraße 1, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Markus Bittlingmaier
- Institute of Biology I, University of Freiburg, Hauptstraße 1, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
- Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station, CNRS, 2 route du CNRS, 09200 Moulis, France
| | - Lukas Schärer
- Zoological Institute, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel CH-4051, Switzerland
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7
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Sekimoto H, Komiya A, Tsuyuki N, Kawai J, Kanda N, Ootsuki R, Suzuki Y, Toyoda A, Fujiyama A, Kasahara M, Abe J, Tsuchikane Y, Nishiyama T. A divergent RWP-RK transcription factor determines mating type in heterothallic Closterium. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 237:1636-1651. [PMID: 36533897 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The Closterium peracerosum-strigosum-littorale complex (Closterium, Zygnematophyceae) has an isogamous mating system. Members of the Zygnematophyceae are the closest relatives to extant land plants and are distantly related to chlorophytic models, for which a genetic basis of mating type (MT) determination has been reported. We thus investigated MT determination in Closterium. We sequenced genomes representing the two MTs, mt+ and mt-, in Closterium and identified CpMinus1, a gene linked to the mt- phenotype. We analyzed its function using reverse genetics methods. CpMinus1 encodes a divergent RWP-RK domain-containing-like transcription factor and is specifically expressed during gamete differentiation. Introduction of CpMinus1 into an mt+ strain was sufficient to convert it to a phenotypically mt- strain, while CpMinus1-knockout mt- strains were phenotypically mt+. We propose that CpMinus1 is the major MT determinant that acts by evoking the mt- phenotype and suppressing the mt+ phenotype in heterothallic Closterium. CpMinus1 likely evolved independently in the Zygnematophyceae lineage, which lost an egg-sperm anisogamous mating system. mt- specific regions possibly constitute an MT locus flanked by common sequences that undergo some recombination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroyuki Sekimoto
- Division of Material and Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Japan Women's University, 2-8-1 Mejirodai, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8681, Japan
- Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Japan Women's University, 2-8-1 Mejirodai, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8681, Japan
| | - Ayumi Komiya
- Division of Material and Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Japan Women's University, 2-8-1 Mejirodai, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8681, Japan
| | - Natsumi Tsuyuki
- Division of Material and Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Japan Women's University, 2-8-1 Mejirodai, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8681, Japan
| | - Junko Kawai
- Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Japan Women's University, 2-8-1 Mejirodai, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8681, Japan
| | - Naho Kanda
- Division of Material and Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Japan Women's University, 2-8-1 Mejirodai, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8681, Japan
| | - Ryo Ootsuki
- Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Japan Women's University, 2-8-1 Mejirodai, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8681, Japan
| | - Yutaka Suzuki
- Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8568, Japan
| | - Atsushi Toyoda
- Comparative Genomics Laboratory, National Institute of Genetics, 1111 Yata, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan
| | - Asao Fujiyama
- Comparative Genomics Laboratory, National Institute of Genetics, 1111 Yata, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan
| | - Masahiro Kasahara
- Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8568, Japan
| | - Jun Abe
- Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Japan Women's University, 2-8-1 Mejirodai, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8681, Japan
| | - Yuki Tsuchikane
- Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Japan Women's University, 2-8-1 Mejirodai, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8681, Japan
- Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
| | - Tomoaki Nishiyama
- Research Center for Experimental Modeling of Human Disease, Kanazawa University, Kakumacho, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, 920-1192, Japan
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8
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Godfroy O, Zheng M, Yao H, Henschen A, Peters AF, Scornet D, Colin S, Ronchi P, Hipp K, Nagasato C, Motomura T, Cock JM, Coelho SM. The baseless mutant links protein phosphatase 2A with basal cell identity in the brown alga Ectocarpus. Development 2023; 150:dev201283. [PMID: 36786333 PMCID: PMC10112911 DOI: 10.1242/dev.201283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023]
Abstract
The first mitotic division of the initial cell is a key event in all multicellular organisms and is associated with the establishment of major developmental axes and cell fates. The brown alga Ectocarpus has a haploid-diploid life cycle that involves the development of two multicellular generations: the sporophyte and the gametophyte. Each generation deploys a distinct developmental programme autonomously from an initial cell, the first cell division of which sets up the future body pattern. Here, we show that mutations in the BASELESS (BAS) gene result in multiple cellular defects during the first cell division and subsequent failure to produce basal structures during both generations. BAS encodes a type B″ regulatory subunit of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), and transcriptomic analysis identified potential effector genes that may be involved in determining basal cell fate. The bas mutant phenotype is very similar to that observed in distag (dis) mutants, which lack a functional Tubulin-binding co-factor Cd1 (TBCCd1) protein, indicating that TBCCd1 and PP2A are two essential components of the cellular machinery that regulates the first cell division and mediates basal cell fate determination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivier Godfroy
- Laboratory of Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Sorbonne Université, UPMC University of Paris 06, CNRS, UMR 8227, Station Biologique de Roscoff, CS 90074, F-29688, Roscoff, France
| | - Min Zheng
- Department of Algal Development and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Haiqin Yao
- Laboratory of Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Sorbonne Université, UPMC University of Paris 06, CNRS, UMR 8227, Station Biologique de Roscoff, CS 90074, F-29688, Roscoff, France
| | - Agnes Henschen
- Department of Algal Development and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | | | - Delphine Scornet
- Laboratory of Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Sorbonne Université, UPMC University of Paris 06, CNRS, UMR 8227, Station Biologique de Roscoff, CS 90074, F-29688, Roscoff, France
| | - Sebastien Colin
- Department of Algal Development and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Paolo Ronchi
- Electron Microscopy Core Facility, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Katharina Hipp
- Department of Algal Development and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Chikako Nagasato
- Muroran Marine Station, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, Muroran, 051-0013, Japan
| | - Taizo Motomura
- Muroran Marine Station, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, Muroran, 051-0013, Japan
| | - J. Mark Cock
- Laboratory of Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Sorbonne Université, UPMC University of Paris 06, CNRS, UMR 8227, Station Biologique de Roscoff, CS 90074, F-29688, Roscoff, France
| | - Susana M. Coelho
- Department of Algal Development and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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9
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Shan T, Li Y, Pang S. Identification of a genomic region linked with sex determination of Undaria pinnatifida (Alariaceae) through genomic resequencing and genetic linkage analyses of a segregating gametophyte family. JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY 2023; 59:193-203. [PMID: 36330991 DOI: 10.1111/jpy.13295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 10/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Different from the traditional knowledge about kelp, three sexual phenotypes (female, male, and monoecious) exist in the haploid gametophytes of Undaria pinnatifida. However, the sex-determining mechanisms remain unknown. Genetic linkage mapping is an efficient tool to identify sex-linked regions. In the present study, we resequenced a segregating gametophyte family based on the male genome of U. pinnatifida. A high-density genetic linkage map was constructed using 9887 SNPs, with an average distance of 0.41 cM between adjacent SNPs. On the basis of this genetic map and using the composite interval mapping method, we identified 62 SNPs significantly linked with the sexual phenotype. They were located at a position of 67.67 cM on the linkage group 23, corresponding to a physical range of 14.67 Mbp on the HiC_Scaffold_23 of the genome. Reanalysis of the previous specific length amplified fragment sequencing data according to the reference genome led to the identification of a sex-linked genomic region that encompassed the above-mentioned 14.67 Mbp region. Hence, this overlapped genomic range was likely the sex-determining region. Within this region, 129 genes were retrieved and 39 of them were annotated with explicit function, including the potential male sex-determining gene-encoding high mobility group (HMG) domain protein. Relative expression analysis of the HMG gene showed that its expression was higher in male gametophytes during the vegetative phase and monoecious gametophytes during both the vegetative and gametogenesis phases, but significantly lower in male gametophytes during the gametogenesis phase. These results provide a foundation for deciphering the sex-determining mechanism of U. pinnatifida.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tifeng Shan
- CAS and Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China
- Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266071, China
| | - Yuqian Li
- CAS and Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Shaojun Pang
- CAS and Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China
- Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266071, China
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10
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Embracing algal models. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2023; 134:1-3. [PMID: 35779978 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2022.06.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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11
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Nozaki H, Mori F, Tanaka Y, Matsuzaki R, Yamashita S, Yamaguchi H, Kawachi M. Cryopreservation of two species of the multicellular volvocine green algal genus Astrephomene. BMC Microbiol 2023; 23:16. [PMID: 36650459 PMCID: PMC9847204 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-023-02767-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Astrephomene is an interesting green algal genus that, together with Volvox, shows convergent evolution of spheroidal multicellular bodies with somatic cells of the colonial or multicellular volvocine lineage. A recent whole-genome analysis of A. gubernaculifera resolved the molecular-genetic basis of such convergent evolution, and two species of Astrephomene were described. However, maintenance of culture strains of Astrephomene requires rapid inoculation of living cultures, and cryopreserved culture strains have not been established in public culture collections. RESULTS To establish cryopreserved culture strains of two species of Astrephomene, conditions for cryopreservation of the two species were investigated using immature and mature vegetative colonies and two cryoprotectants: N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and hydroxyacetone (HA). Rates of cell survival of the A. gubernaculifera or A. perforata strain after two-step cooling and freezing in liquid nitrogen were compared between different concentrations (3 and 6%) of DMF and HA and two types of colonies: immature colonies (small colonies newly released from the parent) and mature colonies (large colonies just before daughter colony formation). The highest rate of survival [11 ± 13% (0.36-33%) by the most probable number (MPN) method] of A. gubernaculifera strain NIES-4017 (established in 2014) was obtained when culture samples of immature colonies were subjected to cryogenic treatment with 6% DMF. In contrast, culture samples of mature colonies subjected to 3% HA cryogenic treatment showed the highest "MPN survival" [5.5 ± 5.9% (0.12-12%)] in A. perforata. Using the optimized cryopreservation conditions for each species, survival after freezing in liquid nitrogen was examined for six other strains of A. gubernaculifera (established from 1962 to 1981) and another A. perforata strain maintained in the Microbial Culture Collection at the National Institute for Environmental Studies (MCC-NIES). We obtained ≥0.1% MPN survival of the A. perforata strain. However, only two of the six strains of A. gubernaculifera showed ≥0.1% MPN survival. By using the optimal cryopreserved conditions obtained for each species, five cryopreserved strains of two species of Astrephomene were established and deposited in the MCC-NIES. CONCLUSIONS The optimal cryopreservation conditions differed between the two species of Astrephomene. Cryopreservation of long-term-maintained strains of A. gubernaculifera may be difficult; further studies of cryopreservation of these strains are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hisayoshi Nozaki
- grid.140139.e0000 0001 0746 5933Biodiversity Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506 Japan ,grid.26999.3d0000 0001 2151 536XDepartment of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033 Japan
| | - Fumi Mori
- grid.140139.e0000 0001 0746 5933Biodiversity Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506 Japan
| | - Yoko Tanaka
- grid.140139.e0000 0001 0746 5933Biodiversity Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506 Japan
| | - Ryo Matsuzaki
- grid.140139.e0000 0001 0746 5933Biodiversity Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506 Japan
| | - Shota Yamashita
- grid.26999.3d0000 0001 2151 536XDepartment of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033 Japan ,grid.288127.60000 0004 0466 9350Present Address: Department of Gene Function and Phenomics, National Institute of Genetics, 1111 Yata, Mishima, Shizuoka 411-8540 Japan
| | - Haruyo Yamaguchi
- grid.140139.e0000 0001 0746 5933Biodiversity Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506 Japan
| | - Masanobu Kawachi
- grid.140139.e0000 0001 0746 5933Biodiversity Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506 Japan
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12
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Life cycle and functional genomics of the unicellular red alga Galdieria for elucidating algal and plant evolution and industrial use. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2210665119. [PMID: 36194630 PMCID: PMC9565259 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2210665119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual reproduction has not been observed in unicellular red algae and Glaucophyceae, early branching groups in Archaeplastida, in which red algae and Viridiplantae independently evolved multicellular sexual life cycles. The finding of sexual reproduction in the unicellular red alga Galdieria provides information on the missing link of life cycle evolution in Archaeplastida. In addition, the metabolic plasticity, the polyextremophilic features, a relatively small genome, transcriptome data for the diploid and haploid, and the genetic modification tools developed here provide a useful platform for understanding the evolution of Archaeplastida, photosynthesis, metabolism, and environmental adaptation. For biotechnological use of the information and tools of Galdieria, the newly found cell wall–less haploid makes cell disruption less energy/cost intensive than the cell-walled diploid. Sexual reproduction is widespread in eukaryotes; however, only asexual reproduction has been observed in unicellular red algae, including Galdieria, which branched early in Archaeplastida. Galdieria possesses a small genome; it is polyextremophile, grows either photoautotrophically, mixotrophically, or heterotrophically, and is being developed as an industrial source of vitamins and pigments because of its high biomass productivity. Here, we show that Galdieria exhibits a sexual life cycle, alternating between cell-walled diploid and cell wall–less haploid, and that both phases can proliferate asexually. The haploid can move over surfaces and undergo self-diploidization or generate heterozygous diploids through mating. Further, we prepared the whole genome and a comparative transcriptome dataset between the diploid and haploid and developed genetic tools for the stable gene expression, gene disruption, and selectable marker recycling system using the cell wall–less haploid. The BELL/KNOX and MADS-box transcription factors, which function in haploid-to-diploid transition and development in plants, are specifically expressed in the haploid and diploid, respectively, and are involved in the haploid-to-diploid transition in Galdieria, providing information on the missing link of the sexual life cycle evolution in Archaeplastida. Four actin genes are differently involved in motility of the haploid and cytokinesis in the diploid, both of which are myosin independent and likely reflect ancestral roles of actin. We have also generated photosynthesis-deficient mutants, such as blue-colored cells, which were depleted in chlorophyll and carotenoids, for industrial pigment production. These features of Galdieria facilitate the understanding of the evolution of algae and plants and the industrial use of microalgae.
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13
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Cossard GG, Godfroy O, Nehr Z, Cruaud C, Cock JM, Lipinska AP, Coelho SM. Selection drives convergent gene expression changes during transitions to co-sexuality in haploid sexual systems. Nat Ecol Evol 2022; 6:579-589. [PMID: 35314785 PMCID: PMC9085613 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01692-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Co-sexuality has evolved repeatedly from unisexual (dioicous) ancestors across a wide range of taxa. However, the molecular changes underpinning this important transition remain unknown, particularly in organisms with haploid sexual systems such as bryophytes, red algae and brown algae. Here we explore four independent events of emergence of co-sexuality from unisexual ancestors in brown algal clades to examine the nature, evolution and degree of convergence of gene expression changes that accompany the breakdown of dioicy. The amounts of male versus female phenotypic differences in dioicous species were not correlated with the extent of sex-biased gene expression, in stark contrast to what is observed in animals. Although sex-biased genes exhibited a high turnover rate during brown alga diversification, some of their predicted functions were conserved across species. Transitions to co-sexuality consistently involved adaptive gene expression shifts and rapid sequence evolution, particularly for male-biased genes. Gene expression in co-sexual species was more similar to that in females rather than males of related dioicous species, suggesting that co-sexuality may have arisen from ancestral females. Finally, extensive convergent gene expression changes, driven by selection, were associated with the transition to co-sexuality. Together, our observations provide insights on how co-sexual systems arise from ancestral, haploid UV sexual systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume G Cossard
- Sorbonne Université, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, CS, Roscoff, France
- Max Plank Institute for Biology Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Olivier Godfroy
- Sorbonne Université, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, CS, Roscoff, France
| | - Zofia Nehr
- Sorbonne Université, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, CS, Roscoff, France
| | - Corinne Cruaud
- Genoscope, Institut de Biologie François Jacob, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, Evry, France
| | - J Mark Cock
- Sorbonne Université, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, CS, Roscoff, France
| | - Agnieszka P Lipinska
- Sorbonne Université, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, CS, Roscoff, France
- Max Plank Institute for Biology Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Susana M Coelho
- Sorbonne Université, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, CS, Roscoff, France.
- Max Plank Institute for Biology Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
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14
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Gueno J, Borg M, Bourdareau S, Cossard G, Godfroy O, Lipinska A, Tirichine L, Cock J, Coelho S. Chromatin landscape associated with sexual differentiation in a UV sex determination system. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:3307-3322. [PMID: 35253891 PMCID: PMC8989524 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2021] [Revised: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In many eukaryotes, such as dioicous mosses and many algae, sex is determined by UV sex chromosomes and is expressed during the haploid phase of the life cycle. In these species, the male and female developmental programs are initiated by the presence of the U- or V-specific regions of the sex chromosomes but, as in XY and ZW systems, sexual differentiation is largely driven by autosomal sex-biased gene expression. The mechanisms underlying the regulation of sex-biased expression of genes during sexual differentiation remain elusive. Here, we investigated the extent and nature of epigenomic changes associated with UV sexual differentiation in the brown alga Ectocarpus, a model UV system. Six histone modifications were quantified in near-isogenic lines, leading to the identification of 16 chromatin signatures across the genome. Chromatin signatures correlated with levels of gene expression and histone PTMs changes in males versus females occurred preferentially at genes involved in sex-specific pathways. Despite the absence of chromosome scale dosage compensation and the fact that UV sex chromosomes recombine across most of their length, the chromatin landscape of these chromosomes was remarkably different to that of autosomes. Hotspots of evolutionary young genes in the pseudoautosomal regions appear to drive the exceptional chromatin features of UV sex chromosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josselin Gueno
- Sorbonne Université, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, UMR 8227, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, CS 90074, F-29688 Roscoff, France
| | - Michael Borg
- Department of Algal Development and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Simon Bourdareau
- Sorbonne Université, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, UMR 8227, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, CS 90074, F-29688 Roscoff, France
| | - Guillaume Cossard
- Sorbonne Université, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, UMR 8227, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, CS 90074, F-29688 Roscoff, France
| | - Olivier Godfroy
- Sorbonne Université, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, UMR 8227, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, CS 90074, F-29688 Roscoff, France
| | - Agnieszka Lipinska
- Sorbonne Université, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, UMR 8227, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, CS 90074, F-29688 Roscoff, France
- Department of Algal Development and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Leila Tirichine
- Nantes Universite, CNRS, US2B, UMR 6286, F-44000, Nantes, France
| | - J Mark Cock
- Sorbonne Université, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, UMR 8227, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, CS 90074, F-29688 Roscoff, France
| | - Susana M Coelho
- Sorbonne Université, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, UMR 8227, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, CS 90074, F-29688 Roscoff, France
- Department of Algal Development and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen72076, Tübingen, Germany
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15
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Foe VE. Does the Pachytene Checkpoint, a Feature of Meiosis, Filter Out Mistakes in Double-Strand DNA Break Repair and as a side-Effect Strongly Promote Adaptive Speciation? Integr Org Biol 2022; 4:obac008. [PMID: 36827645 PMCID: PMC8998493 DOI: 10.1093/iob/obac008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
This essay aims to explain two biological puzzles: why eukaryotic transcription units are composed of short segments of coding DNA interspersed with long stretches of non-coding (intron) DNA, and the near ubiquity of sexual reproduction. As is well known, alternative splicing of its coding sequences enables one transcription unit to produce multiple variants of each encoded protein. Additionally, padding transcription units with non-coding DNA (often many thousands of base pairs long) provides a readily evolvable way to set how soon in a cell cycle the various mRNAs will begin being expressed and the total amount of mRNA that each transcription unit can make during a cell cycle. This regulation complements control via the transcriptional promoter and facilitates the creation of complex eukaryotic cell types, tissues, and organisms. However, it also makes eukaryotes exceedingly vulnerable to double-strand DNA breaks, which end-joining break repair pathways can repair incorrectly. Transcription units cover such a large fraction of the genome that any mis-repair producing a reorganized chromosome has a high probability of destroying a gene. During meiosis, the synaptonemal complex aligns homologous chromosome pairs and the pachytene checkpoint detects, selectively arrests, and in many organisms actively destroys gamete-producing cells with chromosomes that cannot adequately synapse; this creates a filter favoring transmission to the next generation of chromosomes that retain the parental organization, while selectively culling those with interrupted transcription units. This same meiotic checkpoint, reacting to accidental chromosomal reorganizations inflicted by error-prone break repair, can, as a side effect, provide a mechanism for the formation of new species in sympatry. It has been a long-standing puzzle how something as seemingly maladaptive as hybrid sterility between such new species can arise. I suggest that this paradox is resolved by understanding the adaptive importance of the pachytene checkpoint, as outlined above.
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16
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Coelho SM, Umen J. Switching it up: algal insights into sexual transitions. PLANT REPRODUCTION 2021; 34:287-296. [PMID: 34181073 PMCID: PMC8566403 DOI: 10.1007/s00497-021-00417-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
While the process of meiosis is highly conserved across eukaryotes, the sexual systems that govern life cycle phase transitions are surprisingly labile. Switches between sexual systems have profound evolutionary and ecological consequences, in particular for plants, but our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms and ultimate causes underlying these transitions is still surprisingly incomplete. We explore here the idea that brown and green algae may be interesting comparative models that can increase our understanding of relevant processes in plant reproductive biology, from evolution of gamete dimorphism, gametogenesis, sex determination and transitions in sex-determining systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susana M Coelho
- Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Max-Planck-Ring 5, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
| | - James Umen
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO, 63132, USA
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17
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Sharma V, Clark AJ, Kawashima T. Insights into the molecular evolution of fertilization mechanism in land plants. PLANT REPRODUCTION 2021; 34:353-364. [PMID: 34061252 DOI: 10.1007/s00497-021-00414-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Comparative genetics and genomics among green plants, including algae, provide deep insights into the evolution of land plant sexual reproduction. Land plants have evolved successive changes during their conquest of the land and innovations in sexual reproduction have played a major role in their terrestrialization. Recent years have seen many revealing dissections of the molecular mechanisms of sexual reproduction and much new genomics data from the land plant lineage, including early diverging land plants, as well as algae. This new knowledge is being integrated to further understand how sexual reproduction in land plants evolved, identifying highly conserved factors and pathways, but also molecular changes that underpinned the emergence of new modes of sexual reproduction. Here, we review recent advances in the knowledge of land plant sexual reproduction from an evolutionary perspective and also revisit the evolution of angiosperm double fertilization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vijyesh Sharma
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40546, USA
| | - Anthony J Clark
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40546, USA
| | - Tomokazu Kawashima
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40546, USA.
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18
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Müller DG, Gaschet E, Godfroy O, Gueno J, Cossard G, Kunert M, Peters AF, Westermeier R, Boland W, Cock JM, Lipinska AP, Coelho SM. A partially sex-reversed giant kelp sheds light into the mechanisms of sexual differentiation in a UV sexual system. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 232:252-263. [PMID: 34166525 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
In UV sexual systems, sex is determined during the haploid phase of the life cycle and males have a V chromosome whereas females have a U chromosome. Previous work in the brown alga Ectocarpus revealed that the V chromosome has a dominant role in male sex determination and suggested that the female developmental programme may occur by 'default'. Here, we describe the identification of a genetically male giant kelp strain presenting phenotypic features typical of a female, despite lacking the U-specific region. The conversion to the female developmental programme is however incomplete, because gametes of this feminized male are unable to produce the sperm-attracting pheromone lamoxirene. We identify the transcriptomic patterns underlying the male and female specific developmental programmes, and show that the phenotypic feminization is associated with both feminization and de-masculinization of gene expression patterns. Importantly, the feminization phenotype was associated with dramatic downregulation of two V-specific genes including a candidate male-determining gene. Our results reveal the transcriptional changes associated with sexual differentiation in a UV system, and contribute to disentangling the role of sex-linked and autosomal gene expression in the initiation of sex-specific developmental programmes. Overall, the data presented here imply that the U-specific region is not required to initiate the female developmental programme, but is critical to produce fully functional eggs, arguing against the idea that female is the 'default' sex in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dieter G Müller
- Fachbereich Biologie der Universität Konstanz, Konstanz, 78457, Germany
| | - Enora Gaschet
- UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Sorbonne Université, Roscoff, CS 90074, F-29688, France
| | - Olivier Godfroy
- UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Sorbonne Université, Roscoff, CS 90074, F-29688, France
| | - Josselin Gueno
- UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Sorbonne Université, Roscoff, CS 90074, F-29688, France
| | - Guillaume Cossard
- UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Sorbonne Université, Roscoff, CS 90074, F-29688, France
| | - Maritta Kunert
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, 07745, Germany
| | | | - Renato Westermeier
- Instituto de Acuicultura, Universidad Austral de Chile, Casilla 1327, Puerto Montt, Chile
| | - Wilhelm Boland
- Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, 07745, Germany
| | - J Mark Cock
- UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Sorbonne Université, Roscoff, CS 90074, F-29688, France
| | - Agnieszka P Lipinska
- UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Sorbonne Université, Roscoff, CS 90074, F-29688, France
- Max Plank Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Susana M Coelho
- UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Sorbonne Université, Roscoff, CS 90074, F-29688, France
- Max Plank Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany
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19
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Benites LF, Bucchini F, Sanchez-Brosseau S, Grimsley N, Vandepoele K, Piganeau G. Evolutionary Genomics of Sex-Related Chromosomes at the Base of the Green Lineage. Genome Biol Evol 2021; 13:6380139. [PMID: 34599324 PMCID: PMC8557840 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evab216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Although sex is now accepted as a ubiquitous and ancestral feature of eukaryotes, direct observation of sex is still lacking in most unicellular eukaryotic lineages. Evidence of sex is frequently indirect and inferred from the identification of genes involved in meiosis from whole genome data and/or the detection of recombination signatures from genetic diversity in natural populations. In haploid unicellular eukaryotes, sex-related chromosomes are named mating-type (MTs) chromosomes and generally carry large genomic regions where recombination is suppressed. These regions have been characterized in Fungi and Chlorophyta and determine gamete compatibility and fusion. Two candidate MT+ and MT− alleles, spanning 450–650 kb, have recently been described in Ostreococcus tauri, a marine phytoplanktonic alga from the Mamiellophyceae class, an early diverging branch in the green lineage. Here, we investigate the architecture and evolution of these candidate MT+ and MT− alleles. We analyzed the phylogenetic profile and GC content of MT gene families in eight different genomes whose divergence has been previously estimated at up to 640 Myr, and found evidence that the divergence of the two MT alleles predates speciation in the Ostreococcus genus. Phylogenetic profiles of MT trans-specific polymorphisms in gametologs disclosed candidate MTs in two additional species, and possibly a third. These Mamiellales MT candidates are likely to be the oldest mating-type loci described to date, which makes them fascinating models to investigate the evolutionary mechanisms of haploid sex determination in eukaryotes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Felipe Benites
- Integrative Biology of Marine Organisms (BIOM), Sorbonne University, CNRS, Oceanological Observatory of Banyuls, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France
| | - François Bucchini
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Belgium.,VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Sophie Sanchez-Brosseau
- Integrative Biology of Marine Organisms (BIOM), Sorbonne University, CNRS, Oceanological Observatory of Banyuls, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France
| | - Nigel Grimsley
- Integrative Biology of Marine Organisms (BIOM), Sorbonne University, CNRS, Oceanological Observatory of Banyuls, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France
| | - Klaas Vandepoele
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Belgium.,VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, Ghent, Belgium.,Bioinformatics Institute Ghent, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Gwenaël Piganeau
- Integrative Biology of Marine Organisms (BIOM), Sorbonne University, CNRS, Oceanological Observatory of Banyuls, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France
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20
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Abstract
The repeated evolution of multicellularity across the tree of life has profoundly affected the ecology and evolution of nearly all life on Earth. Many of these origins were in different groups of photosynthetic eukaryotes, or algae. Here, we review the evolution and genetics of multicellularity in several groups of green algae, which include the closest relatives of land plants. These include millimeter-scale, motile spheroids of up to 50,000 cells in the volvocine algae; decimeter-scale seaweeds in the genus Ulva (sea lettuce); and very plantlike, meter-scale freshwater algae in the genus Chara (stoneworts). We also describe algae in the genus Caulerpa, which are giant, multinucleate, morphologically complex single cells. In each case, we review the life cycle, phylogeny, and genetics of traits relevant to the evolution of multicellularity, and genetic and genomic resources available for the group in question. Finally, we suggest routes toward developing these groups as model organisms for the evolution of multicellularity. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Genetics, Volume 55 is November 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Umen
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, Missouri 63132, USA;
| | - Matthew D Herron
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA;
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21
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Constable GWA, Kokko H. Parthenogenesis and the Evolution of Anisogamy. Cells 2021; 10:2467. [PMID: 34572116 PMCID: PMC8467976 DOI: 10.3390/cells10092467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Revised: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Recently, it was pointed out that classic models for the evolution of anisogamy do not take into account the possibility of parthenogenetic reproduction, even though sex is facultative in many relevant taxa (e.g., algae) that harbour both anisogamous and isogamous species. Here, we complement this recent analysis with an approach where we assume that the relationship between progeny size and its survival may differ between parthenogenetically and sexually produced progeny, favouring either the former or the latter. We show that previous findings that parthenogenesis can stabilise isogamy relative to the obligate sex case, extend to our scenarios. We additionally investigate two different ways for one mating type to take over the entire population. First, parthenogenesis can lead to biased sex ratios that are sufficiently extreme that one type can displace the other, leading to de facto asexuality for the remaining type that now lacks partners to fuse with. This process involves positive feedback: microgametes, being numerous, lack opportunities for syngamy, and should they proliferate parthenogenetically, the next generation makes this asexual route even more prominent for microgametes. Second, we consider mutations to strict asexuality in producers of micro- or macrogametes, and show that the prospects of asexual invasion depend strongly on the mating type in which the mutation arises. Perhaps most interestingly, we also find scenarios in which parthenogens have an intrinsic survival advantage yet facultatively sexual isogamous populations are robust to the invasion of asexuals, despite us assuming no genetic benefits of recombination. Here, equal contribution from both mating types to zygotes that are sufficiently well provisioned can outweigh the additional costs associated with syngamy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hanna Kokko
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
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22
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Anders A, Colin R, Banderas A, Sourjik V. Asymmetric mating behavior of isogamous budding yeast. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:7/24/eabf8404. [PMID: 34117059 PMCID: PMC8195471 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abf8404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 04/28/2021] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Anisogamy, the size difference between small male and large female gametes, is known to enable selection for sexual dimorphism and behavioral differences between sexes. Nevertheless, even isogamous species exhibit molecular asymmetries between mating types, which are known to ensure their self-incompatibility. Here, we show that different properties of the pheromones secreted by the MATa and MATα mating types of budding yeast lead to asymmetry in their behavioral responses during mating in mixed haploid populations, which resemble behavioral asymmetries between gametes in anisogamous organisms. MATa behaves as a random searcher that is stimulated in proportion to the fraction of MATα partner cells within the population, whereas MATα behaves as a short-range directional distance sensor. Mathematical modeling suggests that the observed asymmetric responses can enhance efficiency of mating and might thus provide a selective advantage. Our results demonstrate that the emergence of asymmetric mating behavior did not require anisogamy-based sexual selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Anders
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
- LOEWE Research Center for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO), Marburg, Germany
| | - Remy Colin
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
- LOEWE Research Center for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO), Marburg, Germany
| | - Alvaro Banderas
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany.
- Laboratoire Physico Chimie Curie, CNRS UMR168, Institut Curie, Paris, France
| | - Victor Sourjik
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany.
- LOEWE Research Center for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO), Marburg, Germany
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23
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Three genomes in the algal genus Volvox reveal the fate of a haploid sex-determining region after a transition to homothallism. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2100712118. [PMID: 34011609 PMCID: PMC8166075 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2100712118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Evolutionary transitions between species with separate sexes and species in which individuals have both sex functions have wide-ranging biological implications. It is largely unknown how such transitions occur in systems with haploid male- and female-determining chromosomes in algae and bryophytes. We investigated such a transition in the algal genus Volvox by making whole-genome sequences of two closely related species, one of which is heterothallic (with distinct males and females) and the other homothallic (with only bisexual, self-compatible individuals). The heterothallic species harbors a sex-determining region (SDR), while the homothallic species retains a nearly intact female-derived SDR-like region and separate regions containing key male genes. Thus, an ancestral female has probably become homothallic by acquiring genes that confer male functions. Transitions between separate sexes (dioecy) and other mating systems are common across eukaryotes. Here, we study a change in a haploid dioecious green algal species with male- and female-determining chromosomes (U and V). The genus Volvox is an oogamous (with large, immotile female gametes and small, motile male gametes) and includes both heterothallic species (with distinct male and female genotypes, associated with a mating-type system that prevents fusion of gametes of the same sex) and homothallic species (bisexual, with the ability to self-fertilize). We date the origin of an expanded sex-determining region (SDR) in Volvox to at least 75 Mya, suggesting that homothallism represents a breakdown of dioecy (heterothallism). We investigated the involvement of the SDR of the U and V chromosomes in this transition. Using de novo whole-genome sequences, we identified a heteromorphic SDR of ca 1 Mbp in male and female genotypes of the heterothallic species Volvox reticuliferus and a homologous region (SDLR) in the closely related homothallic species Volvox africanus, which retained several different hallmark features of an SDR. The V. africanus SDLR includes a large region resembling the female SDR of the presumptive heterothallic ancestor, whereas most genes from the male SDR are absent. However, we found a multicopy array of the male-determining gene, MID, in a different genomic location from the SDLR. Thus, in V. africanus, an ancestrally female genotype may have acquired MID and thereby gained male traits.
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24
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Shim E, Zuccarello GC, Kim GH. Sex-Specific Genes and their Expression in the Life History of the Red Alga Bostrychia moritziana (Ceramiales, Rhodomelaceae). JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY 2021; 57:528-540. [PMID: 33191515 DOI: 10.1111/jpy.13103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2020] [Accepted: 10/13/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Diverse sex determination mechanisms have been reported in eukaryotes, but little is known about the genetic pathways leading to sex determination in red algae. Sex-specific genes that could be involved in sex determination and sexual differentiation were investigated in the red alga Bostrychia moritziana by analyzing the transcriptomes of various phases including males, females, and tetrasporophytes. Sex dominantly expressed genes which showed >10-fold difference between sexes was isolated using comparative RNA-seq analysis. We found 19 gene homologues, 10 from males, and nine from females, that were found only in one sex in genomic amplification using strains collected from five different localities. Most of the sex-specific genes are involved in important cellular processes including chromosome segregation, nucleo-cytoplasmic protein shuttling, or tRNA modification. Quantitative PCR analysis showed that some sex-specific genes were differently regulated during critical events of sexual reproduction like fertilization and carposporophyte development. We could localize the expression of a male-specific gene in spermatia before and after gamete binding using RNA in situ hybridization. Amino acid sequence identity between male and female homologues of importin alpha gene and PreQ(0) reductase were highly divergent (75% and 74%, respectively), suggesting that these divergent homologues are on non-recombining UV-type chromosomes in their respective sexes. Another set of transcripts were found that were sex dominantly expressed, but not sex-specific. Nineteen out of 39 sex dominantly expressed transcripts were annotated to transposable elements. Our results suggest that sexual differentiation in B. moritziana may be achieved by multi-level regulation of cellular processes, both from genes present only in one sex and differential expression of shared genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eunyoung Shim
- Department of Biological Sciences, Kongju National University, Gongju, 32588, Korea
| | - Giuseppe C Zuccarello
- School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington, 6140, New Zealand
| | - Gwang Hoon Kim
- Department of Biological Sciences, Kongju National University, Gongju, 32588, Korea
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25
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Horinouchi Y, Togashi T. Identification of genomic differences between the sexes and sex-specific molecular markers in Monostroma angicava (Ulvophyceae). JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY 2021; 57:447-453. [PMID: 33450042 DOI: 10.1111/jpy.13128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2020] [Revised: 11/05/2020] [Accepted: 12/06/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
There is little information available regarding genomic differences between sexes in ulvophycean green algae. The detection of these differences will enable the development of sex-discriminating molecular markers, which are useful for algae showing little apparent difference between sexes. In this study, we identified male- and female-specific DNA sequences in the ulvophycean marine green alga Monostroma angicava, which has a dioicous heteromorphic haplo-diplontic life cycle, via next-generation sequencing. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) showed that signals for the sex-specific sequences exist only in the nuclei of the corresponding sex, confirming the specificity of the sequences. Sex-specific molecular markers that targeted these sequences successfully distinguished the sex of gametophytes even in geographically distant populations, indicating that the sex-specific sequences are universal. These results consistently suggest that male and female gametophytes of M. angicava are genetically different, implying that sex may be determined genetically in this alga.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yusuke Horinouchi
- Marine Biosystems Research Center, Chiba University, Kamogawa, 299-5502, Japan
| | - Tatsuya Togashi
- Marine Biosystems Research Center, Chiba University, Kamogawa, 299-5502, Japan
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26
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Sawka-Gądek N, Potekhin A, Singh DP, Grevtseva I, Arnaiz O, Penel S, Sperling L, Tarcz S, Duret L, Nekrasova I, Meyer E. Evolutionary Plasticity of Mating-Type Determination Mechanisms in Paramecium aurelia Sibling Species. Genome Biol Evol 2021; 13:evaa258. [PMID: 33313646 PMCID: PMC7900874 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evaa258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The Paramecium aurelia complex, a group of morphologically similar but sexually incompatible sibling species, is a unique example of the evolutionary plasticity of mating-type systems. Each species has two mating types, O (Odd) and E (Even). Although O and E types are homologous in all species, three different modes of determination and inheritance have been described: genetic determination by Mendelian alleles, stochastic developmental determination, and maternally inherited developmental determination. Previous work in three species of the latter kind has revealed the key roles of the E-specific transmembrane protein mtA and its highly specific transcription factor mtB: type O clones are produced by maternally inherited genome rearrangements that inactivate either mtA or mtB during development. Here we show, through transcriptome analyses in five additional species representing the three determination systems, that mtA expression specifies type E in all cases. We further show that the Mendelian system depends on functional and nonfunctional mtA alleles, and identify novel developmental rearrangements in mtA and mtB which now explain all cases of maternally inherited mating-type determination. Epistasis between these genes likely evolved from less specific interactions between paralogs in the P. aurelia common ancestor, after a whole-genome duplication, but the mtB gene was subsequently lost in three P. aurelia species which appear to have returned to an ancestral regulation mechanism. These results suggest a model accounting for evolutionary transitions between determination systems, and highlight the diversity of molecular solutions explored among sibling species to maintain an essential mating-type polymorphism in cell populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Sawka-Gądek
- Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
| | - Alexey Potekhin
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Deepankar Pratap Singh
- Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), Ecole Normale Supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, Université PSL, Paris, France
| | - Inessa Grevtseva
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Olivier Arnaiz
- CEA, CNRS, Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Simon Penel
- CNRS, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive UMR 5558, Université de Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Linda Sperling
- CEA, CNRS, Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Sebastian Tarcz
- Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
| | - Laurent Duret
- CNRS, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive UMR 5558, Université de Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Irina Nekrasova
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Eric Meyer
- Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), Ecole Normale Supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, Université PSL, Paris, France
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27
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Abstract
Model organisms are extensively used in research as accessible and convenient systems for studying a particular area or question in biology. Traditionally, only a limited number of organisms have been studied in detail, but modern genomic tools are enabling researchers to extend beyond the set of classical model organisms to include novel species from less-studied phylogenetic groups. This review focuses on model species for an important group of multicellular organisms, the brown algae. The development of genetic and genomic tools for the filamentous brown alga Ectocarpus has led to it emerging as a general model system for this group, but additional models, such as Fucus or Dictyota dichotoma, remain of interest for specific biological questions. In addition, Saccharina japonica has emerged as a model system to directly address applied questions related to algal aquaculture. We discuss the past, present, and future of brown algal model organisms in relation to the opportunities and challenges in brown algal research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susana M Coelho
- Laboratory of Integrative Biology of Marine Models (LBI2M), Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR), CNRS, Sorbonne Université, 29680 Roscoff, France;
- Current affiliation: Department of Algal Development and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, 72076 Tübingen, Germany;
| | - J Mark Cock
- Laboratory of Integrative Biology of Marine Models (LBI2M), Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR), CNRS, Sorbonne Université, 29680 Roscoff, France;
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28
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Sato Y, Endo H, Oikawa H, Kanematsu K, Naka H, Mogamiya M, Kawano S, Kazama Y. Sexual Difference in the Optimum Environmental Conditions for Growth and Maturation of the Brown Alga Undaria pinnatifida in the Gametophyte Stage. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:E944. [PMID: 32824303 PMCID: PMC7463851 DOI: 10.3390/genes11080944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2020] [Revised: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 08/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Undaria pinnatifida is an annual brown kelp growing naturally in coastal areas as a major primary producer in temperate regions and is cultivated on an industrial scale. Kelps have a heteromorphic life cycle characterized by a macroscopic sporophyte and microscopic sexual gametophytes. The sex-dependent effects of different environmental factors on the growth and maturation characteristics of the gametophyte stage were investigated using response surface methodology. Gametophytes were taken from three sites in Japan: Iwate Prefecture, Tokushima Prefecture, and Kagoshima Prefecture in order to confirm the sexual differences in three independent lines. Optimum temperature and light intensity were higher for males (20.7-20.9 °C and 28.6-33.7 µmol m-2 s-1, respectively) than females (16.5-19.8 °C and 26.9-32.5 µmol m-2 s-1), and maturity progressed more quickly in males than females. Optimum wavelengths of light for growth and maturation of the gametophytes were observed for both blue (400-500 nm, λmax 453 nm) and green (500-600 nm; λmax 525 nm) lights and were sex-independent. These characteristics were consistent among the three regional lines. Slower growth optima and progress of maturation could be important for female gametophytes to restrict fertilization and sporophyte germination to the lower water temperatures of autumn and winter, and suggest that the female gametophyte may be more sensitive to temperature than the male. The sexual differences in sensitivity to environmental factors improved the synchronicity of sporeling production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoichi Sato
- Bio-resources Business Development Division, Riken Food Co., Ltd., Miyagi 985-0844, Japan;
- Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science, RIKEN, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Hikaru Endo
- Faculty of Fisheries, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima 890-0056, Japan;
| | - Hiroki Oikawa
- Connected Solutions Company, Panasonic Co., Tokyo 104-0061, Japan; (H.O.); (K.K.); (H.N.)
| | - Koichi Kanematsu
- Connected Solutions Company, Panasonic Co., Tokyo 104-0061, Japan; (H.O.); (K.K.); (H.N.)
- SiM24 Co., Ltd., Osaka 540-6104, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Naka
- Connected Solutions Company, Panasonic Co., Tokyo 104-0061, Japan; (H.O.); (K.K.); (H.N.)
- SiM24 Co., Ltd., Osaka 540-6104, Japan
| | - Miho Mogamiya
- Bio-resources Business Development Division, Riken Food Co., Ltd., Miyagi 985-0844, Japan;
| | - Shigeyuki Kawano
- Future Center Initiative, The University of Tokyo, Saitama 277-0871, Japan;
| | - Yusuke Kazama
- Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science, RIKEN, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
- Faculty of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Fukui Prefectural University, Fukui 910-1195, Japan
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29
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Abstract
The transition of life from single cells to more complex multicellular forms has occurred at least two dozen times among eukaryotes and is one of the major evolutionary transitions, but the early steps that enabled multicellular life to evolve and thrive remain poorly understood. Volvocine green algae are a taxonomic group that is uniquely suited to investigating the step-wise acquisition of multicellular organization. The multicellular volvocine species Volvox carteri exhibits many hallmarks of complex multicellularity including complete germ–soma division of labor, asymmetric cell divisions, coordinated tissue-level morphogenesis, and dimorphic sexes—none of which have obvious analogs in its closest unicellular relative, the model alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Here, I summarize some of the key questions and areas of study that are being addressed with Volvox carteri and how increasing genomic information and methodologies for volvocine algae are opening up the entire group as an integrated experimental system for exploring the evolution of multicellularity and more.
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Affiliation(s)
- James G Umen
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, 975 N. Warson Rd, St. Louis, MO 63132 USA
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30
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Hu Y, Xing W, Hu Z, Liu G. Phylogenetic Analysis and Substitution Rate Estimation of Colonial Volvocine Algae Based on Mitochondrial Genomes. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:genes11010115. [PMID: 31968709 PMCID: PMC7016891 DOI: 10.3390/genes11010115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2019] [Revised: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 01/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
We sequenced the mitochondrial genome of six colonial volvocine algae, namely: Pandorina morum, Pandorina colemaniae, Volvulina compacta, Colemanosphaera angeleri, Colemanosphaera charkowiensi, and Yamagishiella unicocca. Previous studies have typically reconstructed the phylogenetic relationship between colonial volvocine algae based on chloroplast or nuclear genes. Here, we explore the validity of phylogenetic analysis based on mitochondrial protein-coding genes. We found phylogenetic incongruence of the genera Yamagishiella and Colemanosphaera. In Yamagishiella, the stochastic error and linkage group formed by the mitochondrial protein-coding genes prevent phylogenetic analyses from reflecting the true relationship. In Colemanosphaera, a different reconstruction approach revealed a different phylogenetic relationship. This incongruence may be because of the influence of biological factors, such as incomplete lineage sorting or horizontal gene transfer. We also analyzed the substitution rates in the mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes between colonial volvocine algae. Our results showed that all volvocine species showed significantly higher substitution rates for the mitochondrial genome compared with the chloroplast genome. The nonsynonymous substitution (dN)/synonymous substitution (dS) ratio is similar in the genomes of both organelles in most volvocine species, suggesting that the two counterparts are under a similar selection pressure. We also identified a few chloroplast protein-coding genes that showed high dN/dS ratios in some species, resulting in a significant dN/dS ratio difference between the mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuxin Hu
- Key Laboratory of Algal Biology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China
- School of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Weiyue Xing
- Key Laboratory of Algal Biology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China
- School of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Zhengyu Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Guoxiang Liu
- Key Laboratory of Algal Biology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +86-027-6878-0576
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31
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Leconte J, Benites LF, Vannier T, Wincker P, Piganeau G, Jaillon O. Genome Resolved Biogeography of Mamiellales. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:E66. [PMID: 31936086 PMCID: PMC7016971 DOI: 10.3390/genes11010066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2019] [Revised: 12/24/2019] [Accepted: 01/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Among marine phytoplankton, Mamiellales encompass several species from the genera Micromonas, Ostreococcus and Bathycoccus, which are important contributors to primary production. Previous studies based on single gene markers described their wide geographical distribution but led to discussion because of the uneven taxonomic resolution of the method. Here, we leverage genome sequences for six Mamiellales species, two from each genus Micromonas, Ostreococcus and Bathycoccus, to investigate their distribution across 133 stations sampled during the Tara Oceans expedition. Our study confirms the cosmopolitan distribution of Mamiellales and further suggests non-random distribution of species, with two triplets of co-occurring genomes associated with different temperatures: Ostreococcuslucimarinus, Bathycoccusprasinos and Micromonaspusilla were found in colder waters, whereas Ostreococcus spp. RCC809, Bathycoccus spp. TOSAG39-1 and Micromonascommoda were more abundant in warmer conditions. We also report the distribution of the two candidate mating-types of Ostreococcus for which the frequency of sexual reproduction was previously assumed to be very low. Indeed, both mating types were systematically detected together in agreement with either frequent sexual reproduction or the high prevalence of a diploid stage. Altogether, these analyses provide novel insights into Mamiellales' biogeography and raise novel testable hypotheses about their life cycle and ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jade Leconte
- Génomique Métabolique, Genoscope, Institut de Biologie François Jacob, Commissariat à l′Énergie Atomique (CEA), CNRS, Université Évry, Université Paris-Saclay, 91057 Évry, France; (J.L.); (T.V.); (P.W.)
- Research Federation for the Study of Global Ocean Systems Ecology and Evolution, FR2022/Tara Oceans GOSEE, 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75016 Paris, France
| | - L. Felipe Benites
- Observatoire Océanologique, UMR 7232 Biologie Intégrative des Organismes Marins BIOM, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, F-66650 Banyuls-sur-Mer, France;
| | - Thomas Vannier
- Génomique Métabolique, Genoscope, Institut de Biologie François Jacob, Commissariat à l′Énergie Atomique (CEA), CNRS, Université Évry, Université Paris-Saclay, 91057 Évry, France; (J.L.); (T.V.); (P.W.)
- Research Federation for the Study of Global Ocean Systems Ecology and Evolution, FR2022/Tara Oceans GOSEE, 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75016 Paris, France
| | - Patrick Wincker
- Génomique Métabolique, Genoscope, Institut de Biologie François Jacob, Commissariat à l′Énergie Atomique (CEA), CNRS, Université Évry, Université Paris-Saclay, 91057 Évry, France; (J.L.); (T.V.); (P.W.)
- Research Federation for the Study of Global Ocean Systems Ecology and Evolution, FR2022/Tara Oceans GOSEE, 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75016 Paris, France
| | - Gwenael Piganeau
- Observatoire Océanologique, UMR 7232 Biologie Intégrative des Organismes Marins BIOM, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, F-66650 Banyuls-sur-Mer, France;
| | - Olivier Jaillon
- Génomique Métabolique, Genoscope, Institut de Biologie François Jacob, Commissariat à l′Énergie Atomique (CEA), CNRS, Université Évry, Université Paris-Saclay, 91057 Évry, France; (J.L.); (T.V.); (P.W.)
- Research Federation for the Study of Global Ocean Systems Ecology and Evolution, FR2022/Tara Oceans GOSEE, 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75016 Paris, France
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32
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Maréchal E. Marine and Freshwater Plants: Challenges and Expectations. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2019; 10:1545. [PMID: 31824548 PMCID: PMC6883403 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.01545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2019] [Accepted: 11/05/2019] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The past decades have seen an increasing interest on the biology of photosynthetic species living in aquatic environments, including diverse organisms collectively called "algae." If we consider the relative size of scientific communities, marine and freshwater plants have been overall less studied than terrestrial ones. The efforts put on land plants were motivated by agriculture and forestry, applications for human industry, easy access to terrestrial ecosystems, and convenient cultivation methods in fields or growth chambers. By contrast, the fragmentary knowledge on the biology of algae, the hope to find in this biodiversity inspiration for biotechnologies, and the emergency created by the environmental crisis affecting oceans, lakes, rivers, or melting glaciers, have stressed the importance to make up for lost time. Needed efforts embrace a broad spectrum of disciplines, from environmental and evolutionary sciences, to molecular and cell biology. In this multiscale view, functional genomics and ecophysiology occupy a pivotal position linking molecular and cellular analyses and ecosystem-level studies. Without pretending to be exhaustive and with few selected references, six grand challenges, requiring multidisciplinary approaches, are introduced below.
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