title: Sequence of Prochloron didemni atpBE and the inference of chloroplast origins.
abstract: The prochlorophytes, oxygenic photosynthetic prokaryotes containing chlorophylls a and b, have been put forward as descended from the organisms that gave rise to chloroplasts of green plants and algae by endosymbiosis, although this has always been controversial. To assess the phylogenetic position of the prochlorophyte Prochloron didemni, we have cloned and sequenced its atpBE genes. Phylogenetic inference under a range of models gives moderate to strong support for a cyanobacterial grouping rather than a chloroplast one. Possible systematic errors in this and previous analyses of prochlorophyte sequences are discussed.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Lockhart
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Beanland
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Howe
authors.forename: A W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Larkum
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002736:Chloroplasts; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010788:Photosynthesis; D010802:Phylogeny; D006180:Proton-Translocating ATPases / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D006180:Proton-Translocating ATPases