Jumping genes and shrinking genomes--probing the evolution of eukaryotic photosynthesis with genomics.
The advent of comparative genomics has revolutionized the study of the origin and evolution of eukaryotes and their organelles. Genomic analysis has revealed that the endosymbiosis that gave rise to plastids--the light-harvesting apparatus of photosynthetic eukaryotes--had a profound impact on the genetic composition of the host, far beyond the contribution of cyanobacterial genes for plastid-specific functions. Here I discuss recent advances in our appreciation of the mosaic nature of the eukaryotic nuclear genome, and the ongoing role endosymbiosis plays in shaping its content.
Archibald
John M
JM
Genome Atlantic and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Program in Evolutionary Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
D056890:Eukaryota / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D023281:Genomics / Q000379:methods*; D020071:Interspersed Repetitive Sequences / Q000235:genetics*; D010788:Photosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D013559:Symbiosis / Q000235:genetics*