Development and physiology of the brown alga Ectocarpus siliculosus: two centuries of research.
Brown algae share several important features with land plants, such as their photoautotrophic nature and their cellulose-containing wall, but the two groups are distantly related from an evolutionary point of view. The heterokont phylum, to which the brown algae belong, is a eukaryotic crown group that is phylogenetically distinct not only from the green lineage, but also from the red algae and the opisthokont phylum (fungi and animals). As a result of this independent evolutionary history, the brown algae exhibit many novel features and, moreover, have evolved complex multicellular development independently of the other major groups already mentioned. In 2004, a consortium of laboratories, including the Station Biologique in Roscoff and Genoscope, initiated a project to sequence the genome of Ectocarpus siliculosus, a small filamentous brown alga that is found in temperate, coastal environments throughout the globe. The E. siliculosus genome, which is currently being annotated, is expected to be the first completely characterized genome of a multicellular alga. In this review we look back over two centuries of work on this brown alga and highlight the advances that have led to the choice of E. siliculosus as a genomic and genetic model organism for the brown algae.
Charrier
Bénédicte
B
UMR7139, Station Biologique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Pierre & Marie Curie Paris VI, Place Georges Teissier, 29 682 Roscoff cedex, France.
Coelho
Susana M
SM
UMR7139, Station Biologique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Pierre & Marie Curie Paris VI, Place Georges Teissier, 29 682 Roscoff cedex, France.
Le Bail
Aude
A
UMR7139, Station Biologique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Pierre & Marie Curie Paris VI, Place Georges Teissier, 29 682 Roscoff cedex, France.
Tonon
Thierry
T
UMR7139, Station Biologique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Pierre & Marie Curie Paris VI, Place Georges Teissier, 29 682 Roscoff cedex, France.
Michel
Gurvan
G
UMR7139, Station Biologique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Pierre & Marie Curie Paris VI, Place Georges Teissier, 29 682 Roscoff cedex, France.
Potin
Philippe
P
UMR7139, Station Biologique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Pierre & Marie Curie Paris VI, Place Georges Teissier, 29 682 Roscoff cedex, France.
Kloareg
Bernard
B
UMR7139, Station Biologique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Pierre & Marie Curie Paris VI, Place Georges Teissier, 29 682 Roscoff cedex, France.
Boyen
Catherine
C
UMR7139, Station Biologique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Pierre & Marie Curie Paris VI, Place Georges Teissier, 29 682 Roscoff cedex, France.
Peters
Akira F
AF
UMR7139, Station Biologique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Pierre & Marie Curie Paris VI, Place Georges Teissier, 29 682 Roscoff cedex, France.
Cock
J Mark
JM
UMR7139, Station Biologique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Pierre & Marie Curie Paris VI, Place Georges Teissier, 29 682 Roscoff cedex, France.
D005075:Biological Evolution; D004463:Ecology; D017753:Ecosystem; D018745:Genome, Plant; D000459:Phaeophyceae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology*