title: Development and physiology of the brown alga Ectocarpus siliculosus: two centuries of research.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: UMR7139, Station Biologique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Pierre & Marie Curie Paris VI, Place Georges Teissier, 29 682 Roscoff cedex, France.
authors.forename: Bénédicte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Charrier
authors.affiliation: UMR7139, Station Biologique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Pierre & Marie Curie Paris VI, Place Georges Teissier, 29 682 Roscoff cedex, France.
authors.forename: Susana M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Coelho
authors.affiliation: UMR7139, Station Biologique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Pierre & Marie Curie Paris VI, Place Georges Teissier, 29 682 Roscoff cedex, France.
authors.forename: Aude
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Le Bail
authors.affiliation: UMR7139, Station Biologique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Pierre & Marie Curie Paris VI, Place Georges Teissier, 29 682 Roscoff cedex, France.
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tonon
authors.affiliation: UMR7139, Station Biologique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Pierre & Marie Curie Paris VI, Place Georges Teissier, 29 682 Roscoff cedex, France.
authors.forename: Gurvan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.affiliation: UMR7139, Station Biologique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Pierre & Marie Curie Paris VI, Place Georges Teissier, 29 682 Roscoff cedex, France.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Potin
authors.affiliation: UMR7139, Station Biologique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Pierre & Marie Curie Paris VI, Place Georges Teissier, 29 682 Roscoff cedex, France.
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kloareg
authors.affiliation: UMR7139, Station Biologique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Pierre & Marie Curie Paris VI, Place Georges Teissier, 29 682 Roscoff cedex, France.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boyen
authors.affiliation: UMR7139, Station Biologique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Pierre & Marie Curie Paris VI, Place Georges Teissier, 29 682 Roscoff cedex, France.
authors.forename: Akira F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.affiliation: UMR7139, Station Biologique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Pierre & Marie Curie Paris VI, Place Georges Teissier, 29 682 Roscoff cedex, France.
authors.forename: J Mark
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cock
mesh_terms: D005075:Biological Evolution; D004463:Ecology; D017753:Ecosystem; D018745:Genome, Plant; D000459:Phaeophyceae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology*