Phylogeny of dinoflagellate plastid genes recently transferred to the nucleus supports a common ancestry with red algal plastid genes.
It is generally accepted that peridinin-containing dinoflagellate plastids are derived from red alga, but whether they are secondary plastids equivalent to plastids of stramenopiles, haptophytes, or cryptophytes, or are tertiary plastids derived from one of the other secondary plastids, has not yet been completely resolved. As secondary plastids, plastid gene phylogeny should mirror that of nuclear genes, while incongruence in the two phylogenies should be anticipated if their origin was as tertiary plastids. We have analyzed the phylogeny of plastid-encoded genes from Lingulodinium as well as that of nuclear-encoded dinoflagellate homologues of plastid-encoded genes conserved in all other plastid genome sequences. Our analyses place the dinoflagellate, stramenopile, haptophyte, and cryptophyte plastids firmly in the red algal lineage, and in particular, the close relationship between stramenopile plastid genes and their dinoflagellate nuclear-encoded homologues is consistent with the hypothesis that red algal-type plastids have arisen only once in evolution.
Wang
Yunling
Y
Institut de Recherche en Biologie Végétale, Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, 4101 Sherbrooke est, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Joly
Simon
S
Morse
David
D
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000235:genetics*; D048028:DNA, Algal / Q000235:genetics; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics; D004141:Dinoflagellida / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D017125:Genes, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D018087:Plastids / Q000235:genetics*; D000461:Rhodophyta / Q000235:genetics*
D048028:DNA, Algal; D016054:DNA, Protozoan