The Ectocarpus genome and the independent evolution of multicellularity in brown algae.
Brown algae (Phaeophyceae) are complex photosynthetic organisms with a very different evolutionary history to green plants, to which they are only distantly related. These seaweeds are the dominant species in rocky coastal ecosystems and they exhibit many interesting adaptations to these, often harsh, environments. Brown algae are also one of only a small number of eukaryotic lineages that have evolved complex multicellularity (Fig. 1). We report the 214 million base pair (Mbp) genome sequence of the filamentous seaweed Ectocarpus siliculosus (Dillwyn) Lyngbye, a model organism for brown algae, closely related to the kelps (Fig. 1). Genome features such as the presence of an extended set of light-harvesting and pigment biosynthesis genes and new metabolic processes such as halide metabolism help explain the ability of this organism to cope with the highly variable tidal environment. The evolution of multicellularity in this lineage is correlated with the presence of a rich array of signal transduction genes. Of particular interest is the presence of a family of receptor kinases, as the independent evolution of related molecules has been linked with the emergence of multicellularity in both the animal and green plant lineages. The Ectocarpus genome sequence represents an important step towards developing this organism as a model species, providing the possibility to combine genomic and genetic approaches to explore these and other aspects of brown algal biology further.
UPMC Université Paris 6, The Marine Plants and Biomolecules Laboratory, UMR 7139, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Place Georges Teissier, BP74, 29682 Roscoff Cedex, France. cock@sb-roscoff.fr
J Mark
JM
Cock
Lieven
L
Sterck
Pierre
P
Rouzé
Delphine
D
Scornet
Andrew E
AE
Allen
Grigoris
G
Amoutzias
Veronique
V
Anthouard
François
F
Artiguenave
Jean-Marc
JM
Aury
Jonathan H
JH
Badger
Bank
B
Beszteri
Kenny
K
Billiau
Eric
E
Bonnet
John H
JH
Bothwell
Chris
C
Bowler
Catherine
C
Boyen
Colin
C
Brownlee
Carl J
CJ
Carrano
Bénédicte
B
Charrier
Ga Youn
GY
Cho
Susana M
SM
Coelho
Jonas
J
Collén
Erwan
E
Corre
Corinne
C
Da Silva
Ludovic
L
Delage
Nicolas
N
Delaroque
Simon M
SM
Dittami
Sylvie
S
Doulbeau
Marek
M
Elias
Garry
G
Farnham
Claire M M
CM
Gachon
Bernhard
B
Gschloessl
Svenja
S
Heesch
Kamel
K
Jabbari
Claire
C
Jubin
Hiroshi
H
Kawai
Kei
K
Kimura
Bernard
B
Kloareg
Frithjof C
FC
Küpper
Daniel
D
Lang
Aude
A
Le Bail
Catherine
C
Leblanc
Patrice
P
Lerouge
Martin
M
Lohr
Pascal J
PJ
Lopez
Cindy
C
Martens
Florian
F
Maumus
Gurvan
G
Michel
Diego
D
Miranda-Saavedra
Julia
J
Morales
Hervé
H
Moreau
Taizo
T
Motomura
Chikako
C
Nagasato
Carolyn A
CA
Napoli
David R
DR
Nelson
Pi
P
Nyvall-Collén
Akira F
AF
Peters
Cyril
C
Pommier
Philippe
P
Potin
Julie
J
Poulain
Hadi
H
Quesneville
Betsy
B
Read
Stefan A
SA
Rensing
Andrés
A
Ritter
Sylvie
S
Rousvoal
Manoj
M
Samanta
Gaelle
G
Samson
Declan C
DC
Schroeder
Béatrice
B
Ségurens
Martina
M
Strittmatter
Thierry
T
Tonon
James W
JW
Tregear
Klaus
K
Valentin
Peter
P
von Dassow
Takahiro
T
Yamagishi
Yves
Y
Van de Peer
Patrick
P
Wincker
D020418:Algal Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D056890:Eukaryota; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D016678:Genome / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D000459:Phaeophyceae / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D010860:Pigments, Biological / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics
D020418:Algal Proteins; D010860:Pigments, Biological