Ectocarpus: a model organism for the brown algae.
The brown algae are an interesting group of organisms from several points of view. They are the dominant organisms in many coastal ecosystems, where they often form large, underwater forests. They also have an unusual evolutionary history, being members of the stramenopiles, which are very distantly related to well-studied animal and green plant models. As a consequence of this history, brown algae have evolved many novel features, for example in terms of their cell biology and metabolic pathways. They are also one of only a small number of eukaryotic groups to have independently evolved complex multicellularity. Despite these interesting features, the brown algae have remained a relatively poorly studied group. This situation has started to change over the last few years, however, with the emergence of the filamentous brown alga Ectocarpus as a model system that is amenable to the genomic and genetic approaches that have proved to be so powerful in more classical model organisms such as Drosophila and Arabidopsis.
UPMC Université Paris 06, The Marine Plants and Biomolecules Laboratory, UMR 7139, Station Biologique de Roscoff, BP74, 29682 Roscoff Cedex, France.
Susana M
SM
Coelho
Delphine
D
Scornet
Sylvie
S
Rousvoal
Nick T
NT
Peters
Laurence
L
Dartevelle
Akira F
AF
Peters
J Mark
JM
Cock
D005075:Biological Evolution; D008967:Molecular Biology / Q000379:methods*; D000459:Phaeophyceae / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*