Tangled evolutionary processes with commonality and diversity in plastidial glycolipid synthesis in photosynthetic organisms.
In photosynthetic organisms, the photosynthetic membrane constitutes a scaffold for light-harvesting complexes and photosynthetic reaction centers. Three kinds of glycolipids, namely monogalactosyldiacylglycerol, digalactosyldiacylglycerol, and sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol, constitute approximately 80-90% of photosynthetic membrane lipids and are well conserved from tiny cyanobacteria to the leaves of huge trees. These glycolipids perform a wide variety of functions beyond biological membrane formation. In particular, the capability of adaptation to harsh environments through regulation of membrane glycolipid composition is essential for healthy growth and development of photosynthetic organisms. The genome analysis and functional genetics of the model seed plant Arabidopsis thaliana have yielded many new findings concerning the biosynthesis, regulation, and functions of glycolipids. Nevertheless, it remains to be clarified how the complex biosynthetic pathways and well-organized functions of glycolipids evolved in early and primitive photosynthetic organisms, such as cyanobacteria, to yield modern photosynthetic organisms like land plants. Recently, genome data for many photosynthetic organisms have been made available as the fruit of the rapid development of sequencing technology. We also have reported the draft genome sequence of the charophyte alga Klebsormidium flaccidum, which is an intermediate organism between green algae and land plants. Here, we performed a comprehensive phylogenic analysis of glycolipid biosynthesis genes in oxygenic photosynthetic organisms including K. flaccidum. Based on the results together with membrane lipid analysis of this alga, we discuss the evolution of glycolipid synthesis in photosynthetic organisms. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Plant Lipid Biology edited by Kent D. Chapman and Ivo Feussner.
Tokyo Institute of Technology, School of Life Science and Technology, Yokohama City, Kanagawa 226-8501, Japan; CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Japan.
Koichi
K
Hori
Tokyo Institute of Technology, School of Life Science and Technology, Yokohama City, Kanagawa 226-8501, Japan; CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Japan.
Takashi
T
Nobusawa
Tokyo Institute of Technology, Graduate School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Yokohama City, Kanagawa 226-8501, Japan.
Tei
T
Watanabe
Tokyo Institute of Technology, School of Life Science and Technology, Yokohama City, Kanagawa 226-8501, Japan.
Yuka
Y
Madoka
Kazusa DNA Research Institute, 2-6-7 Kazusa-kamatari, Kisarazu, Chiba 292-0818, Japan.
Hideyuki
H
Suzuki
Kazusa DNA Research Institute, 2-6-7 Kazusa-kamatari, Kisarazu, Chiba 292-0818, Japan.
Daisuke
D
Shibata
Tokyo Institute of Technology, School of Life Science and Technology, Yokohama City, Kanagawa 226-8501, Japan.
Mie
M
Shimojima
Tokyo Institute of Technology, School of Life Science and Technology, Yokohama City, Kanagawa 226-8501, Japan; CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Japan; Tokyo Institute of Technology, Earth-Life Science Institute, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan. Electronic address: ohta.h.ab@m.titech.ac.jp.
Hiroyuki
H
Ohta
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D038983:Galactolipids / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D018745:Genome, Plant; D006017:Glycolipids / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D010788:Photosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D045322:Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D012639:Seeds / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development
D038983:Galactolipids; D006017:Glycolipids; D045322:Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins; C007388:digalactosyldiacylglycerol; C009909:monogalactosyldiacylglycerol; C496611:sulfoquinovosylacylglycerol
Galactolipid; Glycolipid; Phosphate starvation; Photosynthetic organisms; Plant evolution; Sulfolipid