Abstract
The Apicomplexa were for long represented only by non-photosynthetic parasites, despite the vast majority of them housing a plastid surrounded by four membranes. The amount of membranes already pointed towards the secondary evolutionary origin of the organelle, and phylogenetic analysis then showed it to be of rhodophyte origin. The discovery of Chromera velia now provides the link that connects the parasitic phylum with its algal past. Other chromerids have since been described and within a few years many different research fields have begun to explore this new branch at the bottom of the apicomplexan phylum. We summarize reports from various disciplines and provide an overview of the current topics.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the SFF fund of the HHU Düsseldorf and an DFG grant to SBG, an ERC grant to William F. Martin and by an Australian Research Council grant to DC (Discovery Project DP0986372). ML is supported by the William Murrell Memorial Scholarship.
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Linares, M., Carter, D., Gould, S.B. (2014). Chromera et al.: Novel Photosynthetic Alveolates and Apicomplexan Relatives. In: Löffelhardt, W. (eds) Endosymbiosis. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1303-5_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1303-5_10
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