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Plastid Evolution and the Nuclear Genomic “Footprint” of Red and Green Algal Endosymbionts

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Red Algae in the Genomic Age

Part of the book series: Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology ((COLE,volume 13))

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Abstract

Plastids are the descendents of once free-living cyanobacterial endosymbionts and are generally believed to have evolved only once during eukaryotic evolution, in a common ancestor shared by red, green, and glaucophyte algae. On multiple occasions, subsequent to this landmark event, plastids have moved horizontally across the eukaryotic tree by “secondary” endosymbiosis, a process in which a primary plastid-bearing alga becomes a permanent fixture inside an unrelated heterotrophic eukaryote. This chapter provides an overview of the diversity of secondary plastid-containing organisms, with special emphasis on those harboring plastids of red algal ancestry. The evolutionary “footprint” of secondary endosymbionts on the nuclear genomes of their hosts is discussed.

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Acknowledgments

Research on organelle evolution in the Archibald Laboratory is supported by operating grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Integrated Microbial Biodiversity Program, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building, 5850 College Street, Halifax, NS, B3H 1X5, Canada

    Julia F. Hopkins & John M. Archibald

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  1. Julia F. Hopkins
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Correspondence to Julia F. Hopkins .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Jerusalem, Mevo Hadas 20, Efrat, 90435, Israel

    Joseph Seckbach

  2. Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, 93106, USA

    David J. Chapman

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Hopkins, J.F., Archibald, J.M. (2010). Plastid Evolution and the Nuclear Genomic “Footprint” of Red and Green Algal Endosymbionts. In: Seckbach, J., Chapman, D. (eds) Red Algae in the Genomic Age. Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology, vol 13. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3795-4_10

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