2009/06/25 by Ahmed Moustafa, Bánk Beszteri, Uwe G. Maier +3 · 7 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Environmental Science · Materials Science · #Protist diversity and phylogeny #Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology #Diatoms and Algae Research
paper · doi:10.1126/science.1172983
openalex publication_date 2009/06/25 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Diatoms and other chromalveolates are among the dominant phytoplankters in the world's oceans. Endosymbiosis was essential to the success of chromalveolates, and it appears that the ancestral plastid in this group had a red algal origin via an ancient secondary endosymbiosis. However, recent analyses have turned up a handful of nuclear genes in chromalveolates that are of green algal derivation. Using a genome-wide approach to estimate the "green" contribution to diatoms, we identified >1700 green gene transfers, constituting 16% of the diatom nuclear coding potential. These genes were probably introduced into diatoms and other chromalveolates from a cryptic endosymbiont related to prasinophyte-like green algae. Chromalveolates appear to have recruited genes from the two major existing algal groups to forge a highly successful, species-rich protist lineage.