AI Article Synopsis
- The loss of photosynthetic function in heterotrophic dinoflagellates leads to reduced expression and eventual loss of photosynthetic genes, as demonstrated in species like Pfiesteria piscicida.
- Researchers analyzed a large database of sequences from P. piscicida, finding genes linked to photosynthesis, such as those in the Calvin-Benson cycle and light-harvesting pathways, indicating a complex evolutionary history.
- Continued expression of these photosynthetic genes suggests that transcriptional regulation can persist even after losing plastids, allowing dinoflagellates to acquire new photosynthetic abilities through endosymbiosis.
Article Abstract
The loss of photosynthetic function should lead to the cessation of expression and finally loss of photosynthetic genes in the new heterotroph. Dinoflagellates are known to have lost their photosynthetic ability several times. Dinoflagellates have also acquired photosynthesis from other organisms, either on a long-term basis or as "kleptoplastids" multiple times. The fate of photosynthetic gene expression in heterotrophs can be informative into evolution of gene expression patterns after functional loss, and the dinoflagellates ability to acquire new photosynthetic function through additional endosymbiosis. To explore this we analyzed a large-scale EST database consisting of 151,091 unique sequences (29,170 contigs, 120,921 singletons) obtained from 454 pyrosequencing of the heterotrophic dinoflagellate Pfiesteria piscicida. About 597 contigs from P. piscicida showed significant homology (E-value
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3712967 PMC http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0068232 PLOS Publication Analysis
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