Transcriptome-wide evolutionary analysis on essential brown algae(Phaeophyceae)in China

Brown algae （Chromista, Ochrophyta, Phaeophyceae） are a large group of multicellular algae that play im-portant roles in the ocean＇s ecosystem and biodiversity. However, poor molecular bases for studying their phylogenetic evolutions and novel metabolic characteristics have hampered progress in the field. In this study, we sequenced the de novo transcriptome of 18 major species of brown algae in China, covering six orders and seven families, using the high-throughput sequencing platform Illumina HiSeq 2000. From the transcriptome data of these 18 species and publicly available genome data of Ectocarpus siliculosus and Phaeodactylum tricornutum, we identified 108 nuclear-generated orthologous genes and clarified the phy-logenetic relationships among these brown algae based on a multigene method. These brown algae could be separated into two clades：Clade Ishigeales-Dictyotales and Clade Ectocarpales-Laminariales-Desmares-tiale-Fucales. The former was at the base of the phylogenetic tree, indicating its early divergence, while the latter was divided into two branches, with Order Fucales diverging from Orders Ectocarpales, Laminariales, and Desmarestiale. In our analysis of taxonomy-contentious species, Sargassum fusiforme and Saccharina sculpera were found to be closely related to genera Sargassum and Saccharina, respectively, while Petalonia fascia showed possible relation to genus Scytosiphon. The study provided molecular evidence for the phylo-genetic taxonomy of brown algae.

Phylogenomic analysis of transcriptomic sequences of mitochondria and chloroplasts of essential brown algae(Phaeophyceae)in China

The chloroplast and mitochondrion of brown algae （Class Phaeophyceae of Phylum Ochrophyta） may have originated from different endosymbiosis. In this study, we carried out phylogenomic analysis to distinguish their evolutionary lineages by using algal RNA-seq datasets of the 1 000 Plants （1KP） Project and publicly available complete genomes of mitochondria and chloroplasts of Kingdom Chromista. We have found that there is a split between Class Phaeophyceae of Phylum Ochrophyta and the others （Phylum Cryptophyta and Haptophyta） in Kingdom Chromista, and identified more diversity in chloroplast genes than mitochondrial ones in their phylogenetic trees. Taxonomy resolution for Class Phaeophyceae showed that it was divided into Laminariales-Ectocarpales clade and Fucales clade, and phylogenetic positions of Kjellmaniella crassi-folia, Hizikia fusifrome and Ishige okamurai were confirmed. Our analysis provided the basic phylogenetic relationships of Chromista algae, and demonstrated their potential ability to study endosymbiotic events.

New record of Lobophora rosacea(Dictyotales; Phaeophyceae) from the South China Sea

Lobophora rosacea C.W. Vieira, Payri et De Clerck is reported from the South China Sea for the first time. Our specimens are very similar to L. rosacea recently described from New Caledonia, not only in morphology but also in rbcL and cox3 gene sequences. The fan-shaped thallus grows erectly, attaching to the substrate by a basal holdfast. The thallus is composed of a single layer of large medullary cells and three to four layers of cortical cells on both sides of the medulla. Mature sporophytes are detected, with sporangium sori scattered on both surfaces of the thallus.

Tryptophan synthase of Phaeophyceae originated from the secondary host nucleus

Tryptophan synthase （TS, EC 4.2.1.20） catalyzes the last two steps of L-tryptophan biosynthesis. In pro-karyotes, tryptophan synthase is a multi-enzyme complex, and it consists ofαandβsubunit which forms anα-ββ-αcomplex. In fungi and diatoms, TS is a bifunctional enzyme. Because of the limited genomic and transcriptomic data of algae, there are few studies on TS evolution of algae. Here we analyzed the data of the 1000 Plants Project （1KP）, and focused on red algae and brown algae. We found out that the TS of Phaeophy-ceae were fusion genes, which probably originated from the secondary host nucleus, and that the TS of Rho-dophyta contained two genes, TSA and TSB, which both display a possible cyanobacterial origin at the time of primary endosymbiosis. In addition, there were two types of TSB genes （TSB1 and TSB2）. Through the multiple sequence alignment of TSB proteins, we found several residues conserved in TSB1 but variable in TSB2 which connect withαsubunit. The phenomenon may suggest that the TSB2 sequences of Rhodophyta cannot form stable complex with TSA.

Transcriptome sequencing of essential marine brown and red algal species in China and its significance in algal biology and phylogeny

Most phaeophytes （brown algae） and rhodophytes （red algae） dwell exclusively in marine habitats and play important roles in marine ecology and biodiversity. Many of these brown and red algae are also important resources for industries such as food, medicine and materials due to their unique metabolisms and me-tabolites. However, many fundamental questions surrounding their origins, early diversification, taxonomy, and special metabolisms remain unsolved because of poor molecular bases in brown and red algal study. As part of the 1 000 Plant Project, the marine macroalgal transcriptomes of 19 Phaeophyceae species and 21 Rhodophyta species from China＇s coast were sequenced, covering a total of 2 phyla, 3 classes, 11 orders, and 19 families. An average of 2 Gb per sample and a total 87.3 Gb of RNA-seq raw data were generated. Approxi-mately 15 000 to 25 000 unigenes for each brown algal sample and 5 000 to 10 000 unigenes for each red algal sample were annotated and analyzed. The annotation results showed obvious differences in gene expres-sion and genome characteristics between red algae and brown algae;these differences could even be seen between multicellular and unicellular red algae. The results elucidate some fundamental questions about the phylogenetic taxonomy within phaeophytes and rhodophytes, and also reveal many novel metabolic pathways. These pathways include algal CO2 fixation and particular carbohydrate metabolisms, and related gene/gene family characteristics and evolution in brown and red algae. These findings build on known algal genetic information and significantly improve our understanding of algal biology, biodiversity, evolution, and potential utilization of these marine algae.