Nuclear genome sequence of the plastid-lacking cryptomonad Goniomonas avonlea provides insights into the evolution of secondary plastids
- Ugo Cenci†,
- Shannon J. Sibbald†,
- Bruce A. Curtis,
- Ryoma Kamikawa,
- Laura Eme,
- Daniel Moog,
- Bernard Henrissat,
- Eric Maréchal,
- Malika Chabi,
- Christophe Djemiel,
- Andrew J. Roger,
- Eunsoo Kim and
- John M. Archibald
The evolution of photosynthesis has been a major driver in eukaryotic diversification. Eukaryotes have acquired plastids (chloroplasts) either directly via the engulfment and integration of a photosynthetic cyanobacterium (primary endosymbiosis) or indirectly by engulfing a photosynthetic eukaryote (secondary or tertiary endosymbiosis). The timing and frequency of secondary endosymbiosis during eukaryotic evolution is currently unclear but may be resolved in part by studying cryptomonads, a group of single-celled eukaryotes comprised of both photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic species.
The Go. avonleagenome sheds light on the physiology of heterotrophic cryptomonads and serves as an important reference point for studying the metabolic “rewiring” that took place during secondary plastid integration in the ancestor of modern-day Cryptophyceae.
Common Design 