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For more than 140 years, pollen tube guidance in flowering plants has been thought to be mediated by chemoattractants derived from target ovules. However, there has been no convincing evidence of any particular molecule being the true attractant that actually controls the navigation of pollen tubes towards ovules. Emerging data indicate that two synergid cells on the side of the egg cell emit a diffusible, species-specific signal to attract the pollen tube at the last step of pollen tube guidance. Here we report that secreted, cysteine-rich polypeptides (CRPs) in a subgroup of defensin-like proteins are attractants derived from the synergid cells. We isolated synergid cells of Torenia fournieri, a unique plant with a protruding embryo sac, to identify transcripts encoding secreted proteins as candidate molecules for the chemoattractant(s). We found two CRPs, abundantly and predominantly expressed in the synergid cell, which are secreted to the surface of the egg apparatus. Moreover, they showed activity in vitro to attract competent pollen tubes of their own species and were named as LUREs. Injection of morpholino antisense oligomers against the LUREs impaired pollen tube attraction, supporting the finding that LUREs are the attractants derived from the synergid cells of T. fournieri.

Although dimorphic sexes have evolved repeatedly in multicellular eukaryotes, their origins are unknown. The mating locus (MT) of the sexually dimorphic multicellular green alga, Volvox carteri, specifies the production of eggs and sperm and has undergone a remarkable expansion and divergence relative to MT from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a closely related unicellular species that has equal-sized gametes. Transcriptome analysis revealed a rewired gametic expression program for Volvox MT genes relative to Chlamydomonas, and identified multiple gender-specific and sex-regulated transcripts. The retinoblastoma tumor suppressor homolog MAT3 is a Volvox MT gene that displays sexually regulated alternative splicing and evidence of gender-specific selection, both indicative of cooption into the sexual cycle. Thus, sex-determining loci impact the evolution of both sex-related and non-sex-related genes.

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The transition to multicellularity has occurred numerous times in all domains of life, yet its initial steps are poorly understood. The volvocine green algae are a tractable system for understanding the genetic basis of multicellularity including the initial formation of cooperative cell groups. Here we report the genome sequence of the undifferentiated colonial alga, Gonium pectorale, where group formation evolved by co-option of the retinoblastoma cell cycle regulatory pathway. Significantly, expression of the Gonium retinoblastoma cell cycle regulator in unicellular Chlamydomonas causes it to become colonial. The presence of these changes in undifferentiated Gonium indicates extensive group-level adaptation during the initial step in the evolution of multicellularity. These results emphasize an early and formative step in the evolution of multicellularity, the evolution of cell cycle regulation, one that may shed light on the evolutionary history of other multicellular innovations and evolutionary transitions.

Background: All previously reported eukaryotic nuclear genome sequences have been incomplete, especially in highly repeated units and chromosomal ends. Because repetitive DNA is important for many aspects of biology, complete chromosomal structures are fundamental for understanding eukaryotic cells. Our earlier, nearly complete genome sequence of the hot-spring red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae revealed several unique features, including just three ribosomal DNA copies, very few introns, and a small total number of genes. However, because the exact structures of certain functionally important repeated elements remained ambiguous, that sequence was not complete. Obviously, those ambiguities needed to be resolved before the unique features of the C. merolae genome could be summarized, and the ambiguities could only be resolved by completing the sequence. Therefore, we aimed to complete all previous gaps and sequence all remaining chromosomal ends, and now report the first nuclear-genome sequence for any eukaryote that is 100% complete.

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The complete nucleotide sequence of the plastid genome of the unicellular primitive red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae 10D (Cyanidiophyceae) was determined. The genome is a circular DNA composed of 149,987 bp with no inverted repeats. The G + C content of this plastid genome is 37.6%. The C. merolae plastid genome contains 243 genes, which are distributed on both strands and consist of 36 RNA genes (3 rRNAs, 31 tRNAs, tmRNA, and a ribonuclease P RNA component) and 207 protein genes, including unidentified open reading frames. The striking feature of this genome is the high degree of gene compaction; it has very short intergenic distances (approximately 40% of the protein genes were overlapped) and no genes have introns. This genome encodes several genes that are rarely found in other plastid genomes. A gene encoding a subunit of sulfate transporter (cysW) is the first to be identified in a plastid genome. The cysT and cysW genes are located in the C. merolae plastid genome in series, and they probably function together with other nuclear-encoded components of the sulfate transport system. Our phylogenetic results suggest that the Cyanidiophyceae, including C. merolae, are a basal clade within the red lineage plastids.