Brown algae (Phaeophyceae) are complex photosynthetic organisms with a very different evolutionary history to green plants, to which they are only distantly related(1). These seaweeds are the dominant species in rocky coastal ecosystems and they exhibit many interesting adaptations to these, often harsh, environments. Brown algae are also one of only a small number of eukaryotic lineages that have evolved complex multicellularity (Fig. 1). We report the 214 million base pair (Mbp) genome sequence of the filamentous seaweed Ectocarpus siliculosus (Dillwyn) Lyngbye, a model organism for brown algae(2-5), closely related to the kelps(6,7) (Fig. 1). Genome features such as the presence of an extended set of light-harvesting and pigment biosynthesis genes and new metabolic processes such as halide metabolism help explain the ability of this organism to cope with the highly variable tidal environment. The evolution of multicellularity in this lineage is correlated with the presence of a rich array of signal transduction genes. Of particular interest is the presence of a family of receptor kinases, as the independent evolution of related molecules has been linked with the emergence of multicellularity in both the animal and green plant lineages. The Ectocarpus genome sequence represents an important step towards developing this organism as a model species, providing the possibility to combine genomic and genetic(2) approaches to explore these and other(4,5) aspects of brown algal biology further

Red seaweeds are key components of coastal ecosystems and are economically important as food and as a source of gelling agents, but their genes and genomes have received little attention. Here we report the sequencing of the 105-Mbp genome of the florideophyte Chondrus crispus (Irish moss) and the annotation of the 9,606 genes. The genome features an unusual structure characterized by gene-dense regions surrounded by repeat-rich regions dominated by transposable elements. Despite its fairly large size, this genome shows features typical of compact genomes, e.g., on average only 0.3 introns per gene, short introns, low median distance between genes, small gene families, and no indication of large-scale genome duplication. The genome also gives insights into the metabolism of marine red algae and adaptations to the marine environment, including genes related to halogen metabolism, oxylipins, and multicellularity (microRNA processing and transcription factors). Particularly interesting are features related to carbohydrate metabolism, which include a minimalistic gene set for starch biosynthesis, the presence of cellulose synthases acquired before the primary endosymbiosis showing the polyphyly of cellulose synthesis in Archaeplastida, and cellulases absent in terrestrial plants as well as the occurrence of a mannosylglycerate synthase potentially originating from a marine bacterium. To explain the observations on genome structure and gene content, we propose an evolutionary scenario involving an ancestral red alga that was driven by early ecological forces to lose genes, introns, and intergenetic DNA; this loss was followed by an expansion of genome size as a consequence of activity of transposable elements.T he red algae, together with the glaucophytes and the Chloroplastida, are members of the Archaeplastida, the phylogenetic group formed during the primary endosymbiosis event that gave rise to the first photosynthetic eukaryote. Red algal genomes, both plastid and nuclear, also contributed, via secondary endosymbiosis, to several other eukaryotic lineages, including

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Brown algae represent a major component of littoral and sublittoral zones in temperate and subtropical ecosystems. An essential adaptive feature of this independent eukaryotic lineage is the ability to couple oxidative reactions resulting from exposure to sunlight and air with the halogenations of various substrates, thereby addressing various biotic and abiotic stresses i.e., defense against predators, tissue repair, holdfast adhesion, and protection against reactive species generated by oxidative processes. Whereas marine organisms mainly make use of bromine to increase the biological activity of secondary metabolites, some orders of brown algae such as Laminariales have also developed a striking capability to accumulate and to use iodine in physiological adaptations to stress. We review selected aspects of the halogenated metabolism of macrophytic brown algae in the light of the most recent results, which point toward novel functions for iodide accumulation in kelps and the importance of bromination in cell wall modifications and adhesion properties of brown algal propagules. The importance of halogen speciation processes ranges from microbiology to biogeochemistry, through enzymology, cellular biology and ecotoxicology.

In the environment, vanadium-dependent haloperoxidases (VHPO) are likely to play a key role in the production of biogenic organo-halogens. These enzymes contain vanadate as a prosthetic group, and catalyze, in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, the oxidation of halide ions (Cl -, Br -or I -). They are classified according to the most electronegative halide that they can oxidize. Since the first discovery of a vanadium bromoperoxidase in the brown alga Ascophyllum nodosum thirty years ago, structural and mechanistic studies have been mainly conducted on two types of VHPO, chloro-and bromoperoxidases, and more recently on a vanadium-dependent iodoperoxidase. In this review, we highlight the main progress obtained on the structure-function relation of these proteins, based on biochemistry, crystallography and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The comparison of 3D protein structures of the different VHPO helped identify the residues that govern the molecular mechanisms of catalysis and specificity of VHPO. Vanadium K-edge XAS gave further important insight to understand the fine changes around the vanadium cofactor during the catalytic cycle. The combination of different structural approaches, at different scales of resolution, shed new light on biological vanadium coordination in the active site, and its importance for the catalytic cycle and halide specificity of vanadium haloperoxidases. Keywords (max 6)Vanadium-dependent haloperoxidase, vanadium coordination, crystallographic structure, structural evolution, oligomeric state, X-ray absorption spectroscopy on biological vanadium

Ectocarpus siliculosus is a cosmopolitan brown alga with capacity to thrive in copper enriched environments. Analysis of copper toxicity was conducted in two strains of E. siliculosus isolated from (i) an uncontaminated coast in southern Peru (Es32) and (ii) a copper polluted rocky beach in northern Chile (Es524). Es32 was more sensitive than Es524, with toxicity detected at 50 microg/L Cu, whereas Es524 displayed negative effects only when exposed to 250 microg/L Cu. Differential soluble proteome profiling for each strain exposed to sub-lethal copper levels allowed to identify the induction of proteins related to processes such as energy production, glutathione metabolism as well as accumulation of HSPs. In addition, the inter-strain comparison of stress-related proteomes led to identify features related to copper tolerance in Es524, such as striking expression of a PSII Mn-stabilizing protein and a Fucoxanthine chlorophyll a-c binding protein. Es524 also expressed specific stress-related enzymes such as RNA helicases from the DEAD box families and a vanadium-dependent bromoperoxidase. These observations were supported by RT-qPCR for some of the identified genes and an enzyme activity assay for vanadium-dependent bromoperoxidase. Therefore, the occurrence of two different phenotypes within two distinct E. siliculosus strains studied at the physiological and proteomic levels strongly suggest that persistent copper stress may represent a selective force leading to the development of strains genetically adapted to copper contaminated sites.

ORCID ID: 0000-0001-7358-6282 (P.P.).Brown algal phlorotannins are structural analogs of condensed tannins in terrestrial plants and, like plant phenols, they have numerous biological functions. Despite their importance in brown algae, phlorotannin biosynthetic pathways have been poorly characterized at the molecular level. We found that a predicted type III polyketide synthase in the genome of the brown alga Ectocarpus siliculosus, PKS1, catalyzes a major step in the biosynthetic pathway of phlorotannins (i.e., the synthesis of phloroglucinol monomers from malonyl-CoA). The crystal structure of PKS1 at 2.85-Å resolution provided a good quality electron density map showing a modified Cys residue, likely connected to a long chain acyl group. An additional pocket not found in other known type III PKSs contains a reaction product that might correspond to a phloroglucinol precursor. In vivo, we also found a positive correlation between the phloroglucinol content and the PKS III gene expression level in cells of a strain of Ectocarpus adapted to freshwater during its reacclimation to seawater. The evolution of the type III PKS gene family in Stramenopiles suggests a lateral gene transfer event from an actinobacterium.

Different haloperoxidases, one specific for the oxidation of iodide and another that can oxidize both iodide and bromide, were separated from the sporophytes of the brown alga Laminaria digitata and purified to electrophoretic homogeneity. The iodoperoxidase activity was approximately seven times more efficient than the bromoperoxidase fraction in the oxidation of iodide. The two enzymes were markedly different in their molecular masses, trypsin digestion profiles, and immunological characteristics. Also, in contrast to the iodoperoxidase, bromoperoxidases were present in the form of multimeric aggregates of near-identical proteins. Two full-length haloperoxidase cDNAs were isolated from L. digitata, using haloperoxidase partial cDNAs that had been identified previously in an Expressed Sequence Tag analysis of the life cycle of this species (1). Sequence comparisons, mass spectrometry, and immunological analyses of the purified bromoperoxidase, as well as the activity of the protein expressed in Escherichia coli, all indicate that these almost identical cDNAs encode bromoperoxidases. Haloperoxidases form a large multigenic family in L. digitata, and the potential functions of haloperoxidases in this kelp are discussed.Brown algae from the order Laminariales (kelps) are characterized by a heteromorphic haplodiplophasic life cycle alternating between a microscopic filamentous gametophyte and a macroscopic sporophyte, which can reach several meters in length depending of the species. Kelps' sporophytes accumulate iodine to more than 30,000 times the concentration of this element in seawater, up to levels as high as 1% of dry weight (e.g. see Refs. 2 and 3). Not much is known, however, on the iodine-concentrating mechanisms and on the biological functions of iodine in these kelps and other marine plants. Only one aspect of halogen metabolism, the production of volatile halocarbons, has attracted attention, because these compounds, and in particular the iodinated forms, have a significant impact on the chemistry of atmosphere (4, 5). In the biology of marine algae, volatile halocarbons are viewed as defense metabolites, i.e. products of the scavenging of activated oxygen species and/or potent biocides (6 -10).Halogen uptake (3) and the production of halo-organic compounds (6, 11) by marine algae are thought to involve vanadiumdependent haloperoxidases. Haloperoxidases catalyze the oxidation of halides, and they are named according to the most electronegative halide that they can oxidize; chloroperoxidases can catalyze the oxidation of chloride, as well as of bromide and iodide, bromoperoxidases (BPOs) 1 react with bromide and iodide, whereas iodoperoxidases (IPOs) are specific of iodide. The ability of vanadium-dependent haloperoxidases to halogenate a broad range of organic compounds of both commercial and pharmaceutical interest, as well as their high stability toward high temperatures, oxidative conditions, and in the presence of organic solvents, makes them good candidates for use in industrial biotransformations...