Biology and systematics of heterokont and haptophyte algae

Andersen, Robert A.

doi:10.3732/ajb.91.10.1508

Cited by 178 publications

(120 citation statements)

References 143 publications

(166 reference statements)

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“…The key role of prymnesiophytes in marine CO 2 fixation we show here, is entirely consistent with new estimates of depth-integrated relative abundance of 19 0 -hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin, an accessory pigment considered characteristic of Haptophyta (though also present in a few other Heterokont algae, see Andersen, 2004), which indicate haptophytes dominate chlorophyll-a-normalized phytoplankton standing stock in the modern ocean (Liu et al, 2009). Further group-specific CO 2 fixation data collected at basin scales will be critical to assess the significance of these prymnesiophytes in global primary production.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Significant CO2 fixation by small prymnesiophytes in the subtropical and tropical northeast Atlantic Ocean

et al. 2010

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Global estimates indicate the oceans are responsible for approximately half of the carbon dioxide fixed on Earth. Organisms p5 lm in size dominate open ocean phytoplankton communities in terms of abundance and CO 2 fixation, with the cyanobacterial genera Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus numerically the most abundant and more extensively studied compared with small eukaryotes. However, the contribution of specific taxonomic groups to marine CO 2 fixation is still poorly known. In this study, we show that among the phytoplankton, small eukaryotes contribute significantly to CO 2 fixation (44%) because of their larger cell volume and thereby higher cell-specific CO 2 fixation rates. Within the eukaryotes, two groups, herein called Euk-A and Euk-B, were distinguished based on their flow cytometric signature. Euk-A, the most abundant group, contained cells 1.8±0.1 lm in size while Euk-B was the least abundant but cells were larger (2.8±0.2 lm). The Euk-B group comprising prymnesiophytes (73±13%) belonging largely to lineages with no close cultured counterparts accounted for up to 38% of the total primary production in the subtropical and tropical northeast Atlantic Ocean, suggesting a key role of this group in oceanic CO 2 fixation.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Significant CO2 fixation by small prymnesiophytes in the subtropical and tropical northeast Atlantic Ocean

et al. 2010

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“…Interestingly, these two classes have complementary distribution patterns across several transects (AMT, BIOSOPE, ARCTIC and AMBITION). The high Prymnesiophyceae signal detected across all ocean basins (Supplementary Table 3) supports the observation that 19 0 -hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin, a prymnesiophyte-specific pigment (though also present in a few other Heterokont algae, see Andersen, 2004), often dominates oceanic pigment analyses Liu et al, 2009). Recent fluorescent in situ hybridisation studies confirm the high abundance of these pico-prymnesiophytes in the Atlantic Ocean (Jardillier et al, 2010;Grob et al, 2011;Kirkham et al, 2011b), Indian Ocean and in open ocean regions of the Arctic Ocean .…”

Section: Ppe B-diversitysupporting

confidence: 62%

A global perspective on marine photosynthetic picoeukaryote community structure

et al. 2013

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A central goal in ecology is to understand the factors affecting the temporal dynamics and spatial distribution of microorganisms and the underlying processes causing differences in community structure and composition. However, little is known in this respect for photosynthetic picoeukaryotes (PPEs), algae that are now recognised as major players in marine CO 2 fixation. Here, we analysed dot blot hybridisation and cloning-sequencing data, using the plastid-encoded 16S rRNA gene, from seven research cruises that encompassed all four ocean biomes. We provide insights into global abundance, a-and b-diversity distribution and the environmental factors shaping PPE community structure and composition. At the class level, the most commonly encountered PPEs were Prymnesiophyceae and Chrysophyceae. These taxa displayed complementary distribution patterns, with peak abundances of Prymnesiophyceae and Chrysophyceae in waters of high (25:1) or low (12:1) nitrogen:phosphorus (N:P) ratio, respectively. Significant differences in phylogenetic composition of PPEs were demonstrated for higher taxonomic levels between ocean basins, using Unifrac analyses of clone library sequence data. Differences in composition were generally greater between basins (interbasins) than within a basin (intrabasin). These differences were primarily linked to taxonomic variation in the composition of Prymnesiophyceae and Prasinophyceae whereas Chrysophyceae were phylogenetically similar in all libraries. These data provide better knowledge of PPE community structure across the world ocean and are crucial in assessing their evolution and contribution to CO 2 fixation, especially in the context of global climate change.

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“…When the Phaeophyceae is embedded within the larger phylogeny of the heterokont algae based on a concatenated analysis of SSU rRNA and rbcL reported by Andersen [15], we see that this group as a whole contains species with larger cell type numbers compared to groups preceding the divergence of the Phaeophyceae within the clade and that these groups contain predominantly unicellular or colonial organisms with two to four cell types. For example, the species in the sister group of the Phaeophyceae, the raphidophytes, characteristically have two cell types (Fig.…”

Section: Cell Type Numbers Do Not Increase In All Lineagesmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…The first example of this approach employs a multi-locus, time calibrated phylogeny for the brown algae (Phaeophyceae) [14] and a broader phylogeny for the heterokont algae [15]. Mapping maximum NCT onto these phylogenies reveals no clearly discernable pattern within the phylogeny of the Phaeophyceae or the heterokont algae (Fig.…”

Section: Cell Type Numbers Do Not Increase In All Lineagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The number of cell types, information content, and the evolution of complex multicellularity

2014

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The number of different cell types (NCT) characterizing an organism is often used to quantify organismic complexity. This method results in the tautology that more complex organisms have a larger number of different kinds of cells, and that organisms with more different kinds of cells are more complex. This circular reasoning can be avoided (and simultaneously tested) when NCT is plotted against different measures of organismic information content (e.g., genome or proteome size). This approach is illustrated by plotting the NCT of representative diatoms, green and brown algae, land plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates against data for genome size (number of base-pairs), proteome size (number of amino acids), and proteome functional versatility (number of intrinsically disordered protein domains or residues). Statistical analyses of these data indicate that increases in NCT fail to keep pace with increases in genome size, but exceed a one-to-one scaling relationship with increasing proteome size and with increasing numbers of intrinsically disordered protein residues. We interpret these trends to indicate that comparatively small increases in proteome (and not genome size) are associated with disproportionate increases in NCT, and that proteins with intrinsically disordered domains enhance cell type diversity and thus contribute to the evolution of complex multicellularity.

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Biology and systematics of heterokont and haptophyte algae

Cited by 178 publications

References 143 publications

Significant CO2 fixation by small prymnesiophytes in the subtropical and tropical northeast Atlantic Ocean

Significant CO2 fixation by small prymnesiophytes in the subtropical and tropical northeast Atlantic Ocean

A global perspective on marine photosynthetic picoeukaryote community structure

The number of cell types, information content, and the evolution of complex multicellularity

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