Biotic interactions as drivers of algal origin and evolution

Abstract

Contents 670 I. 671 II. 671 III. 676 IV. 678 678 References 678 SUMMARY: Biotic interactions underlie life's diversity and are the lynchpin to understanding its complexity and resilience within an ecological niche. Algal biologists have embraced this paradigm, and studies building on the explosive growth in omics and cell biology methods have facilitated the in-depth analysis of nonmodel organisms and communities from a variety of ecosystems. In turn, these advances have enabled a major revision of our understanding of the origin and evolution of photosynthesis in eukaryotes, bacterial-algal interactions, control of massive algal blooms in the ocean, and the maintenance and degradation of coral reefs. Here, we review some of the most exciting developments in the field of algal biotic interactions and identify challenges for scientists in the coming years. We foresee the development of an algal knowledgebase that integrates ecosystem-wide omics data and the development of molecular tools/resources to perform functional analyses of individuals in isolation and in populations. These assets will allow us to move beyond mechanistic studies of a single species towards understanding the interactions amongst algae and other organisms in both the laboratory and the field.

Company matters: The presence of other genotypes alters traits and intraspecific selection in an Arctic diatom under climate change

“…A similar effect has been observed in incubations of a coccolithophore (Bach et al, 2018). However, direct evidence for such mechanisms in phytoplankton is rare and mainly descriptive (Brodie et al, 2017;Lima-Mendez et al, 2015). Explanations include direct and indirect competitive interactions (Collins, 2010), for example, by chemical cues, mutual facilitation between genotypes (John et al, 2015), nutrient partitioning (Vanelslander et al, 2009), or interactions with the prokaryotic microbiome (Amin et al, 2015;Camarena-Gomez et al, 2018).…”

Nucleotide Transport and Metabolism in Diatoms

“…Interestingly, their evolutionary origin can neither be traced back to cyanobacteria (cyanobacteria, however, do possess NTT-HEAT domain fusion proteins [41]), nor to the eukaryotic non-photosynthetic ancestor of algae and plants with primary plastids. This gave rise to hypotheses of horizontal transfer of NTT genes from ancestors of infectious intracellular bacteria to the ancestor of photosynthetic eukaryotes during or preceding endosymbiosis with the plastid ancestor, known as the "menage a trois" hypothesis [6,69,70]. This hypothesis is based on the manipulation of the host glycogen metabolism by extant chlamydiae, and on phylogenies of a number of genes.…”

“…In the oceans, diatoms are a particularly dominant group of eukaryotic phytoplankton, by species numbers as well as by their combined productivity [1][2][3]. Like in all photosynthetic eukaryotes, their photosynthetic cell organelles, the plastids, go back to cyanobacterial ancestors, which were taken up by eukaryotes in an endosymbiosis that led to the evolution of the organelle [4][5][6][7]. Plastids that directly evolved from cyanobacteria via prokaryote-eukaryote endosymbiosis are called primary plastids.…”

Plasmid‐Associated Organelle Genome Evolution In Red Algae

“…In the case of plastids, a heterotrophic eukaryote engulfed the prokaryotic symbiont, followed by the many complex processes associated with organellogenesis (Brodie et al. ). In general, eukaryotic organelles are maternally inherited and lack genetic recombination (Bhattacharya et al.…”

“…Mitochondria and plastids are derived through endosymbiosis events from a-proteobacteria and cyanobacteria, respectively. In the case of plastids, a heterotrophic eukaryote engulfed the prokaryotic symbiont, followed by the many complex processes associated with organellogenesis (Brodie et al 2017). In general, eukaryotic organelles are maternally inherited and lack genetic recombination , Timmis et al 2004, thereby providing powerful phylogenetic markers (e.g., Yang et al 2015, Costa et al 2016, Lee et al 2016a, D ıaz-Tapia et al 2017.…”