Ancient gene transfer from algae to animals: Mechanisms and evolutionary significance

BMC Evolutionary Biology

Jinling Huang¹  Jianfan Wen³  Yong Zou²  Guiling Sun¹  Jipei Yue¹  Ting Ni² 

[1] Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, 27858, USA;Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039, China;State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, 650223, China

关键词: Animal evolution;    Plastids;    Endosymbiosis;    Gene transfer;   

Others  :  1141099
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2148-12-83

 received in 2012-03-21, accepted in 2012-06-01,  发布年份 2012

【 摘 要 】

Background

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is traditionally considered to be rare in multicellular eukaryotes such as animals. Recently, many genes of miscellaneous algal origins were discovered in choanoflagellates. Considering that choanoflagellates are the existing closest relatives of animals, we speculated that ancient HGT might have occurred in the unicellular ancestor of animals and affected the long-term evolution of animals.

Results

Through genome screening, phylogenetic and domain analyses, we identified 14 gene families, including 92 genes, in the tunicate Ciona intestinalis that are likely derived from miscellaneous photosynthetic eukaryotes. Almost all of these gene families are distributed in diverse animals, suggesting that they were mostly acquired by the common ancestor of animals. Their miscellaneous origins also suggest that these genes are not derived from a particular algal endosymbiont. In addition, most genes identified in our analyses are functionally related to molecule transport, cellular regulation and methylation signaling, suggesting that the acquisition of these genes might have facilitated the intercellular communication in the ancestral animal.

Conclusions

Our findings provide additional evidence that algal genes in aplastidic eukaryotes are not exclusively derived from historical plastids and thus important for interpreting the evolution of eukaryotic photosynthesis. Most importantly, our data represent the first evidence that more anciently acquired genes might exist in animals and that ancient HGT events have played an important role in animal evolution.

【 授权许可】

   
2012 Ni et al.;licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

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