Taxonomic distribution and origins of the extended LHC (light-harvesting complex) antenna protein superfamily

BMC Evolutionary Biology

Research Article

Henner Brinkmann¹  Iwona Adamska²  Johannes Engelken³ 

[1] Centre Robert Cedergren, Département de Biochimie, Université de Montréal, 2900 Boulevard Edouard-Montpetit, H3T1J4, Montréal, Québec, Canada;Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10, DE-78457, Konstanz, Germany;Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10, DE-78457, Konstanz, Germany;Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-UPF), Pompeu Fabra University, Dr. Aiguader 88, 08003, Barcelona, Spain;

关键词: Ferrochelatase;    Photosynthetic Eukaryote;    Endosymbiotic Gene Transfer;    PSBS Protein;    Complex Plastid;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2148-10-233

 received in 2010-04-23, accepted in 2010-07-30,  发布年份 2010

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe extended light-harvesting complex (LHC) protein superfamily is a centerpiece of eukaryotic photosynthesis, comprising the LHC family and several families involved in photoprotection, like the LHC-like and the photosystem II subunit S (PSBS). The evolution of this complex superfamily has long remained elusive, partially due to previously missing families.ResultsIn this study we present a meticulous search for LHC-like sequences in public genome and expressed sequence tag databases covering twelve representative photosynthetic eukaryotes from the three primary lineages of plants (Plantae): glaucophytes, red algae and green plants (Viridiplantae). By introducing a coherent classification of the different protein families based on both, hidden Markov model analyses and structural predictions, numerous new LHC-like sequences were identified and several new families were described, including the red lineage chlorophyll a/b-binding-like protein (RedCAP) family from red algae and diatoms. The test of alternative topologies of sequences of the highly conserved chlorophyll-binding core structure of LHC and PSBS proteins significantly supports the independent origins of LHC and PSBS families via two unrelated internal gene duplication events. This result was confirmed by the application of cluster likelihood mapping.ConclusionsThe independent evolution of LHC and PSBS families is supported by strong phylogenetic evidence. In addition, a possible origin of LHC and PSBS families from different homologous members of the stress-enhanced protein subfamily, a diverse and anciently paralogous group of two-helix proteins, seems likely. The new hypothesis for the evolution of the extended LHC protein superfamily proposed here is in agreement with the character evolution analysis that incorporates the distribution of families and subfamilies across taxonomic lineages. Intriguingly, stress-enhanced proteins, which are universally found in the genomes of green plants, red algae, glaucophytes and in diatoms with complex plastids, could represent an important and previously missing link in the evolution of the extended LHC protein superfamily.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
© Engelken et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2010. This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.