TY - JOUR
T1 - Evolutionary analysis of orthologous cDNA sequences from cultured and symbiotic dinoflagellate symbionts of reef-building corals (Dinophyceae
T2 - Symbiodinium)
AU - Voolstra, Christian R.
AU - Sunagawa, Shinichi
AU - Schwarz, Jodi A.
AU - Coffroth, Mary Alice
AU - Yellowlees, Dave
AU - Leggat, William
AU - Medina, Mónica
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank Andres Aguilar for helpful comments on the d N /d S analyses, Pilar Francino, Miriam Barlow and Michael DeSalvo for helpful comments on the manuscript. We would also like to thank Robert A. Kinzie III for initial donation of the Symbiodinium sp. CassKB8 culture and the Aquarium of Niagara for seawater. This study was supported through NSF awards BE-GEN 0313708 and IOS 0644438 (MM), OCE 0424996 (MAC) and through the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (DY, WL).
PY - 2009/6
Y1 - 2009/6
N2 - Dinoflagellates are ubiquitous marine and freshwater protists. The endosymbiotic relationship between dinoflagellates of the genus Symbiodinium (also known as zooxanthellae) and corals forms the basis of coral reefs. We constructed and analyzed a cDNA library from a cultured Symbiodinium species clade A (CassKB8). The majority of annotated ESTs from the Symbiodinium sp. CassKB8 library cover metabolic genes. Most of those belong to either carbohydrate or energy metabolism. In addition, components of extracellular signal transduction pathways and genes that play a role in cell-cell communication were identified. In a subsequent analysis, we determined all orthologous cDNA sequences between this library (1,484 unique sequences) and a library from a Symbiodinium species clade C (C3) (3,336 unique sequences) that was isolated directly from its symbiotic host. A set of 115 orthologs were identified between Symbiodinium sp. CassKB8 and Symbiodinium sp. C3. These orthologs were subdivided into three groups that show different characteristics and functions: conserved across eukaryotes (CE), dinoflagellate-specific (DS) and Symbiodinium-specific (SS). Orthologs conserved across eukaryotes are mainly comprised of housekeeping genes, photosynthesis-related transcripts and metabolic proteins, whereas the function for most of the dinoflagellate-specific orthologs remains unknown. A dN/dS analysis identified the highest ratio in a Symbiodinium-specific ortholog and evidence for positive selection in a dinoflagellate-specific gene. Evolution of genes and pathways in different dinoflagellates seems to be affected by different lifestyles, and a symbiotic lifestyle may affect population structure and strength of selection. This study is the first evolutionary comparative analysis of orthologs from two coral dinoflagellate symbionts.
AB - Dinoflagellates are ubiquitous marine and freshwater protists. The endosymbiotic relationship between dinoflagellates of the genus Symbiodinium (also known as zooxanthellae) and corals forms the basis of coral reefs. We constructed and analyzed a cDNA library from a cultured Symbiodinium species clade A (CassKB8). The majority of annotated ESTs from the Symbiodinium sp. CassKB8 library cover metabolic genes. Most of those belong to either carbohydrate or energy metabolism. In addition, components of extracellular signal transduction pathways and genes that play a role in cell-cell communication were identified. In a subsequent analysis, we determined all orthologous cDNA sequences between this library (1,484 unique sequences) and a library from a Symbiodinium species clade C (C3) (3,336 unique sequences) that was isolated directly from its symbiotic host. A set of 115 orthologs were identified between Symbiodinium sp. CassKB8 and Symbiodinium sp. C3. These orthologs were subdivided into three groups that show different characteristics and functions: conserved across eukaryotes (CE), dinoflagellate-specific (DS) and Symbiodinium-specific (SS). Orthologs conserved across eukaryotes are mainly comprised of housekeeping genes, photosynthesis-related transcripts and metabolic proteins, whereas the function for most of the dinoflagellate-specific orthologs remains unknown. A dN/dS analysis identified the highest ratio in a Symbiodinium-specific ortholog and evidence for positive selection in a dinoflagellate-specific gene. Evolution of genes and pathways in different dinoflagellates seems to be affected by different lifestyles, and a symbiotic lifestyle may affect population structure and strength of selection. This study is the first evolutionary comparative analysis of orthologs from two coral dinoflagellate symbionts.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.cbd.2008.11.001
DO - 10.1016/j.cbd.2008.11.001
M3 - Article
C2 - 20403741
AN - SCOPUS:64549129565
SN - 1744-117X
VL - 4
SP - 67
EP - 74
JO - Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology - Part D: Genomics and Proteomics
JF - Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology - Part D: Genomics and Proteomics
IS - 2
ER -