The Antarctic sea ice alga Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L provides insights into adaptive patterns of chloroplast evolution ...

• Main Authors: Zhang, Zhenhua, An, Meiling, Miao, Jinlai, Gu, Zhiqiang, Liu, Chang, Zhong, Bojian
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: figshare 2018
• Subjects: Genetics; FOS Biological sciences; Evolutionary Biology; Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified; Ecology; Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified; Inorganic Chemistry; FOS Chemical sciences; Plant Biology; Computational Biology; Antarc*; Antarctic; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4058195; https://springernature.figshare.com/collections/The_Antarctic_sea_ice_alga_Chlamydomonas_sp_ICE-L_provides_insights_into_adaptive_patterns_of_chloroplast_evolution/4058195

Abstract Background The ice alga Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L is the main contributor to primary productivity in Antarctic sea ice ecosystems and is well adapted to the extremely harsh environment. However, the adaptive mechanism of Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L to sea-ice environment remains unclear. To study the adaptive strategies in Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L, we investigated the molecular evolution of chloroplast photosynthetic genes that are essential for the accumulation of carbohydrate and energy living in Antarctic sea ice. Results The 60 chloroplast protein-coding genes of Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L were obtained, and the branch-site test detected significant signatures of positive selection on atpB, psaB, and rbcL genes in Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L associated with the photosynthetic machinery. These positively selected genes were further identified as being under convergent evolution between Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L and the halotolerant alga Dunaliella salina. Conclusions Our study provides evidence that the ...