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Cell Walls and Surfaces, Reproduction, Photosynthesis pp 145–157Cite as

The evolution of algal chloroplasts

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Part of the book series: Experimental Phycology ((PHYCOLOGY,volume 1))

Abstract

The algae are not a natural assemblage of organisms. Rather they are a diverse group of protists and fungi which have acquired chloroplasts in various ways, in some groups directly from symbiotic photosynthetic prokaryotes and in others from symbiotic eukaryotic algae. The new techniques for rapidly sequencing ribosomal RNA, discussed by Adoutte in this volume, are producing evolutionary trees which are giving us a clearer understanding of the true relationships between different eukaryotes. In Fig. 1, I have drawn an evolutionary tree based on the sequences of the small subunit ribosomal RNA of a number of eukaryotes. The most ancient eukaryotes whose ribosomal RNA has been sequenced to date are Giardia lamblia, a parasitic diplomonad, and Vairimorpha necatrix, a microsporidian. Neither of these protists has mitochondria, and it is possible that these ancient eukaryotes evolved prior to the acquisition of mitochondria. Also ancient are the trypanosomes and Euglena. Somewhat later Dictyostelium evolved, but then came an explosive radiation of many protist groups, fungi, plants and animals. In this tree, I have put in boldface lettering those groups which contain species with chloroplasts. A glance at the tree shows that the algae are polyphyletic. Euglenoids evolved very early and are related to trypanosomes. The dinoflagellates, which many have assumed to be an ancient group because of the presence of a mesokaryotic nucleus (Loeblich, 1976), in fact evolved late and are related to ciliates. The brown algae and Chrysophytes are related to each other and to the Oomycetes, a relationship long suspected due to the presence of heterokont flagella in each group. Higher plants and green algae form a natural assemblage. The fact that organisms with chloroplasts appear on different branches of the tree indicates that different groups have acquired chloroplasts independently of each other. In this symposium presentation, I will summarize our present understanding of how chloroplasts evolved in the different groups of algae.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Avenue Docteur Penfield, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1B1, Canada

    Sarah P. Gibbs

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  1. Sarah P. Gibbs
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Pflanzenphysiologisches, Institut der Universität, Untere Karspüle 2, 3400, Göttingen, Germany

    Wolfgang Wiessner  & David G. Robinson  & 

  2. The University of Texas at Austin, 78712, Austin, TX, USA

    Richard C. Starr Ph. D.

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© 1990 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Gibbs, S.P. (1990). The evolution of algal chloroplasts. In: Wiessner, W., Robinson, D.G., Starr, R.C. (eds) Cell Walls and Surfaces, Reproduction, Photosynthesis. Experimental Phycology, vol 1. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-48652-4_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-48652-4_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-48654-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-48652-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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