Single-residue insertion switches the quaternary structure and exciton states of cryptophyte light-harvesting proteins.

Observation of coherent oscillations in the 2D electronic spectra (2D ES) of photosynthetic proteins has led researchers to ask whether nontrivial quantum phenomena are biologically significant. Coherent oscillations have been reported for the soluble light-harvesting phycobiliprotein (PBP) antenna isolated from cryptophyte algae. To probe the link between spectral properties and protein structure, we determined crystal structures of three PBP light-harvesting complexes isolated from different species. Each PBP is a dimer of αß subunits in which the structure of the αß monomer is conserved. However, we discovered two dramatically distinct quaternary conformations, one of which is specific to the genus Hemiselmis. Because of steric effects emerging from the insertion of a single amino acid, the two αß monomers are rotated by ∼73° to an "open" configuration in contrast to the "closed" configuration of other cryptophyte PBPs. This structural change is significant for the light-harvesting function because it disrupts the strong excitonic coupling between two central chromophores in the closed form. The 2D ES show marked cross-peak oscillations assigned to electronic and vibrational coherences in the closed-form PC645. However, such features appear to be reduced, or perhaps absent, in the open structures. Thus cryptophytes have evolved a structural switch controlled by an amino acid insertion to modulate excitonic interactions and therefore the mechanisms used for light harvesting.

Chromophore composition of the phycobiliprotein Cr-PC577 from the cryptophyte Hemiselmis pacifica.

The cryptophyte phycocyanin Cr-PC577 from Hemiselmis pacifica is a close relative of Cr-PC612 found in Hemiselmis virescens and Hemiselmis tepida. The two biliproteins differ in that Cr-PC577 lacks the major peak at around 612 nm in the absorption spectrum. Cr-PC577 was thus purified and characterized with respect to its bilin chromophore composition. Like other cryptophyte phycobiliproteins, Cr-PC577 is an (αß)(α'ß) heterodimer with phycocyanobilin (PCB) bound to the α-subunits. While one chromophore of the ß-subunit is also PCB, mass spectrometry identified an additional chromophore with a mass of 585 Da at position ß-Cys-158. This mass can be attributed to either a dihydrobiliverdin (DHBV), mesobiliverdin (MBV), or bilin584 chromophore. The doubly linked bilin at position ß-Cys-50 and ß-Cys-61 could not be identified unequivocally but shares spectral features with DHBV. We found that Cr-PC577 possesses a novel chromophore composition with at least two different chromophores bound to the ß-subunit. Overall, our data contribute to a better understanding of cryptophyte phycobiliproteins and furthermore raise the question on the biosynthetic pathway of cryptophyte chromophores.

Molecular structures reveal the origin of spectral variation in cryptophyte light harvesting antenna proteins.

In addition to their membrane-bound chlorophyll a/c light-harvesting antenna, the cryptophyte algae have evolved a unique phycobiliprotein antenna system located in the thylakoid lumen. The basic unit of this antenna consists of two copies of an αß protomer where the α and ß subunits scaffold different combinations of a limited number of linear tetrapyrrole chromophores. While the ß subunit is highly conserved, encoded by a single plastid gene, the nuclear-encoded α subunits have evolved diversified multigene families. It is still unclear how this sequence diversity results in the spectral diversity of the mature proteins. By careful examination of three newly determined crystal structures in comparison with three previously obtained, we show how the α subunit amino acid sequences control chromophore conformations and hence spectral properties even when the chromophores are identical. Previously we have shown that α subunits control the quaternary structure of the mature αß.αß complex (either open or closed), however, each species appeared to only harbor a single quaternary form. Here we show that species of the Hemiselmis genus contain expressed α subunit genes that encode both distinct quaternary structures. Finally, we have discovered a common single-copy gene (expressed into protein) consisting of tandem copies of a small α subunit that could potentially scaffold pairs of light harvesting units. Together, our results show how the diversity of the multigene α subunit family produces a range of mature cryptophyte antenna proteins with differing spectral properties, and the potential for minor forms that could contribute to acclimation to varying light regimes.

Chlamydial genes shed light on the evolution of photoautotrophic eukaryotes.

BACKGROUND: Chlamydiae are obligate intracellular bacteria of protists, invertebrates and vertebrates, but have not been found to date in photosynthetic eukaryotes (algae and embryophytes). Genes of putative chlamydial origin, however, are present in significant numbers in sequenced genomes of photosynthetic eukaryotes. It has been suggested that such genes were acquired by an ancient horizontal gene transfer from Chlamydiae to the ancestor of photosynthetic eukaryotes. To further test this hypothesis, an extensive search for proteins of chlamydial origin was performed using several recently sequenced algal genomes and EST databases, and the proteins subjected to phylogenetic analyses. RESULTS: A total of 39 proteins of chlamydial origin were retrieved from the photosynthetic eukaryotes analyzed and their identity verified through phylogenetic analyses. The distribution of the chlamydial proteins among four groups of photosynthetic eukaryotes (Viridiplantae, Rhodoplantae, Glaucoplantae, Bacillariophyta) was complex suggesting multiple acquisitions and losses. Evidence is presented that all except one of the chlamydial genes originated from an ancient endosymbiosis of a chlamydial bacterium into the ancestor of the Plantae before their divergence into Viridiplantae, Rhodoplantae and Glaucoplantae, i.e. more than 1.1 BYA. The chlamydial proteins subsequently spread through secondary plastid endosymbioses to other eukaryotes. Of 20 chlamydial proteins recovered from the genomes of two Bacillariophyta, 10 were of rhodoplant, and 10 of viridiplant origin suggesting that they were acquired by two different secondary endosymbioses. Phylogenetic analyses of concatenated sequences demonstrated that the viridiplant secondary endosymbiosis likely occurred before the divergence of Chlorophyta and Streptophyta. CONCLUSION: We identified 39 proteins of chlamydial origin in photosynthetic eukaryotes signaling an ancient invasion of the ancestor of the Plantae by a chlamydial bacterium accompanied by horizontal gene transfer. Subsequently, chlamydial proteins spread through secondary endosymbioses to other eukaryotes. We conclude that intracellular chlamydiae likely persisted throughout the early history of the Plantae donating genes to their hosts that replaced their cyanobacterial/plastid homologs thus shaping early algal/plant evolution before they eventually vanished.

Revision of the Genus Chroomonas HANSGIRG: The Benefits of DNA-containing Specimens.

For years the genus Chroomonas was defined as being a cryptophyte with rectangular periplast plates, with a gullet and with biliprotein types PC 630 or 645. In phylogenetic trees the genus proved to be paraphyletic. Moreover, cells with hexagonal periplast plates were found in an SEM preparation from material of the type species C. nordstedtii. In this study, material of Hansgirg's C. nordstedtii was subjected to PCR and to sequencing of two short DNA tags. These tags allowed for an unambiguous identification of the real C. nordstedtii in the phylogeny of the blue-green cryptophytes. The genus Chroomonas corresponds to subclade 1, whereas subclades 3 and 4 do not belong to Chroomonas, if Hemiselmis is maintained. Additional examination by light and scanning electron microscopy and by spectrophotometry demonstrate that subclade 1 comprises only cells with hexagonal periplast plates and PC 630, whereas rectangular periplast plates are found only in subclades 3 and 4. Consequently the genus Chroomonas and its type species, C. nordstedtii, are revised and two novel species, C. debatzensis and C. gentoftensis sp. nov., are described.

Multiple cosmopolitan ecotypes within a microbial eukaryote morphospecies.

Microbial eukaryotes that are morphologically indistinguishable (i.e. 'morphospecies') tend to be genetically diverse. While most protist morphospecies have cosmopolitan distribution, it has been suggested that ribotypes (unique rRNA gene sequences) or rRNA sequence clusters do have biogeography and such clusters may correlate with particular (non-morphological) adaptations. We have studied this in the ciliated protozoan morphospecies Cyclidium glaucoma. Fifty-four isolates collected worldwide represented 31 distinct ribotypes. There was no evidence of biogeographic distribution patterns. For example, identical ribotypes occurred in samples from Argentina, Peru, Morocco, Russia and Ukraine; in samples from Denmark and Australia; and in samples from Great Salt Lake and hyperhaline ponds in Spain. The morphospecies Cyclidium glaucoma is euryhaline and occurs in freshwater, brackish water, seawater, and hyperhaline waters. Evidence suggests that one ribotype cluster occurs only in marine or brackish habitats, and another one has so far been found only in hyperhaline habitats. Two clades seem to occur only in freshwater, but one clade includes ribotypes that were found in freshwater as well as in brackish water.

Lineage-specific variations of congruent evolution among DNA sequences from three genomes, and relaxed selective constraints on rbcL in Cryptomonas (Cryptophyceae).

BACKGROUND: Plastid-bearing cryptophytes like Cryptomonas contain four genomes in a cell, the nucleus, the nucleomorph, the plastid genome and the mitochondrial genome. Comparative phylogenetic analyses encompassing DNA sequences from three different genomes were performed on nineteen photosynthetic and four colorless Cryptomonas strains. Twenty-three rbcL genes and fourteen nuclear SSU rDNA sequences were newly sequenced to examine the impact of photosynthesis loss on codon usage in the rbcL genes, and to compare the rbcL gene phylogeny in terms of tree topology and evolutionary rates with phylogenies inferred from nuclear ribosomal DNA (concatenated SSU rDNA, ITS2 and partial LSU rDNA), and nucleomorph SSU rDNA. RESULTS: Largely congruent branching patterns and accelerated evolutionary rates were found in nucleomorph SSU rDNA and rbcL genes in a clade that consisted of photosynthetic and colorless species suggesting a coevolution of the two genomes. The extremely accelerated rates in the rbcL phylogeny correlated with a shift from selection to mutation drift in codon usage of two-fold degenerate NNY codons comprising the amino acids asparagine, aspartate, histidine, phenylalanine, and tyrosine. Cysteine was the sole exception. The shift in codon usage seemed to follow a gradient from early diverging photosynthetic to late diverging photosynthetic or heterotrophic taxa along the branches. In the early branching taxa, codon preferences were changed in one to two amino acids, whereas in the late diverging taxa, including the colorless strains, between four and five amino acids showed changes in codon usage. CONCLUSION: Nucleomorph and plastid gene phylogenies indicate that loss of photosynthesis in the colorless Cryptomonas strains examined in this study possibly was the result of accelerated evolutionary rates that started already in photosynthetic ancestors. Shifts in codon usage are usually considered to be caused by changes in functional constraints and in gene expression levels. Thus, the increasing influence of mutation drift on codon usage along the clade may indicate gradually relaxed constraints and reduced expression levels on the rbcL gene, finally correlating with a loss of photosynthesis in the colorless Cryptomonas paramaecium strains.

Albanian violets of the section Melanium, their morphological variability, genetic similarity and their adaptations to serpentine or chalk soils.

Violets of the section Melanium from Albanian serpentine and chalk soils were examined for their taxonomic affiliations, their ability to accumulate heavy metals and their colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). The sequence analysis of the ITS1-5.8S rDNA-ITS2 region showed that all the sampled six Albanian violets grouped between Viola lutea and Viola arvensis, but not with Viola tricolor. The fine resolution of the ITS sequences was not sufficient for a further delimitation of the Albanian violets within the V. lutea-V. arvensis clade. Therefore, the Albanian violets were classified by a set of morphological characters. Viola albanica, Viola dukadjinica and Viola raunsiensis from serpentine soils as well as Viola aetolica from a chalk meadow were unambiguously identified, whereas the samples of Viola macedonica showed high morphological variability. All the violets, in both roots and shoots contained less than or similar levels of heavy metals as their harboring soils, indicating that they were heavy metal excluders. All the violets were strongly colonized by AMF with the remarkable exception of V. albanica. This violet lived as a scree creeper in shallow serpentine soil where the concentration of heavy metals was high but those of P, K and N were scarce.

Spectroscopic Studies of Cryptophyte Light Harvesting Proteins: Vibrations and Coherent Oscillations.

The first step of photosynthesis is the absorption of light by antenna complexes. Recent studies of light-harvesting complexes using two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy have revealed interesting coherent oscillations. Some contributions to those coherences are assigned to electronic coherence and therefore have implications for theories of energy transfer. To assign these femtosecond data and to gain insight into the interplay among electronic and vibrational resonances, we need detailed information on vibrations and coherences in the excited electronic state compared to the ground electronic state. Here, we used broad-band transient absorption and femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopies to record ground- and excited-state coherences in four related photosynthetic proteins: PC577 from Hemiselmis pacifica CCMP706, PC612 from Hemiselmis virescens CCAC 1635 B, PC630 from Chroomonas CCAC 1627 B (marine), and PC645 from Chroomonas mesostigmatica CCMP269. Two of those proteins (PC630 and PC645) have strong electronic coupling while the other two proteins (PC577 and PC612) have weak electronic coupling between the chromophores. We report vibrational spectra for the ground and excited electronic states of these complexes as well as an analysis of coherent oscillations observed in the broad-band transient absorption data.

Revision of the genus Cryptomonas (Cryptophyceae): a combination of molecular phylogeny and morphology provides insights into a long-hidden dimorphism.

Seventy-three strains of cryptophytes assigned to the genera Cryptomonas, Campylomonas or Chilomonas were studied by light microscopy, spectrophotometry and whole-mount electron microscopy. Twelve groups of strains were distinguished by light and whole mount electron microscopy using a combination of characters, mainly cell size, type of periplast and presence/absence and number of pyrenoids. However, characters previously used to distinguish Cryptomonas from Campylomonas (e.g. the type of periplast: polygonal periplast plates vs. a continuous periplast sheet) were found to occur together in dimorphic strains, indicating that periplast types relate to different life-history stages of a single taxon. To evaluate the taxonomic significance of the type of periplast and other characters previously used to distinguish genera and species, representatives of each strain group were subjected to molecular phylogenetic analyses using two nuclear ribosomal DNA regions (ITS2, partial LSU rDNA) and a nucleomorph ribosomal gene (SSU rDNA). The results of the phylogenetic study provide molecular evidence for a life history-dependent dimorphism in the genus Cryptomonas: the genus Campylomonas represents the alternate morph of Cryptomonas. Campylomonas and Chilomonas are reduced to synonyms of Cryptomonas, the genus Cryptomonas is revised and typified, two new species are described and six species are emended.

The soil flagellate Proleptomonas faecicola: cell organisation and phylogeny suggest that the only described free-living trypanosomatid is not a kinetoplastid but has cercomonad affinities.

The only putative free-living trypanosomatid is Proleptomonas faecicola described first by Woodcock in 1916 as a coprophilic flagellate with striking Leptomonas-like flagellar movement but lacking a kinetoplast. P faecicola was later identified by Sandon in 1927 as a widespread non-phagotrophic inhabitant of soils. No division stages were seen by either observer. An organism conforming to Woodcock's light microscope description has been isolated from tapwater and cultivated axenically in various serum-containing media. Division has been shown to occur in an aflagellate stage enclosed in a thin cyst wall. Electron microscopy of the flagellate stage reveals that, in addition to the long locomotory flagellum, a second non-motile flagellum is present attached to the body along its entire length. The flagellate's ultrastructure lacks all the major features of the Trypanosomatidae. The several mitochondria of Proleptomonas have tubular cristae and lie between intracytoplasmic microtubules originating as a loose cone associated with the flagellar basal bodies. This cytoskeleton is much reduced in the division cyst. A comparable Proleptomonas-like flagellate with similar division cysts has been observed in soil samples from farmland. Phylogenetic analysis based on SSU rRNA gene sequences suggests that the cultured organism identified here as Proleptomonas is unrelated to the Kinetoplastida and has affinities with the Phylum Cercozoa Cavalier-Smith, even though in morphology, life cycle and mode of feeding it bears little resemblance to any member of that diverse grouping.

Osmotolerance in the Cryptophyceae: jacks-of-all-trades in the Chroomonas Clade.

No detailed studies have been performed to date on osmotolerance in cryptophytes, although one species, Chroomonas africana, had previously been reported to grow in freshwater as well as seawater. This study focused on osmotolerance in Chroomonas. Growth at different osmolalities and parameters of contractile vacuole function were examined and compared across a high-resolution phylogeny. Two evolutionary lineages in the Chroomonas clade proved to be euryhaline. Ranges of osmotolerance depended not only on osmolality, but also on culture medium. All cryptophytes contained contractile vacuoles. In the euryhaline strain CCAP 978/08 contractile vacuoles could be observed even at an osmolality beyond that of seawater. In addition the cells accumulated floridoside, an osmoprotectant likely originating from the red algal carbohydrate metabolism of the complex rhodoplast. Further evidence for functional contractile vacuoles also in marine cryptophytes was provided by identification of contractile vacuole-specific genes in the genome of Guillardia theta.

Pitfalls of establishing DNA barcoding systems in protists: the cryptophyceae as a test case.

A DNA barcode is a preferrably short and highly variable region of DNA supposed to facilitate a rapid identification of species. In many protistan lineages, a lack of species-specific morphological characters hampers an identification of species by light or electron microscopy, and difficulties to perform mating experiments in laboratory cultures also do not allow for an identification of biological species. Thus, testing candidate barcode markers as well as establishment of accurately working species identification systems are more challenging than in multicellular organisms. In cryptic species complexes the performance of a potential barcode marker can not be monitored using morphological characters as a feedback, but an inappropriate choice of DNA region may result in artifactual species trees for several reasons. Therefore a priori knowledge of the systematics of a group is required. In addition to identification of known species, methods for an automatic delimitation of species with DNA barcodes have been proposed. The Cryptophyceae provide a mixture of systematically well characterized as well as badly characterized groups and are used in this study to test the suitability of some of the methods for protists. As species identification method the performance of blast in searches against badly to well-sampled reference databases has been tested with COI-5P and 5'-partial LSU rDNA (domains A to D of the nuclear LSU rRNA gene). In addition the performance of two different methods for automatic species delimitation, fixed thresholds of genetic divergence and the general mixed Yule-coalescent model (GMYC), have been examined. The study demonstrates some pitfalls of barcoding methods that have to be taken care of. Also a best-practice approach towards establishing a DNA barcode system in protists is proposed.

Concepts in protistology: species definitions and boundaries.

This paper summarises the Symposium 'Concepts in Protistology', during the VI European Congress of Protistology, Berlin, 25-29 July 2011. There is an increasing focus on cataloguing the number of species on earth, species barcoding initiatives, and the increasing need to reconcile molecular with morphological data in protists within a taxonomic framework. We identify several obstructions to defining species in protists, including the high incidence of asexuality, high levels of both morphological conservation and evolutionary convergence, high levels of genetic diversity that cannot so far be correlated with phenotypic characters, conflicting signals between both genetic and phenotypic taxonomic markers, and different requirements and challenges of species definition in different protist groups. We assert that there is no species 'category' for protists, and recommend that a working definition of species is clarified on a case-by-case basis. Thus, a consensus approach may emerge within protist groups, but any one approach is unlikely to encompass a wide phylogenetic range. However, as long as clarity of intent and method is maintained, the utility of the term 'species' in protists will also be maintained as a reproducible and convenient (if artificial) way of referring to particular lineages within a tightly defined context.

MOLECULAR PHYLOGENY OF PHYCOCYANIN-CONTAINING CRYPTOPHYTES: EVOLUTION OF BILIPROTEINS AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION(1).

Of 34 strains assigned to the cryptophyte genera Chroomonas Hansg., Hemiselmis Parke, and Komma D. R. A. Hill, distribution patterns of biliproteins, habitats, and sampling sites across a phylogenetic tree have been examined. The combined data set assembled from nuclear SSU rDNA, partial nuclear LSU rDNA, and nucleomorph SSU rDNA sequences comprised 4,083 positions and yielded an almost completely resolved tree. Spectrophotometry of the biliproteins and mapping of the different types of biliproteins onto the phylogenetic tree unveiled a complex evolutionary history. Different from other cryptophyte clades, the types of biliproteins were not generally congruent with clades or subclades of the genera Chroomonas (paraphyletic, phycocyanins [PCs] 645 or 630), Hemiselmis (PCs 612, 630 or phycoerythrin [PE] 555), and Komma (PC 645). At least one putative character reversal took place in the genus Chroomonas. Several changes in biliproteins have been found in the genus Hemiselmis, including two new biliprotein variants that probably originated by slight modifications from PC 612 and PE 555, respectively (PC 577 and PE 545/555). Freshwater and marine/brackish taxa were intermingled across the tree without displaying a specific pattern. In four terminal clades, genetically identical strains have been found to occur both in Europe and in the USA. The Chroomonas/Hemiselmis/Komma clade proved to be the most diverse of all cryptophyte clades concerning types of biliproteins and distribution of clades across marine or freshwater habitats.

Multiple independent losses of photosynthesis and differing evolutionary rates in the genus Cryptomonas (Cryptophyceae): combined phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequences of the nuclear and the nucleomorph ribosomal operons.

In this study, evidence for at least three independent losses of photosynthesis in the freshwater cryptophyte genus Cryptomonas is presented. The phylogeny of the genus was inferred by molecular phylogenetic analyses of the nuclear internal transcribed spacer 2 (nuclear ITS2), partial nuclear large subunit ribosomal DNA (LSU rDNA), and nucleomorph small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA, NM). Both concatenated and single data sets were used. In all data sets, the colorless Cryptomonas strains formed three different lineages, always supported by high bootstrap values (maximum parsimony, neighbor joining and maximum likelihood) and posterior probabilities (Bayesian analyses). The three leukoplast-bearing lineages displayed differing degrees of accelerated evolutionary rates in nuclear and nucleomorph rDNA. Also an increase in A + T-content in highly variable regions of the nucleomorph SSU rDNA was observed in one of the leukoplast-bearing lineages.

Actin phylogeny and intron distribution in bangiophyte red algae(rhodoplantae).

The molecular phylogeny of red algal actin genes, with emphasis on the paraphyletic "Bangiophyceae," was examined and compared to the rhodophyte SSU rDNA phylogeny. Nineteen new genomic actin sequences and seven SSU rDNA sequences were obtained and subjected to diverse phylogenetic analyses (maximum likelihood, distance/neighbor-joining, maximum parsimony, Bayesian analyses, and, with respect to protein sequences, also quartet puzzling). The actin trees confirmed most of the major clades found in the SSU rDNA phylogenies, although with a lower resolution. An actin gene duplication in the florideophycean lineage is reported, presumably related to an increased complexity of sexual reproduction. In addition, the distribution and characteristics of spliceosomal introns found in some of the actin sequences were examined. Introns were found in almost all florideophycean actin genes, whereas only two bangiophyte sequences contained introns. One intron in the florideophycean actin genes was also found in metazoan, and, shifted by one or two nucleotides, in a glaucocystophyte, a cryptophyte, and two fungal actin genes, and thus may be an ancient intron.