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Phylogenomics of coral-infecting corallicolids reveal multiple independent losses of chlorophyll biosynthesis in apicomplexan parasites Jacko-Reynolds, Victoria K.L.; Kwong, Waldan K.; Livingston, Samuel J.; Trznadel, Morelia; Anthony M. Bonacolta; Lax, Gordon; Shivak, Jade; Irwin, Nick A.T.; Mark J.A. Vermeij; Javier del Campo; Keeling, Patrick J.
Description
The transition from free-living to parasitic lifestyles induces major shifts in evolution, and nowhere is this more acute than in apicomplexans; obligate intracellular parasites of animals that evolved from photosynthetic algae. In other cases where photosynthesis has been lost, including most apicomplexans, chlorophyll is also absent, but in coral-infecting apicomplexans (corallicolids), chlorophyll biosynthesis genes are retained in the plastid genome despite their lack of photosystems. This suggests that the loss of photosynthesis and chlorophyll were decoupled in this lineage, but because these observations are only based on plastid genomes, two fundamental questions remain unclear. First, how this impacted apicomplexan evolution as a whole is unclear because there are conflicting phylogenetic positions for corallicolids: plastid gene phylogenies place them at the base of the apicomplexans whereas nuclear rRNA places them with late-branching coccidians. Second, it is unclear if chlorophyll or a metabolic intermediate is synthesized, as most chlorophyll biosynthesis enzymes are encoded in the nucleus. To address these questions we have sequenced transcriptomes from two corallicolids, infecting Parazoanthus swiftii and Madracis mirabilis. Phylogenomic data strongly support a late-branching relationship with coccidians, perhaps specifically to the protococcidians. We also find evidence for the expression of nucleus-encoded enzymes involved in chlorophyll biosynthesis in corallicolids and protococcidians. Overall, we conclude that photosynthesis was lost at the origin of apicomplexans, but chlorophyll synthesis was nonetheless retained through most of the early evolution of the group, and then lost approximately nine times independently, emphasizing the impact of parallel evolutionary changes in parasitic transitions.
Item Metadata
| Title |
Phylogenomics of coral-infecting corallicolids reveal multiple independent losses of chlorophyll biosynthesis in apicomplexan parasites
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| Creator | |
| Contributor | |
| Date Issued |
2025-01-13
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| Description |
The transition from free-living to parasitic lifestyles induces major shifts in evolution, and nowhere is this more acute than in apicomplexans; obligate intracellular parasites of animals that evolved from photosynthetic algae. In other cases where photosynthesis has been lost, including most apicomplexans, chlorophyll is also absent, but in coral-infecting apicomplexans (corallicolids), chlorophyll biosynthesis genes are retained in the plastid genome despite their lack of photosystems. This suggests that the loss of photosynthesis and chlorophyll were decoupled in this lineage, but because these observations are only based on plastid genomes, two fundamental questions remain unclear. First, how this impacted apicomplexan evolution as a whole is unclear because there are conflicting phylogenetic positions for corallicolids: plastid gene phylogenies place them at the base of the apicomplexans whereas nuclear rRNA places them with late-branching coccidians. Second, it is unclear if chlorophyll or a metabolic intermediate is synthesized, as most chlorophyll biosynthesis enzymes are encoded in the nucleus. To address these questions we have sequenced transcriptomes from two corallicolids, infecting Parazoanthus swiftii and Madracis mirabilis. Phylogenomic data strongly support a late-branching relationship with coccidians, perhaps specifically to the protococcidians. We also find evidence for the expression of nucleus-encoded enzymes involved in chlorophyll biosynthesis in corallicolids and protococcidians. Overall, we conclude that photosynthesis was lost at the origin of apicomplexans, but chlorophyll synthesis was nonetheless retained through most of the early evolution of the group, and then lost approximately nine times independently, emphasizing the impact of parallel evolutionary changes in parasitic transitions.
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| Subject | |
| Geographic Location | |
| Type | |
| Date Available |
2024-09-17
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| Provider |
University of British Columbia Library
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| License |
CC-BY 4.0
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| DOI |
10.14288/1.0447735
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| URI | |
| Publisher DOI | |
| Rights URI | |
| Country |
Curaçao
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| Aggregated Source Repository |
Dataverse
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CC-BY 4.0