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Kleptoplasty and Plastid-Targeted Gene Diversity in Complex Algae: A Quantitative Phylogenomic Approach

Authors: Van Vlierberghe, Mick;

Kleptoplasty and Plastid-Targeted Gene Diversity in Complex Algae: A Quantitative Phylogenomic Approach

Abstract

This thesis investigates the origin and diversification of plastids in complex algae through the lens of nucleus-encoded plastid-targeted gene mosaicism. While plastid acquisition is classically explained by eukaryote-to-eukaryote endosymbiosis, kleptoplasty is gaining increasing attention as a plausible contributor to photosynthesis spread among eukaryotes, yet its potential role remains largely unexplored at the genomic scale. By combining a controlled phylogenomic framework with "PAGTI", an automated pipeline for taxonomy-aware and paraphyly-aware gene transfer inference from single-gene trees, this work quantifies donor diversity across multiple algal lineages using α-diversity indices. The results reveal that plastid-related gene mosaicism is structured rather than random and that donor α-diversity captures biologically meaningful differences among lineages, including unexpectedly high diversity in a genuine endosymbiotic system, i.e., chlorarachniophytes. Case studies in euglenids suggest a functional distinction between an early regime associated with plastid exploitation and maintenance, and a later regime linked to host metabolic integration, consistent with a kleptoplasty-driven pre-adaptive phase preceding permanent plastid acquisition. In peridinin-containing dinoflagellates, parallels with the euglenid system, including a three-membrane-bound plastid, combined with the independent diversification of at least three dinoflagellate subgroups toward kleptoplasty, raise questions about a possible kleptoplastic origin of the peridinin plastid itself, although a functional signature remains to be identified. This work proposes a reusable, reproducible framework linking phylogenomic transfer inference, donor diversity quantification, and functional interpretation to explore the plurality of evolutionary routes underlying plastid acquisition in complex algae.

Country
Belgium
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Keywords

plastid-targeted proteins, endosymbiosis, HGT, phylogenomics, complex plastids, phylogeny, Biochimie, biophysique & biologie moléculaire, EGT, Life sciences, ERGT, contamination, evolution, Sciences du vivant, dinoflagellates, photosynthetic pre-adaptation, Kleptoplasty, euglenids, complex algae, Biochemistry, biophysics & molecular biology

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
Green