RT Journal Article
T1 Horizontal Gene Transfer of Phytochelatin Synthases from Bacteria to Extremophilic Green Algae
A1 Olsson, Sanna
A1 Penacho, Vanessa
A1 Puente Sánchez, Fernando
A1 Díaz del Toro, Silvia
A1 Gonzalez Pastor, José Eduardo
A1 Aguilera, Ángeles
AB Transcriptomic sequencing together with bioinformatic analyses and an automated annotation process led us to identify novel phytochelatin synthase (PCS) genes from two extremophilic green algae (Chlamydomonas acidophila and Dunaliella acidophila). These genes are of intermediate length compared to known PCS genes from eukaryotes and PCS-like genes from prokaryotes. A detailed phylogenetic analysis gives new insight into the complicated evolutionary history of PCS genes and provides evidence for multiple horizontal gene transfer events from bacteria to eukaryotes within the gene family. A separate subgroup containing PCS-like genes within the PCS gene family is not supported since the PCS genes are monophyletic only when the PCS-like genes are included. The presence and functionality of the novel genes in the organisms were verified by genomic sequencing and qRT-PCR. Furthermore, the novel PCS gene in Chlamydomonas acidophila showed very strong induction by cadmium. Cloning and expression of the gene in Escherichia coli clearly improves its cadmium resistance. The gene in Dunaliella was not induced, most likely due to gene duplication.
PB Springer Link
SN 0095-3628
YR 2017
FD 2017-01
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/17993
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/17993
LA eng
NO Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO)
DS Docta Complutense
RD 22 abr 2025