Ancient origin of the biosynthesis of lignin precursors

BACKGROUND: Lignin plays an important role in plant structural support and water transport, and is considered one of the hallmarks of land plants. The recent discovery of lignin or its precursors in various algae has raised questions on the evolution of its biosynthetic pathway, which could be much more ancient than previously thought. To determine the taxonomic distribution of the lignin biosynthesis genes, we screened all publicly available genomes of algae and their closest non-photosynthetic relatives, as well as representative land plants. We also performed phylogenetic analysis of these genes to decipher the evolution and origin(s) of lignin biosynthesis. RESULTS: Enzymes involved in making p-coumaryl alcohol, the simplest lignin monomer, are found in a variety of photosynthetic eukaryotes, including diatoms, dinoflagellates, haptophytes, cryptophytes as well as green and red algae. Phylogenetic analysis of these enzymes suggests that they are ancient and spread to some secondarily photosynthetic lineages when they acquired red and/or green algal endosymbionts. In some cases, one or more of these enzymes was likely acquired through lateral gene transfer (LGT) from bacteria. CONCLUSIONS: Genes associated with p-coumaryl alcohol biosynthesis are likely to have evolved long before the transition of photosynthetic eukaryotes to land. The original function of this lignin precursor is therefore unlikely to have been related to water transport. We suggest that it participates in the biological defense of some unicellular and multicellular algae. REVIEWERS: This article was reviewed by Mark Ragan, Uri Gophna, Philippe Deschamps

Global Trends of Usage of Chlorophyll Fluorescence and Projections for the Next Decade

Chlorophyll fluorescence is the most widely used set of techniques to probe photosynthesis and plant stress. Its great versatility has given rise to different routine methods to study plants and algae. The three main technical platforms are pulse amplitude modulation (PAM), fast rise of chlorophyll fluorescence, and fast repetition rate. Solar-induced fluorescence (SIF) has also gained interest in the last few years. Works have compared their advantages and their underlying theory, with many arguments advanced as to which method is the most accurate and useful. To date, no data has assessed the exact magnitude of popularity and influence for each methodology. In this work, we have taken the bibliometrics of the past decade for each of the four platforms, have evaluated the public scientific opinion toward each method, and possibly identified a geographical bias. We used various metrics to assess influence and popularity for the four routine platforms compared in this study and found that, overall, PAM currently has the highest values, although the more recent SIF has increased in popularity rapidly during the last decade. This indicates that PAM is currently one of the fundamental tools in chlorophyll fluorescence

Ancient origin of the biosynthesis of lignin precursors

Background: Lignin plays an important role in plant structural support and water transport, and is considered one of the hallmarks of land plants. The recent discovery of lignin or its precursors in various algae has raised questions on the evolution of its biosynthetic pathway, which could be much more ancient than previously thought. To determine the taxonomic distribution of the lignin biosynthesis genes, we screened all publicly available genomes of algae and their closest non-photosynthetic relatives, as well as representative land plants. We also performed phylogenetic analysis of these genes to decipher the evolution and origin(s) of lignin biosynthesis. Results: Enzymes involved in making p-coumaryl alcohol, the simplest lignin monomer, are found in a variety of photosynthetic eukaryotes, including diatoms, dinoflagellates, haptophytes, cryptophytes as well as green and red algae. Phylogenetic analysis of these enzymes suggests that they are ancient and spread to some secondarily photosynthetic lineages when they acquired red and/or green algal endosymbionts. In some cases, one or more of these enzymes was likely acquired through lateral gene transfer (LGT) from bacteria. Conclusions: Genes associated with p-coumaryl alcohol biosynthesis are likely to have evolved long before the transition of photosynthetic eukaryotes to land. The original function of this lignin precursor is therefore unlikely to have been related to water transport. We suggest that it participates in the biological defense of some unicellular and multicellular algae. Reviewers: This article was reviewed by Mark Ragan, Uri Gophna, Philippe Deschamps.Botany, Department ofNon UBCScience, Faculty ofReviewedFacult