Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 21, 2026

Using Mycobacterium smegmatis as a Bioindicator for Zinc-Limited Growth Conditions in Mycobacteria
Published on: September 20, 2024
Evolution of elongation factor-like (EFL) protein in Rhizaria is revised by radiolarian EFL gene sequences
Yoshiyuki Ishitani1, Ryoma Kamikawa, Akinori Yabuki
1Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan. ishitani@jamstec.go.jp
Abstract:
Elongation factor 1α (EF-1α) and elongation factor-like (EFL) proteins are considered to carry out equivalent functions in translation in eukaryotic cells. Elongation factor 1α and EFL genes are patchily distributed in the global eukaryotic tree, suggesting that the evolution of these elongation factors cannot be reconciled without multiple lateral gene transfer and/or ancestral co-occurrence followed by differential loss of either of the two factors. Our current understanding of the EF-1α/EFL evolution in the eukaryotic group Rhizaria, composed of Foraminifera, Radiolaria, Filosa, and Endomyxa, remains insufficient, as no information on EF-1α/EFL gene is available for any members of Radiolaria. In this study, EFL genes were experimentally isolated from four polycystine radiolarians (i.e. Dictyocoryne, Eucyrtidium, Collozoum, and Sphaerozoum), as well as retrieved from publicly accessible expressed sequence tag data of two acantharean radiolarians (i.e. Astrolonche and Phyllostaurus) and the endomyxan Gromia. The EFL homologs from radiolarians, foraminiferans, and Gromia formed a robust clade in both maximum-likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses, suggesting that EFL genes were vertically inherited from their common ancestor. We propose an updated model for EF-1α/EFL evolution in Rhizaria by incorporating new EFL data obtained in this study.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Diversity of Protists III
Evolution of New Traits in Microbes
Diversity of Protists I
Bacterial RNA Polymerase
In most genes, the transcription site is a single base present upstream of the coding sequence. Though RNAP is a catalytically efficient enzyme, it does not recognize...
Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?
In contrast, regions which code...
Three-Domain System of Life

