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The monoplastidic bottleneck in algae and plant evolution.

Jan de Vries1, Sven B Gould2

  • 1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada, B3H 4R2.

Journal of Cell Science
|September 13, 2017
PubMed
Summary

Plastid evolution required synchronized division with host cells. Loss of bacterial minD and minE genes from plastid genomes enabled multiple plastids per cell, overcoming the monoplastidic bottleneck.

Keywords:
FtsZMinD/EPeptidoglycanPlant embryogenesisPlastid divisionPlastid evolution

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Area of Science:

  • Endosymbiosis and organelle evolution
  • Molecular biology of plastid division
  • Phylogenetics of phototrophic eukaryotes

Background:

  • Plastids originated from endosymbiotic cyanobacteria, requiring synchronized division with the host cell for eukaryotic evolution.
  • Most algae and some plants are monoplastidic, housing a single plastid whose division is coupled to the host cell cycle.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review recent advances in understanding molecular components of plastid division.
  • To investigate prerequisites for polyplastidy (multiple plastids per nucleus) in phototrophic eukaryotes.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of 131 species with primary or secondary plastids.
  • Review of molecular mechanisms controlling plastid division, including peptidoglycan remnants.

Main Results:

  • Loss of bacterial minD and minE genes from the plastid genome is a prerequisite for polyplastidy.
  • Successful transition from monoplastidy to polyplastidy is rare and linked to complex control mechanisms and morphology.

Conclusions:

  • The monoplastidic bottleneck, where a single plastid divides synchronously with the host, was a critical early step in plastid evolution.
  • Evolutionary escape from this bottleneck involved gene loss and increased regulatory control over plastid division.