TreeBASE Search-Analyses for study 10542

@ARTICLE{TreeBASE2Ref18979, author = {Gabriel Edwin Hoffman and Maria Virginia Sanchez Puerta and Charles F. Delwiche}, title = {Phylogenetic analysis of algal light-harvesting complex proteins and its implications for functional inference}, year = {2011}, keywords = {}, doi = {10.1186/1471-2148-11-101}, url = {http://}, pmid = {}, journal = {BMC Evolutionary Biology}, volume = {11}, number = {}, pages = {101}, abstract = {Background. Light harvesting complex (LHC) proteins function in photosynthesis by binding chlorophyll (Chl) and carotenoid molecules that absorb light and transfer the energy to the reaction center Chl of the photosystem. Most research has focused on LHCs of plants and chlorophytes that bind Chl a and b and extensive work on these proteins has uncovered a diversity of biochemical functions, expression patterns and amino acid sequences. We focus here on a less-studied family of LHCs that bind Chl a and c which are widely distributed in chl c-containing algae and other algal taxa. Previous phylogenetic analyses of these proteins suggested that individual algal lineages possess proteins from one or two subfamilies, and that most subfamilies are specific to the algal lineage. Results. We reconstruct a phylogeny of LHCs from chl c containing algae and related lineages using data from recent sequencing projects to give ~10-fold larger taxon sampling than previous studies. The phylogeny indicates that individual taxa possess proteins from multiple LHC subfamilies and that distant algal lineages contain members of the same LHC subfamilies. Comparison of the gene phylogeny with data on gene expression, carotenoid binding and physical associations with other LHCs is consistent with hypotheses of functional differentiation, and suggests a complex evolution of function, gene transfer, and lineage-specific diversification. Conclusion. The phylogeny provided a strikingly different picture than previous analyses of LHC evolution. This work allows these recent experimental findings about molecular function to be understood in a broader phylogenetic context.} }