Helicosporidia: a genomic snapshot of an early transition to parasitism
Helicosporidia are gut parasites of invertebrates. These achlorophyllous, non-photosynthetic green algae are the first reported to infect insects. Helicosporidia are members of the green algal class Trebouxiophyceae and are further related to the photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic genera Auxenoch...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Polish Botanical Society
2014-12-01
|
| Series: | Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://pbsociety.org.pl/journals/index.php/asbp/article/view/4200 |
| _version_ | 1818872703187156992 |
|---|---|
| author | Yukun Sun Jean-Francois Pombert |
| author_facet | Yukun Sun Jean-Francois Pombert |
| author_sort | Yukun Sun |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Helicosporidia are gut parasites of invertebrates. These achlorophyllous, non-photosynthetic green algae are the first reported to infect insects. Helicosporidia are members of the green algal class Trebouxiophyceae and are further related to the photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic genera Auxenochlorella and Prototheca, respectively, the latter of which can also turn to parasitism under opportunistic conditions. Molecular analyses suggest that Helicosporidia diverged from other photosynthetic trebouxiophytes less than 200 million years ago and that its adaptation to parasitism is therefore recent. In this minireview, we summarize the current knowledge of helicosporidian genomics. Unlike many well-known parasitic lineages, the Helicosporidium sp. organelle and nuclear genomes have lost surprisingly little in terms of coding content aside from photosynthesis-related genes. While the small size of its nuclear genome compared to other sequenced trebouxiophycean representatives suggests that Helicosporidium is going through a streamlining process, this scenario cannot be ascertained at this stage. Genome expansions and contractions have occurred independently multiple times in the green algae, and the small size of the Helicosporidium genome may reflect a lack of expansion from a lean ancestor state rather than a tendency towards reduction. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T12:43:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6c806bf44e924fad90953363a2b96224 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2083-9480 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T12:43:01Z |
| publishDate | 2014-12-01 |
| publisher | Polish Botanical Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae |
| spelling | doaj.art-6c806bf44e924fad90953363a2b962242022-12-21T20:20:53ZengPolish Botanical SocietyActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae2083-94802014-12-0183437738510.5586/asbp.2014.0393943Helicosporidia: a genomic snapshot of an early transition to parasitismYukun Sun0Jean-Francois Pombert1Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL 60616Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL 60616Helicosporidia are gut parasites of invertebrates. These achlorophyllous, non-photosynthetic green algae are the first reported to infect insects. Helicosporidia are members of the green algal class Trebouxiophyceae and are further related to the photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic genera Auxenochlorella and Prototheca, respectively, the latter of which can also turn to parasitism under opportunistic conditions. Molecular analyses suggest that Helicosporidia diverged from other photosynthetic trebouxiophytes less than 200 million years ago and that its adaptation to parasitism is therefore recent. In this minireview, we summarize the current knowledge of helicosporidian genomics. Unlike many well-known parasitic lineages, the Helicosporidium sp. organelle and nuclear genomes have lost surprisingly little in terms of coding content aside from photosynthesis-related genes. While the small size of its nuclear genome compared to other sequenced trebouxiophycean representatives suggests that Helicosporidium is going through a streamlining process, this scenario cannot be ascertained at this stage. Genome expansions and contractions have occurred independently multiple times in the green algae, and the small size of the Helicosporidium genome may reflect a lack of expansion from a lean ancestor state rather than a tendency towards reduction.https://pbsociety.org.pl/journals/index.php/asbp/article/view/4200Helicosporidiumgreen algaecomparative genomicsentomopathogen |
| spellingShingle | Yukun Sun Jean-Francois Pombert Helicosporidia: a genomic snapshot of an early transition to parasitism Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae Helicosporidium green algae comparative genomics entomopathogen |
| title | Helicosporidia: a genomic snapshot of an early transition to parasitism |
| title_full | Helicosporidia: a genomic snapshot of an early transition to parasitism |
| title_fullStr | Helicosporidia: a genomic snapshot of an early transition to parasitism |
| title_full_unstemmed | Helicosporidia: a genomic snapshot of an early transition to parasitism |
| title_short | Helicosporidia: a genomic snapshot of an early transition to parasitism |
| title_sort | helicosporidia a genomic snapshot of an early transition to parasitism |
| topic | Helicosporidium green algae comparative genomics entomopathogen |
| url | https://pbsociety.org.pl/journals/index.php/asbp/article/view/4200 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yukunsun helicosporidiaagenomicsnapshotofanearlytransitiontoparasitism AT jeanfrancoispombert helicosporidiaagenomicsnapshotofanearlytransitiontoparasitism |