Phylogenetic analyses show the single origin of a plastid metabolite translocator family in the Plantae from a gene encoding an existing endomembrane-derived protein. Red algal secondary endosymbiosis has spread a translocator gene into the ancestor of the "chromalveolate" protists, where it has diversified into a novel clade of proteins.
Department of Biological Sciences and Roy J. Carver Center for Comparative Genomics, University of Iowa, 446 Biology Building, Iowa City, IA 52242-1324, USA.
