Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
46
pubmed:dateCreated
2008-11-21
pubmed:databankReference
pubmed:abstractText
The sea slug Elysia chlorotica acquires plastids by ingestion of its algal food source Vaucheria litorea. Organelles are sequestered in the mollusc's digestive epithelium, where they photosynthesize for months in the absence of algal nucleocytoplasm. This is perplexing because plastid metabolism depends on the nuclear genome for >90% of the needed proteins. Two possible explanations for the persistence of photosynthesis in the sea slug are (i) the ability of V. litorea plastids to retain genetic autonomy and/or (ii) more likely, the mollusc provides the essential plastid proteins. Under the latter scenario, genes supporting photosynthesis have been acquired by the animal via horizontal gene transfer and the encoded proteins are retargeted to the plastid. We sequenced the plastid genome and confirmed that it lacks the full complement of genes required for photosynthesis. In support of the second scenario, we demonstrated that a nuclear gene of oxygenic photosynthesis, psbO, is expressed in the sea slug and has integrated into the germline. The source of psbO in the sea slug is V. litorea because this sequence is identical from the predator and prey genomes. Evidence that the transferred gene has integrated into sea slug nuclear DNA comes from the finding of a highly diverged psbO 3' flanking sequence in the algal and mollusc nuclear homologues and gene absence from the mitochondrial genome of E. chlorotica. We demonstrate that foreign organelle retention generates metabolic novelty ("green animals") and is explained by anastomosis of distinct branches of the tree of life driven by predation and horizontal gene transfer.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:commentsCorrections
http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-10806222, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-10982447, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-11544372, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-12116651, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-12165838, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-12218172, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-12654937, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-12801413, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-12861078, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-14500894, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-15033524, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-15180927, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-15729342, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-15761667, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-15830125, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-16351845, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-16924101, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-16972986, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-17030541, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-17040125, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-17200881, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-17213324, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-17287351, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-17446895, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-17600460, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-17761848, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-17894863, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-17957369, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-18073380, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-18088314, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-18268342, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-18378040, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-18462506, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-18596977, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-7881515, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-8643626, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-8901581, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19004808-9352932
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Nov
pubmed:issn
1091-6490
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:day
18
pubmed:volume
105
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
17867-71
pubmed:dateRevised
2010-11-18
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2008
pubmed:articleTitle
Horizontal gene transfer of the algal nuclear gene psbO to the photosynthetic sea slug Elysia chlorotica.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA. mrumpho@umit.maine.edu
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S., Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural