Phylogenetic positions of Glaucophyta, green plants (Archaeplastida) and Haptophyta (Chromalveolata) as deduced from slowly evolving nuclear genes

Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2009 Dec;53(3):872-80. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2009.08.015. Epub 2009 Aug 19.

Abstract

The phylogenetic positions of the primary photosynthetic eukaryotes, or Archaeplastida (green plants, red algae, and glaucophytes) and the secondary photosynthetic chromalveolates, Haptophyta, vary depending on the data matrices used in the previous nuclear multigene phylogenetic studies. Here, we deduced the phylogeny of three groups of Archaeplastida and Haptophyta on the basis of sequences of the multiple slowly evolving nuclear genes and reduced the gaps or missing data, especially in glaucophyte operational taxonomic units (OTUs). The present multigene phylogenetic analyses resolved that Haptophyta and two other groups of Chromalveolata, stramenopiles and Alveolata, form a monophyletic group that is sister to the green plants and that the glaucophytes and red algae are basal to the clade composed of green plants and Chromalveolata. The bootstrap values supporting these phylogenetic relationships increased with the exclusion of long-branched OTUs. The close relationship between green plants and Chromalveolata is further supported by the common replacement in two plastid-targeted genes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Alveolata / classification
  • Alveolata / genetics*
  • Bayes Theorem
  • Cell Nucleus / genetics
  • Evolution, Molecular*
  • Likelihood Functions
  • Phylogeny*
  • Plants / classification
  • Plants / genetics*
  • Rhodophyta / classification
  • Rhodophyta / genetics*
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA