Plankton Yield Secrets to Role in Evolution and Global Photosynthesis

Tiny green algae hold the key to one of the most fascinating paradoxes in biology: why ocean-dwelling phytoplankton exhibit great diversity that contrasts sharply with the scarcity of ecological niches available in aquatic ecosystems. It turns out that diversity and species adaptation affect how the algae assimilate hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide in the global cycling of carbon.

Scientists at the United States Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI), the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, and the Pierre & Marie Curie University analyzed the DNA of two species of Ostreococcus plankton and found dramatic changes in genome structure and metabolic capabilities. Overlapping genes conserved across the species and species-specific chromosomes with horizontally transferred genes contribute to genetic variation.

The researchers also noted the abundance of selenium-rich proteins, which allow the organisms to horde nutrients and reduce their appetite for iron. "From an applied perspective, we are learning some of the tricks nature has employed to 'engineer' an extremely small eukaryote to thrive in nature― which may well find applications in bioengineering," said lead author Brian Palenik.

 Read the news release at http://www.jgi.doe.gov/News/news_4_30_07.html.