Journal article
Complex phylogenetic distribution of a non-canonical genetic code in green algae
E Cocquyt, GH Gile, F Leliaert, H Verbruggen, PJ Keeling, O De Clerck
BMC Evolutionary Biology | Published : 2010
Open access
Abstract
Background. A non-canonical nuclear genetic code, in which TAG and TAA have been reassigned from stop codons to glutamine, has evolved independently in several eukaryotic lineages, including the ulvophycean green algal orders Dasycladales and Cladophorales. To study the phylogenetic distribution of the standard and non-canonical genetic codes, we generated sequence data of a representative set of ulvophycean green algae and used a robust green algal phylogeny to evaluate different evolutionary scenarios that may account for the origin of the non-canonical code. Results. This study demonstrates that the Dasycladales and Cladophorales share this alternative genetic code with the related order ..
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Awarded by Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
Funding Acknowledgements
We thank Caroline Vlaeminck for assisting with the molecular work and Wim Gillis for IT support. Funding was provided by the Special Research Fund (Ghent University, DOZA-01107605), a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (227301), an NSERC postgraduate doctoral scholarship to GHG and Research Foundation Flanders postdoctoral fellowships to HV, FL. PJK is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and a Senior Investigator of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research. Phylogenetic analyses were largely carried out on the KERMIT computing cluster (Ghent University).