Journal article
Evolution and cytological diversification of the green seaweeds (Ulvophyceae)
E Cocquyt, H Verbruggen, F Leliaert, O De Clerck
Molecular Biology and Evolution | Published : 2010
Abstract
The Ulvophyceae, one of the four classes of the Chlorophyta, is of particular evolutionary interest because it features an unrivaled morphological and cytological diversity. Morphological types range from unicells and simple multicellular filaments to sheet-like and complex corticated thalli. Cytological layouts range from typical small cells containing a single nucleus and chloroplast to giant cells containing millions of nuclei and chloroplasts. In order to understand the evolution of these morphological and cytological types, the present paper aims to assess whether the Ulvophyceae are monophyletic and elucidate the ancient relationships among its orders. Our approach consists of phylogen..
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Awarded by Ghent University
Funding Acknowledgements
We thank Barbara Rinkel, Herve Moreau, Tatiana Klotchkova, Wytze Stam, and Jeanine Olsen for providing cultures, Caroline Vlaeminck for assisting with the molecular work, Klaus Valentin for cDNA library services, Steven Robbens and Yves Van de Peer for early access to Ostreococcus data, Rick Zechman for atpB sequences, Peter Dawyndt for additional processing power, and Wim Gillis for IT support. We are grateful to Richard McCourt, Charles O'Kelly, and Larry Liddle for helpful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. Funding was provided by the Special Research Fund (Ghent University, DOZA-01107605). H. V. and F. L. are postdoctoral fellows of the Research Foundation-Flanders. Analyses were carried out on the KERMIT cluster and the central high-performance computing facility at Ghent University.