Nature Communications (Nov 2021)

Single cell genomics reveals plastid-lacking Picozoa are close relatives of red algae

  • Max E. Schön,
  • Vasily V. Zlatogursky,
  • Rohan P. Singh,
  • Camille Poirier,
  • Susanne Wilken,
  • Varsha Mathur,
  • Jürgen F. H. Strassert,
  • Jarone Pinhassi,
  • Alexandra Z. Worden,
  • Patrick J. Keeling,
  • Thijs J. G. Ettema,
  • Jeremy G. Wideman,
  • Fabien Burki

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26918-0
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 1
pp. 1 – 10

Abstract

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The origin of primary plastids in an ancestor of Archaeplastida gave eukaryotes photosynthetic capabilities. This study used single-cell genomics and phylogenomics to infer the evolutionary origin of the plastid-lacking phylum Picozoa, a group of marine microbial heterotrophic eukaryotes, showing that they belong to the Archaeplastida and changing our understanding of plastid evolution.