The Distribution of Elongation Factor-1 Alpha (EF-1α), Elongation Factor-Like (EFL), and a Non-Canonical Genetic Code in the Ulvophyceae: Discrete Genetic Characters Support a Consistent Phylogenetic Framework

ABSTRACT. The systematics of the green algal class Ulvophyceae have been difficult to resolve with ultrastructural and molecular phylogenetic analyses. Therefore, we investigated relationships among ulvophycean orders by determining the distribution of two discrete genetic characters previously identified only in the order Dasycladales. First, Acetabularia acetabulum uses the core translation GTPase Elongation Factor 1α (EF-1α) while most Chlorophyta instead possess the related GTPase Elongation Factor-Like (EFL). Second, the nuclear genomes of dasycladaleans A. acetabulum and Batophora oerstedii use a rare non-canonical genetic code in which the canonical termination codons TAA and TAG instead encode glutamine. Representatives of Ulvales and Ulotrichales were found to encode EFL, while Caulerpales, Dasycladales, Siphonocladales, and Ignatius tetrasporus were found to encode EF-1α, in congruence with the two major lineages previously proposed for the Ulvophyceae. The EF-1α of I. tetrasporus supports its relationship with Caulerpales/Dasycladales/Siphonocladales, in agreement with ultrastructural evidence, but contrary to certain small subunit rRNA analyses that place it with Ulvales/Ulotrichales. The same non-canonical genetic code previously described in A. acetabulum was observed in EF-1α sequences from Parvocaulis pusillus (Dasycladales), Chaetomorpha coliformis , and Cladophora cf. crinalis (Siphonocladales), whereas Caulerpales use the universal code. This supports a sister relationship between Siphonocladales and Dasycladales and further refines our understanding of ulvophycean phylogeny.     

Ultrastructure and phylogenetic relationships of the unicellular green algae Ignatius tetrasporus and Pseudocharacium americanum (Chlorophyta)

The phylogenetic relationships of two unicellular green algae, Ignatius tetrasporus Bold et MacEntee and Pseudocharacium americanum Lee et Bold were investigated by ultrastructural and molecular methods. The zoospores from both species were covered neither by scales nor cell walls. The flagellar apparatus of the zoospores commonly included these features: the upper basal bodies were displaced counterclockwise in half to two‐thirds of the basal body diameter and did not overlap with each other; the lower basal bodies were directly opposed or slightly displaced clockwise; the distal fiber had gently sigmoid central striations; terminal caps were absent from the ends of the basal bodies; a V‐shaped proximal sheath extended from the upper basal bodies; a posterior fiber lay between the opposite lower basal bodies; and the coarsely striated band linked the sinister rootlet to the lower basal body. The suite of these features was not identical to that of any other quadriflagellate swimming cells, but some features including the lower basal body orientation, the striated distal fiber, and the coarsely striated fiber resemble those of the several organisms of the Siphonocladales sensu Floyd and O’Kelly. Phylogenetic analysis using 18S rDNA sequence data revealed that I. tetrasporus and P. americanum formed a monophyletic clade within the clade of Ulvophyceae sensu López‐Bautista and Chapman, but was not nested within any of the orders of the class that were examined.