Category: Dinoflagellate genomics

Mitochondrial genomes of apicomplexans, dinoflagellates and chrompodellids that collectively make up the Myzozoa, encode only three proteins (COB, COX1, COX3), contain fragmented rRNAs, and display extensive recombination, RNA trans-splicing, and RNA-editing. The early-diverging Perkinsozoa is the final major myzozoan lineage whose mitochondrial genomes remained poorly characterized. Previous reports of Perkinsus genes indicated independent acquisition of non-canonical features, namely the…

Mitochondrial genomes of apicomplexans, dinoflagellates and chrompodellids that collectively make up the Myzozoa, encode only three proteins (COB, COX1, COX3), contain fragmented rRNAs, and display extensive recombination, RNA trans-splicing, and RNA-editing. The early-diverging Perkinsozoa is the final major myzozoan lineage whose mitochondrial genomes remained poorly characterized. Previous reports of Perkinsus genes indicated independent acquisition of non-canonical features, namely the…

The sunburst anemone Anthopleura sola is an abundant species inhabiting the intertidal zone of coastal California. Historically, this species has extended from Baja California, Mexico to as far north as Monterey Bay, CA. However, recently the geographic range of this species has expanded to Bodega Bay, CA, possibly as far north as Salt Point, CA. This species also forms symbiotic partnerships with the dinoflagellate Breviolum muscatinei, a member of the family Symbiodiniaceae. These partnerships…

The sunburst anemone Anthopleura sola is an abundant species inhabiting the intertidal zone of coastal California. Historically, this species has extended from Baja California, Mexico to as far north as Monterey Bay, CA. However, recently the geographic range of this species has expanded to Bodega Bay, CA, possibly as far north as Salt Point, CA. This species also forms symbiotic partnerships with the dinoflagellate Breviolum muscatinei, a member of the family Symbiodiniaceae. These partnerships…

The dinoflagellate family Suessiaceae comprises cosmopolitan species distributed across polar and tropical waters in both marine and freshwater ecosystems, encompassing free-living forms, symbionts, and parasites. Recently, species diversity within the family has rapidly expanded, now including a few species reported to cause red tides. Despite their ecological and evolutionary importance, classifying them within Suessiaceae is difficult due to the limitations of the existing molecular…

Stony corals often harbor intracellular photosynthetic dinoflagellate algae that receive dissolved inorganic nutrients. However, Dendrophyllia cribrosa is a non-symbiotic stony coral distributed in the western Pacific. We assembled a chromosome-level D. cribrosa genome using PacBio and Hi-C technologies. The final assembly was 625 Mb, distributed on 14 chromosomes, and contained 30,493 protein-coding genes. BUSCO analysis revealed a 96.8% of the metazoan genome. Comparative phylogenetic analysis…

Stony corals often harbor intracellular photosynthetic dinoflagellate algae that receive dissolved inorganic nutrients. However, Dendrophyllia cribrosa is a non-symbiotic stony coral distributed in the western Pacific. We assembled a chromosome-level D. cribrosa genome using PacBio and Hi-C technologies. The final assembly was 625 Mb, distributed on 14 chromosomes, and contained 30,493 protein-coding genes. BUSCO analysis revealed a 96.8% of the metazoan genome. Comparative phylogenetic analysis…

Dinoflagellates of the family Symbiodiniaceae are crucial photosymbionts in corals and other marine organisms. Of these, Cladocopium goreaui is one of the most dominant symbiont species in the Indo-Pacific. Here, we present an improved genome assembly of C. goreaui combining new long-read sequence data with previously generated short-read data. Incorporating new full-length transcripts to guide gene prediction, the C. goreaui genome (1.2 Gb) exhibits a high extent of completeness (82.4% based on…

Dinoflagellates of the family Symbiodiniaceae are crucial photosymbionts in corals and other marine organisms. Of these, Cladocopium goreaui is one of the most dominant symbiont species in the Indo-Pacific. Here, we present an improved genome assembly of C. goreaui combining new long-read sequence data with previously generated short-read data. Incorporating new full-length transcripts to guide gene prediction, the C. goreaui genome (1.2 Gb) exhibits a high extent of completeness (82.4% based on…

Since > 91% of dinoflagellates are proven auxotrophs of vitamin B(12) and the cobalamin synthetase W (CobW) is a key gene involved in vitamin B(12) synthesis pathway, a number of CobW domain-containing (CBWD) genes in dinoflagellates (DinoCBWDs) were surprisedly found from our transcriptomic and meta-transcriptomic studies. A total of 88 DinoCBWD genes were identified from the genomes and transcriptomes of four dinoflagellates, with five being cloned for full-lengths and characterized using the…