Genome-powered classification of microbial eukaryotes: focus on coral algal symbionts

Katherine E Dougan; Raúl A González-Pech; Timothy G Stephens; Sarah Shah; Yibi Chen; Mark A Ragan; Debashish Bhattacharya; Cheong Xin Chan

doi:10.1016/j.tim.2022.02.001

Genome-powered classification of microbial eukaryotes: focus on coral algal symbionts

Trends Microbiol. 2022 Sep;30(9):831-840. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2022.02.001. Epub 2022 Feb 25.

Authors

Katherine E Dougan¹, Raúl A González-Pech², Timothy G Stephens³, Sarah Shah¹, Yibi Chen¹, Mark A Ragan⁴, Debashish Bhattacharya⁵, Cheong Xin Chan⁶

Affiliations

¹ The University of Queensland, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
² University of South Florida, Department of Integrative Biology, Tampa, FL 33620, USA.
³ Rutgers University, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
⁴ The University of Queensland, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
⁵ Rutgers University, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁶ The University of Queensland, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 35227551
DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2022.02.001

Abstract

Modern microbial taxonomy generally relies on the use of single marker genes or sets of concatenated genes to generate a framework for the delineation and classification of organisms at different taxonomic levels. However, given that DNA is the 'blueprint of life', and hence the ultimate arbiter of taxonomy, classification systems should attempt to use as much of the blueprint as possible to capture a comprehensive phylogenetic signal. Recent analysis of whole-genome sequences from coral reef symbionts (dinoflagellates of the family Symbiodiniaceae) and other microalgal groups has uncovered extensive divergence not recognised by current algal taxonomic approaches. In the era of 'sequence everything', we argue that whole-genome data are pivotal to guide informed taxonomic inference, particularly for microbial eukaryotes.

Keywords: Symbiodiniaceae; algal genomics; coral symbionts; dinoflagellates; taxonomy.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Anthozoa* / genetics
Coral Reefs
Dinoflagellida* / genetics
Phylogeny
Symbiosis