The largest subunit of RNA polymerase II from the Glaucocystophyta: functional constraint and short-branch exclusion in deep eukaryotic phylogeny.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Evolutionary analyses of the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (RPB1) have yielded important and at times provocative results. One particularly troublesome outcome is the consistent inference of independent origins of red algae and green plants, at odds with the more widely accepted view of a monophyletic Plantae comprising all eukaryotes with primary plastids. If the hypothesis of a broader kingdom Plantae is correct, then RPB1 trees likely reflect a persistent phylogenetic artifact. To gain a better understanding of RNAP II evolution, and the presumed artifact relating to green plants and red algae, we isolated and analyzed RPB1 from representatives of Glaucocystophyta, the third eukaryotic group with primary plastids.

Results

Phylogenetic analyses incorporat

SUBMITTER: Stiller JW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1326215 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature