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Review
. 2006 Aug;5(8):1175-83.
doi: 10.1128/EC.00097-06.

Algae need their vitamins

Martin T Croft  1 , Martin J Warren, Alison G Smith
Affiliations
Review

Algae need their vitamins

Martin T Croft et al. Eukaryot Cell. 2006 Aug.
No abstract available

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Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Summary of algal evolution. The three basal groups chlorophyta, rhodophyta, and glaucocystophyta are shown with green, red, and blue plastids, respectively. Those groups derived from the chlorophyta and rhodophyta by secondary endosymbioses are shown with the appropriate colored plastids. Tertiary endosymbiotic events are not shown in this diagram. The boxed phyla contain at least one organism with a sequenced genome.
FIG. 2.
FIG. 2.
The biotin biosynthetic pathway as elucidated in eubacteria. There are several different pathways for the synthesis of pimeloyl-CoA. The gene names are followed by the symbol • indicating the presence of the gene in C. merolae (Cm), the symbol ○ indicating the presence of a gene in C. reinhardtii (Cr), the symbol ▪ indicating that the given gene is present in the genome of T. pseudonana (Tp), or the symbol □ indicating that the gene is in the genome of P. falciparum (Pf). Genes with sequence similarity to bioF and bioA can also be found in the genome sequence of D. discoideum, while only bioF can be found in E. histolytica (see text for details).
FIG. 3.
FIG. 3.
The TPP biosynthetic pathway. TPP is composed of a thiazole and a pyrimidine moiety, each synthesized through a separate pathway. The thiazole branch is shaded in gray. The bacterial genes responsible for each step are shown, followed by the symbol •, ○, ▪, or □ indicating the presence of the gene in different algae (see Fig. 2 for the key). Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (Ga3P) and pyruvate (Pyr) are combined to form DXP in the thiazole branch, while 5-aminoimidazole ribonucleotide is converted to hydroxymethylpyrimidine diphosphate (HMP-PP) in the pyrimidine branch. Prokaryotes use the thiL gene product to convert thiamine monophosphate to TPP, while eukaryotes appear to dephosphorylate thiamine monophosphate before pyrophosphorylating thiamine with TPK.
FIG. 4.
FIG. 4.
Vitamin B12 metabolism in algal and human cells. (A) Structure of vitamin B12 (cobalamin). The molecule consists of a highly modified tetrapyrrole ring to which a lower nucleotide loop is attached. R can be either a methyl (Me) or an adenosyl (Ado) group. (B) Genes involved in vitamin B12 metabolism in eukaryotic cells. Those genes responsible for each step are shown, followed by the symbol ○ or ▪ indicating the presence of the gene in different algae (see Fig. 2 for the key). Cobalamin derivatives (Cbl) and the oxidation state of cobalt are shown. Cobalamin containing Co3+ (CblIII) is converted to methylcobalamin, while cobalamin containing Co+ (CblI) is converted to adenosylcobalamin.
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