Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA.
Annu Rev Microbiol. 2011;65:369-87. doi: 10.1146/annurev-micro-090110-102841.
The dinoflagellates are an ecologically important group of microbial eukaryotes that have evolved many novel genomic characteristics. They possess some of the largest nuclear genomes among eukaryotes arranged on permanently condensed liquid-crystalline chromosomes. Recent advances have revealed the presence of genes arranged in tandem arrays, trans-splicing of messenger RNAs, and a reduced role for transcriptional regulation compared to other eukaryotes. In contrast, the mitochondrial and plastid genomes have the smallest gene content among functional eukaryotic organelles. Dinoflagellate biology and genome evolution have been dramatically influenced by lateral transfer of individual genes and large-scale transfer of genes through endosymbiosis. Next-generation sequencing technologies have only recently made genome-scale analyses of these organisms possible, and these new methods are helping researchers better understand the biology and evolution of this enigmatic group of eukaryotes.
甲藻是一类生态重要的微生物真核生物，具有许多新颖的基因组特征。它们拥有真核生物中最大的一些核基因组，这些基因组排列在永久性浓缩的液晶染色体上。最近的研究进展揭示了串联排列的基因、信使 RNA 的转剪接以及转录调控作用的减少等特征，这些特征与其他真核生物相比有所不同。相比之下，线粒体和质体基因组是功能真核细胞器中基因含量最小的。甲藻的生物学和基因组进化受到单个基因的横向转移以及通过内共生进行的大规模基因转移的显著影响。新一代测序技术最近才使得对这些生物进行基因组规模的分析成为可能，这些新方法帮助研究人员更好地理解这个神秘的真核生物群体的生物学和进化。
