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PHYTOCHROME EVOLUTION: A PHYLOGENETIC TREE WITH THE FIRST COMPLETE SEQUENCE OF PHYTOCHROME FROM A CRYPTOGAMIC PLANT: ( Selaginella martensii SPRING)
Author(s) -
Hanelt Sabine,
Braun Birgit,
Marx Stefan,
SchneiderPoetsch Hansjörg A. W.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
photochemistry and photobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.818
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1751-1097
pISSN - 0031-8655
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-1097.1992.tb02230.x
Subject(s) - selaginella , phytochrome , biology , arabidopsis , etiolation , botany , phylogenetic tree , phytochrome a , genetics , gene , mutant , biochemistry , red light , enzyme
— We have sequenced cDNA and genomic clones coding for phytochrome of the fern Selaginella . On the amino acid level, this phytochrome shares sequence homologies with phytochromes of higher plants which range between 62 (phytochrome E of Arabidopsis ) and 55 (56)% [phytochrome C of Arabidopsis (Avena)] . Introns in the Selaginella gene are short and occupy positions known from phytochrome sequences of higher plants. A rooted phylogenetic tree based on mutation distances puts Seluginella phytochrome closest to the hypothetical ancestor. A similar tree arises if the tree is constructed with partial sequences (about 200 amino acids) around the chromophore attachment site. An extension of this tree by sequences of other cryptogamic plants ( Mougeotia, Ceratodon, Psilotum ) shows all these sequences including those of the phytochromes B and C of Arabidopsis on a branch, well separated from the branch formed by phytochromes known to accumulate in etiolated plants. The rooted phytochrome phylogenetic tree, however, is difficult to reconcile with the fossil record.