Summary: Brown algae have convergently evolved plant‐like body plans and reproductive cycles, which in plants are controlled by differential DNA methylation. This contribution provides the first single‐base methylome profiles of haploid gametophytes and diploid sporophytes of a multicellular alga. Although only c. 1.4% of cytosines in Saccharina japonica were methylated mainly at CHH sites and characterized by 5‐methylcytosine (5mC), there were significant differences between life‐cycle stages. DNA methyltransferase 2 (DNMT2), known to efficiently catalyze tRNA methylation, is assumed to methylate the genome of S. japonica in the structural context of tRNAs as the genome does not encode any other DNA methyltransferases. Circular and long noncoding RNA genes were the most strongly methylated regulatory elements in S. japonica. Differential expression of genes was negatively correlated with DNA methylation with the highest methylation levels measured in both haploid gametophytes. Hypomethylated and highly expressed genes in diploid sporophytes included genes involved in morphogenesis and halogen metabolism. The data herein provide evidence that cytosine methylation, although occurring at a low level, is significantly contributing to the formation of different life‐cycle stages, tissue differentiation and metabolism in brown algae.

Bacterial horizontal gene transfer provides functions that help explain the evolutionary success of aquatic primary producers.

SUMMARY: Brown seaweeds are keystone species of coastal ecosystems, often forming extensive underwater forests, that are under considerable threat from climate change. Despite their ecological and evolutionary importance, this phylogenetic group, which is very distantly related to animals and land plants, is still poorly characterised at the genome level. Here we analyse 60 new genomes that include species from all the major brown algal orders. Comparative analysis of these genomes indicated the occurrence of several major events coinciding approximately with the emergence of the brown algal lineage. These included marked gain of new orthologous gene families, enhanced protein domain rearrangement, horizontal gene transfer events and the acquisition of novel signalling molecules and metabolic pathways. The latter include enzymes implicated in processes emblematic of the brown algae such as biosynthesis of the alginate-based extracellular matrix, and halogen and phlorotannin biosynthesis. These early genomic innovations enabled the adaptation of brown algae to their intertidal habitats. The subsequent diversification of the brown algal orders tended to involve loss of gene families, and genomic features were identified that correlated with the emergence of differences in life cycle strategy, flagellar structure and halogen metabolism. Analysis of microevolutionary patterns within the genus Ectocarpus indicated that deep gene flow between species may be an important factor in genome evolution on more recent timescales. Finally, we show that integration of large viral genomes has had a significant impact on brown algal genome content and propose that this process has persisted throughout the evolutionary history of the lineage.

For this investigation, the chloroplast genome of Saccharina sp. ye-E from Russia was uncovered and annotated with Illumina sequencing data to examine the phylogenetic relationship of Saccharina in Laminariaceae from a molecular biology perspective. Analysis of the structural characteristics, simple repeat sequence (SSR) loci, relative species differences, codon preference, and phylogenetic relationships was conducted. The results revealed that the chloroplast genome of Saccharina sp. ye-E had a length of 130,624 bp, containing 139 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 6 ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs) and 57 transfer RNAs (tRNAs) genes, and a total GC content of 31.1%. There were 15 SSR loci in the genome. Effective codon number (ENC) and codon adaptation index (CAI) both indicated the strong codon randomness and codon preference. The phylogenetic tree, based on the complete chloroplast genomes of 10 brown algae, showed that four species of Saccharina genus formed a clade, with Saccharina sp. ye-E and Saccharina latissimi having the most related genetic affinity. It is believed that the determination of the chloroplast genome of Saccharina sp. ye-E will be beneficial for future algal genetics evolution and systematic studies in the Laminariaceae.