The colonization of land by plants was a key event in the evolution of life. Here we report the draft genome sequence of the filamentous terrestrial alga Klebsormidium flaccidum (Division Charophyta, Order Klebsormidiales) to elucidate the early transition step from aquatic algae to land plants. Comparison of the genome sequence with that of other algae and land plants demonstrate that K. flaccidum acquired many genes specific to land plants. We demonstrate that K. flaccidum indeed produces several plant hormones and homologues of some of the signalling intermediates required for hormone actions in higher plants. The K. flaccidum genome also encodes a primitive system to protect against the harmful effects of high-intensity light. The presence of these plant-related systems in K. flaccidum suggests that, during evolution, this alga acquired the fundamental machinery required for adaptation to terrestrial environments.

Phosphate is an essential nutrient for plant viability. It is well-established that phosphate starvation triggers membrane lipid remodeling, a process that converts significant portion of phospholipids to non-phosphorus-containing galactolipids. This remodeling is mediated by either phospholipase C (PLC) or phospholipase D (PLD) in combination with phosphatidate phosphatase (PAP). Two PLC genes, NPC4 and NPC5, and PLD genes, PLD1 and PLD2, are shown to be involved in the remodeling. However, gene knockout studies show that none of them plays decisive roles in the remodeling. Thus, although this phenomenon is widely observed among plants, the key enzyme(s) responsible for the lipid remodeling in a whole plant body is unknown; therefore, the physiological significance of this conversion process has remained to be elucidated. We herein focused on PAP as a key enzyme for this adaptation, and identified Arabidopsis lipin homologs, AtPAH1 and AtPAH2, that encode the PAPs involved in galactolipid biosynthesis. Double mutant pah1pah2 plants had decreased phosphatidic acid hydrolysis, thus affecting the eukaryotic pathway of galactolipid synthesis. Upon phosphate starvation, pah1pah2 plants were severely impaired in growth and membrane lipid remodeling. These results indicate that PAH1 and PAH2 are the PAP responsible for the eukaryotic pathway of galactolipid synthesis, and the membrane lipid remodeling mediated by these two enzymes is an essential adaptation mechanism to cope with phosphate starvation.galactolipids ͉ phosphatidic acid ͉ phosphatidic acid phosphatase

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Plants synthesize a sulfur-containing lipid, sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol, which is one of three nonphosphorus glycerolipids that provide the bulk of the structural lipids in photosynthetic membranes. Here, the identification of a novel gene, UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase3 (UGP3), required for sulfolipid biosynthesis is described. Transcriptome coexpression analysis demonstrated highly correlated expression of UGP3 with known genes for sulfolipid biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of leaf lipids in two Arabidopsis ugp3 mutants revealed that no sulfolipid was accumulated in these mutants, indicating the participation of UGP3 in sulfolipid biosynthesis. From the deduced amino acid sequence, UGP3 was presumed to be a UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (UGPase) involved in the generation of UDP-glucose, serving as the precursor of the polar head of sulfolipid. Recombinant UGP3 was able to catalyze the formation of UDP-glucose from glucose-1-phosphate and UTP. A transient assay using fluorescence fusion proteins and UGPase activity in isolated chloroplasts indicated chloroplastic localization of UGP3. The transcription level of UGP3 was increased by phosphate starvation. A comparative genomics study on UGP3 homologs across different plant species suggested the structural and functional conservation of the proteins and, thus, a committing role for UGP3 in sulfolipid synthesis.

When cultivated under stress conditions, many plants and algae accumulate oil. The unicellular green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii accumulates neutral lipids (triacylglycerols; TAGs) during nutrient stress conditions. Temporal changes in TAG levels in nitrogen (N)- and phosphorus (P)-starved cells were examined to compare the effects of nutrient depletion on TAG accumulation in C. reinhardtii. TAG accumulation and fatty acid composition were substantially changed depending on the cultivation stage before nutrient starvation. Profiles of TAG accumulation also differed between N and P starvation. Logarithmic-growth-phase cells diluted into fresh medium showed substantial TAG accumulation with both N and P deprivation. N deprivation induced formation of oil droplets concomitant with the breakdown of thylakoid membranes. In contrast, P deprivation substantially induced accumulation of oil droplets in the cytosol and maintaining thylakoid membranes. As a consequence, P limitation accumulated more TAG both per cell and per culture medium under these conditions. To enhance oil accumulation under P deprivation, we constructed a P deprivation-dependent overexpressor of a Chlamydomonas type-2 diacylglycerol acyl-CoA acyltransferase (DGTT4) using a sulphoquinovosyldiacylglycerol 2 (SQD2) promoter, which was up-regulated during P starvation. The transformant strongly enhanced TAG accumulation with a slight increase in 18 : 1 content, which is a preferred substrate of DGTT4. These results demonstrated enhanced TAG accumulation using a P starvation–inducible promoter.