My dissertation focuses on genome and functional evolution of photosynthetic eukaryotes and the design and implementation of computational methods and tools to enable genome-wide studies to investigate these taxa. In CHAPTER 1, I introduce what is currently known about the evolution of plastids and photosynthesis in eukaryotes, an overview of marine harmful algae, and the specific aims of my di...

Abstract: Marine macro-algae are very important biological indicators of the ecological status of the marine environment because they are first to react to the pollution entering the sea including nutrients which determine the trophy of the ambient of the environment. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the present trophic level and the health status of the sampling stations according to the E...

Inositol and choline were present in varying amounts among the species of Rhodophyta, Phaeophyta, Chlorophyta, and Euglenophyta examined. However, in the two members of the order Fucales (division Phaeophyta) examined, no detectable amounts of choline were found. In contrast, the species of Cyanophyta examined contained no detectable amounts of either choline or inositol. All species of the fun...

Sulfolipids were originally discovered in diatom species, in 1966, by Morris Kates [1–3]. High levels of these sulfolipids have been found in the alga Ochromonas danica (Chrysophyceae, Chrysophyta) where they constitute 15% of total lipids and 3% of the dry weight of heterotrophically grown, stationary-phase cells [4,5]. More recently, sulfolipids have also been identified in more than 30 speci...

Oxygen isotope fractionation ((18)O/(16)O) at the natural abundance level has been measured during photosynthesis of a blue-green and a green alga. When sufficient attention is paid to removal of contaminating air O(2) before and during the experiments, then the photosynthetic O(2) evolved, as compared to the water O(2), had an average difference of -0.36% for a blue-green alga and -0.80% for a...

Inositol and choline were present in varying amounts among the species of Rhodophyta, Phaeophyta, Chlorophyta, and Euglenophyta examined. However, in the two members of the order Fucales (division Phaeophyta) examined, no detectable amounts of choline were found. In contrast, the species of Cyanophyta examined contained no detectable amounts of either choline or inositol. All species of the fun...

Polysaccharide from an original red algae (Gelidium sp) was extracted with hot water, clarified, and precipitated in presence of ethanol. NMR spectroscopic analyses and chromatographic separation after complete hydrolysis showed that this polysaccharide was composed predominantly of a repeating-unit based on 4-O-3,6-anhydro-α-L-galactopyranose and 3-O-β-D-galactopyranose confirming their agar n...

Dictyopteris membranacea, a species of Mediterranean brown algae, is believed to have potential pharmacological and nutritional applications. However, such potentials only make sense when devoid of any adverse health consequences. The present study should be seen in this context. It aimed at evaluating the genotoxicity and cytoxicity of its organic extract (F0) and semi purified fractions (F4, ...

For photosynthesis, phototrophic organisms necessarily synthesize not only chlorophylls but also carotenoids. Many kinds of carotenoids are found in algae and, recently, taxonomic studies of algae have been developed. In this review, the relationship between the distribution of carotenoids and the phylogeny of oxygenic phototrophs in sea and fresh water, including cyanobacteria, red algae, brow...

Algae are a large group of aquatic, typically photosynthetic, eukaryotes that include species from very diverse phylogenetic lineages, from those similar to land plants to those related to protist parasites. The recent sequencing of several algal genomes has provided insights into the great complexity of these organisms. Genomic information has also emphasized our lack of knowledge of the funct...