Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29330556›Full record

ArticleJournal of molecular evolution2018

Evolution of the Phosphatidylcholine Biosynthesis Pathways in Green Algae: Combinatorial Diversity of Methyltransferases.

Takashi Hirashima, Masakazu Toyoshima, Takashi Moriyama, Naoki Sato

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Journal of molecular evolution, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 43% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. A Comprehensive Functional Analysis ofPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Takashi HirashimaDepartment of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Masakazu ToyoshimaDepartment of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Takashi MoriyamaDepartment of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Naoki SatoDepartment of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. naokisat@bio.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp.ORCID 0000-0001-6230-0410
Tokyo University of the Arts · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Phosphatidylcholine (PC) is one of the most common phospholipids in eukaryotes, although some green algae such as Chlamydomonas reinhardtii are known to lack PC. Recently, we detected PC in four species in the genus Chlamydomonas: C. applanata NIES-2202, C. asymmetrica NIES-2207, C. debaryana NIES-2212, and C. sphaeroides NIES-2242. To reveal the PC biosynthesis pathways in green algae and the evolutionary scenario involved in their diversity, we analyzed the PC biosynthesis genes in these four algae using draft genome sequences. Homology searches suggested that PC in these species is synthesized by phosphoethanolamine-N-methyltransferase (PEAMT) and/or phosphatidylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase (PEMT), both of which are absent in C. reinhardtii. Recombinant PEAMTs from these algae showed methyltransferase activity for phosphoethanolamine but not for monomethyl phosphoethanolamine in vitro, in contrast to land plant PEAMT, which catalyzes the three methylations from phosphoethanolamine to phosphocholine. This suggested an involvement of other methyltransferases in PC biosynthesis. Here, we characterized the putative phospholipid-N-methyltransferase (PLMT) genes of these species by genetic and phylogenetic analysis. Complementation assays using a PC biosynthesis-deficient yeast suggested that the PLMTs of these algae can synthesize PC from phosphatidylethanolamine. These results indicated that the PC biosynthesis pathways in green algae differ from those of land plants, although the enzymes involved are homologous. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that the PEAMTs and PLMTs in these algae were inherited from the common ancestor of green algae. The absence of PC biosynthesis in many Chlamydomonas species is likely a result of parallel losses of PEAMT and PLMT in this genus.

Indexed as

Amino Acid SequenceBase SequenceBiological EvolutionChlamydomonasChlorophytaCloning, MolecularEthanolaminesEvolution, MolecularMethyltransferasesPhosphatidylcholinesPhosphatidylethanolamine N-MethyltransferasePhosphatidylethanolaminesPhylogenyEthanolaminesMethyltransferasesPhosphatidylcholinesphosphatidylethanolaminePhosphatidylethanolamine N-MethyltransferasePhosphatidylethanolaminesphosphorylethanolamineChlamydomonasMetabolic diversityPhosphatidylcholine biosynthesisPhosphoethanolamine-N-methyltransferasePhospholipid-N-methyltransferase

Identifiers

PMID29330556
OpenAlexW2783441976

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.