ArticleNature communications2026
Global metagenomics reveals plastid diversity and unexplored algal lineages.
Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Nucleomorph phylogenomics suggests a deep and ancient origin of cryptophyte plastids within Rhodophyta.The New phytologist · 2026Article
- Hunting for new lineages and mechanisms of life.Nature microbiology · 2026Article
- Global metagenomics reveals plastid diversity and unexplored algal lineages.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Identification of a deep-branching lineage of algae using environmental plastid genomes.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Expanded diversity of pedinophytes provides a window into the evolution of the genetic code in organelles.PLoS genetics · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Photosynthetic organelles in eukaryotes originated through primary endosymbiosis with a cyanobacterium, an event that profoundly shaped the evolutionary landscape of the eukaryotic tree of life. Primary plastids in Archaeplastida, especially in cultivable plants and algae, contribute most to known plastid diversity. Secondary and higher-order endosymbiosis, involving eukaryotic hosts and algal endosymbionts, further spread photosynthesis among protists within the CASH lineages (Cryptophyta, Alveolata, Stramenopila, and Haptophyta). Despite various hypotheses explaining secondary plastid evolution and distribution, empirical support remains limited. Here, we employ cultivation-independent global metagenomics to expand plastid diversity and investigate plastid origins. We capture 1,027 plastid sequences, including 300 novel sequences belonging to previously unsequenced plastids and representing yet-to-be described microeukaryotes. This includes a new lineage that offers insights into plastid evolution in haptophytes and cryptophytes. Our results confirm that Archaeplastida plastids originate from an early branching cyanobacterial lineage closely related to Gloeomargaritales and identify the closest extant relative of Paulinella plastids. Additionally, our findings suggest two independent origins of secondary red-algal plastids, contributing to plastid diversity in CASH lineages and challenging the prevailing model of single secondary plastid origin. Our study highlights the importance of metagenomic data in uncovering biological diversity and advancing understanding of plastid relationships across photosynthetic eukaryotes.
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