A cDNA clone, designated as Griffithsia japonica
cyclophilin-1 (GjCyp-1), was isolated by differential
screening of a cDNA library for a red alga, G. japonica.
The transcript that corresponded to GjCyp-1 was
abundant in vegetative, male, and tetraspor...
A cDNA clone, designated as Griffithsia japonica
cyclophilin-1 (GjCyp-1), was isolated by differential
screening of a cDNA library for a red alga, G. japonica.
The transcript that corresponded to GjCyp-1 was
abundant in vegetative, male, and tetrasporangial
thalli, but only the basal level of the transcript was
detected in female gametophytes. Determination of the
nucleotide sequence of GjCyp-1 identified an open
reading frame (ORF), which shared high homologies
with cyclophilins that were previously reported in
other organisms. Currently available amino acid sequences
of eukaryotic cyclophilins were compared in
order to examine their phylogenetic relationship to
GjCyp-1. A phylogenetic analysis, based on the aligned
sequences, showed two major clades - cytosolic
cyclophilins (CypA) and ER cyclophilins (CypB). The
clade of CypA was divided into six groups - plant,
nematode, mammal, euglenozoa, fungi, and platyhelminthes
CypA. GjCyp-1 appeared to be closely allied
with the euglenozoan CypAs, but constituted an
independent lineage. GjCyp-1 showed little relationship
with other algal Cyps. A green alga, Chlamydomonas
(Chl a + b group), was located in a green plant
clade, but a brown alga, Fucus (Chl a + c group),
formed an independent clade with a fungus Uromyces
(Basidiomycota).