Eukaryotic Algal Genes and progress in Molecular Biology of Eukaryotic Algae

Abstract

Molecular biology has provided new tools to explore and expose the genetic basis of taxonomy, biochemistry, physiology, cellular differentiation and developmental biology of eukaryotic algae. In this article we provide a list of previously published eukaryotic algal genes encoded in nuclear genome. The algal groups highlighted are Rhodophyta, Chlorophyta, Chrysophyta, Haptophyta, Dinophyta, Cryptophyta and Euglenophyta. We also focus on five areas where molecular research has provided major insights: cell structure, metabolism, sexual differentiation, photosynthetic apparatus and expressed sequence tags (EST). This paper demonstrates the importance of molecular biological research in algal systems. We also suggest areas where molecular biology will lead to new understanding of algal biology and its applications.