Evolution of the Large Subunit of Ribulose-1, 5-Bisphosphate Carboxylase/ Oxygenase Genes in Algae

The large subunit ribulose-1, 5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (rbcL) is a gene cluster directly related to photosynthetic carbon fixation and because of its important biological functions, the structure and evolution history of rbcL is of great interest to world´s scientists. To elucidate the evolutionary history of rbcL, the rbcL genes from 7 kinds of algae of Laminariaceae and 6 kinds of algae of Alaruaceae were selected. Then the phylogenetic relationships were explored by neighbour-joining and minimum-evolution methods. Based on two kinds of phylogenetic analysis, we knew that rbcL evolutionary changes occurred in the early stage, but it´s followed by a period of evolutionary stability. The conclusion will provide guides for further research on rbcL evolution history of other algae.