Universal primers amplify a 23S rDNA plastid marker in eukaryotic algae and cyanobacteria

The challenge in the development of universal algal primers lies in the genetic diversity contained within the vast array of evolutionary lineages present in this informally named group of organisms. A comparative genomics approach was used previously to identify conserved primers flanking a region of the plastid genome. Our present research illustrates the feasibility of amplifying and sequencing this marker across multiple algal lineages. We present a preliminary framework of 107 novel sequences of this region from 62 red algae, 19 green algae, 14 brown algae, 8 cyanobacteria, 2 diatoms, 1 xanthophyte, and 1 euglenoid, and illustrate levels of divergence of the marker for well-represented groups in a neighbor-joining analysis. This similar to 410 nt region distinguishes most species included in the analysis. The remarkable universality of these primers suggests potential for their use in assays of environmental samples in which they could be used to simultaneously detect a number of different algal lineages.