Ectocarpus（褐藻的一个模型生物）的基因组已被测序。褐藻是复杂的光合作用生物，它们已经适应了在沿海石质环境中生活。
基因组分析为了解这种适应性提供了线索，并且还显示了一大类集光及色素生物合成基因和新颖的代谢过程（如卤化物代谢）。比较基因组分析突显了一组受体激酶和相关分子在植物、动物和褐藻多细胞性的演化中可能具有的重要性。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原文出处：
Nature doi:10.1038/nature09016
The Ectocarpus genome and the independent evolution of multicellularity in brown algae
J. Mark Cock,Lieven Sterck,Pierre Rouzé,Delphine Scornet,Andrew E. Allen,Grigoris Amoutzias,Veronique Anthouard,Fran?ois Artiguenave,Jean-Marc Aury,Jonathan H. Badger,Bank Beszteri,Kenny Billiau,Eric Bonnet,John H. Bothwell,Chris Bowler,Catherine Boyen,Colin Brownlee,Carl J. Carrano,Bénédicte Charrier,Ga Youn Cho,Susana M. Coelho,Jonas Collén,Erwan Corre,Corinne Da Silva,Ludovic Delage,et al
Brown algae (Phaeophyceae) are complex photosynthetic organisms with a very different evolutionary history to green plants, to which they are only distantly related1. These seaweeds are the dominant species in rocky coastal ecosystems and they exhibit many interesting adaptations to these, often harsh, environments. Brown algae are also one of only a small number of eukaryotic lineages that have evolved complex multicellularity (Fig. 1). We report the 214?million base pair (Mbp) genome sequence of the filamentous seaweed Ectocarpus siliculosus (Dillwyn) Lyngbye, a model organism for brown algae2, 3, 4, 5, closely related to the kelps6, 7 (Fig. 1). Genome features such as the presence of an extended set of light-harvesting and pigment biosynthesis genes and new metabolic processes such as halide metabolism help explain the ability of this organism to cope with the highly variable tidal environment. The evolution of multicellularity in this lineage is correlated with the presence of a rich array of signal transduction genes. Of particular interest is the presence of a family of receptor kinases, as the independent evolution of related molecules has been linked with the emergence of multicellularity in both the animal and green plant lineages. The Ectocarpus genome sequence represents an important step towards developing this organism as a model species, providing the possibility to combine genomic and genetic2 approaches to explore these and other4, 5 aspects of brown algal biology further.
