Why Chloroplast Genomes?
Chloroplasts are intracellular organelles. They carry their own genome that encodes for many (but not all) of the genes essential for photosynthesis. With respect to chloroplast genomic studies, almost exclusive emphasis has been placed on the generation of data from the chlorophytic lineage of autotrophs. About 15 chlorophytic chloroplast genomes have been sequenced in their entirety and there are many more projects ongoing, particularly land plants. However, to date, only minimal data exists with respect to chloroplast genome sequences for non-chlorophyll b-containing algae (of the approximately 100,000 known species) despite their important contributions to ecosystem function.
