Evolution of alternative biosynthetic pathways for vitamin C following plastid acquisition in photosynthetic eukaryotes

The authors acknowledge funding from the Exeter University Science Strategy Fund, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/G021678) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NE/J021008/1). Hannah Florance (Exeter University Mass Spectrometry Facility) provided analytical assistance. The Euglena transcriptome was sequenced by the Exeter University Sequencing Service with assistance from Konrad Paszkiewicz and Karen Moore. Access to the Marine Microbial Eukaryote Transcriptome Sequencing Project (MMETSP) was provided by National Center for Genome Resources. This paper is dedicated to the memory of Frank A. Loewus (1919-2014) who pioneered research into ascorbate biosynthesis.