Phylogenetic position of the Chromista plastids based on small subunit rRNA coding regions.

The kingdom Chromista contains eukaryotic organisms with tubular mastigonemes on the leading flagellum of their bi-flagellated stages, and plastids within a chloroplast endoplasmic reticulum (CER). The complex series of events leading to the formation of the CER is hypothesized to have occurred only once. Thus, all organisms with plastid-CER connections are believed to be monophyletic and derived from a single secondary endosymbiotic event. Analyses of sequence data from the 16s rRNA gene from three of the four Chromista pigmented classes indicate that these algae are not monophyletic. The validity of the kingdom Chromista and the number of secondary plastid endosymbioses are questioned.