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Yang X, Poelmans W, Grones C, Lakehal A, Pevernagie J, Van Bel M, Njo M, Xu L, Nelissen H, De Rybel B, Motte H, Beeckman T. Spatial transcriptomics of a lycophyte root sheds light on root evolution. Curr Biol 2023; 33:4069-4084.e8. [PMID: 37683643 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.08.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Revised: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023]
Abstract
Plant roots originated independently in lycophytes and euphyllophytes, whereas early vascular plants were rootless. The organization of the root apical meristem in euphyllophytes is well documented, especially in the model plant Arabidopsis. However, little is known about lycophyte roots and their molecular innovations during evolution. In this study, spatial transcriptomics was used to detect 97 root-related genes in the roots of the lycophyte Selaginella moellendorffii. A high number of genes showed expression patterns similar to what has been reported for seed plants, supporting the idea of a highly convergent evolution of mechanisms to control root development. Interaction and complementation data of SHORTROOT (SHR) and SCARECROW (SCR) homologs, furthermore, support a comparable regulation of the ground tissue (GT) between euphyllophytes and lycophytes. Root cap formation, in contrast, appears to be differently regulated. Several experiments indicated an important role of the WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX13 gene SmWOX13a in Selaginella root cap formation. In contrast to multiple Arabidopsis WOX paralogs, SmWOX13a is able to induce root cap cells in Arabidopsis and has functionally conserved homologs in the fern Ceratopteris richardii. Lycophytes and a part of the euphyllophytes, therefore, may share a common mechanism regulating root cap formation, which was diversified or lost during seed plant evolution. In summary, we here provide a new spatial data resource for the Selaginella root, which in general advocates for conserved mechanisms to regulate root development but shows a clear divergence in the control of root cap formation, with a novel putative role of WOX genes in root cap formation in non-seed plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xilan Yang
- Ghent University, Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Ward Poelmans
- Ghent University, Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Carolin Grones
- Ghent University, Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Abdellah Lakehal
- Ghent University, Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Julie Pevernagie
- Ghent University, Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Michiel Van Bel
- Ghent University, Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Maria Njo
- Ghent University, Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Lin Xu
- CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Hilde Nelissen
- Ghent University, Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Bert De Rybel
- Ghent University, Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Hans Motte
- Ghent University, Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, 9052 Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Tom Beeckman
- Ghent University, Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, 9052 Ghent, Belgium.
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Ojosnegros S, Alvarez JM, Grossmann J, Gagliardini V, Quintanilla LG, Grossniklaus U, Fernández H. Proteome and Interactome Linked to Metabolism, Genetic Information Processing, and Abiotic Stress in Gametophytes of Two Woodferns. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:12429. [PMID: 37569809 PMCID: PMC10419320 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241512429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Ferns and lycophytes have received scant molecular attention in comparison to angiosperms. The advent of high-throughput technologies allowed an advance towards a greater knowledge of their elusive genomes. In this work, proteomic analyses of heart-shaped gametophytes of two ferns were performed: the apomictic Dryopteris affinis ssp. affinis and its sexual relative Dryopteris oreades. In total, a set of 218 proteins shared by these two gametophytes were analyzed using the STRING database, and their proteome associated with metabolism, genetic information processing, and responses to abiotic stress is discussed. Specifically, we report proteins involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleotides, the biosynthesis of amino acids and secondary compounds, energy, oxide-reduction, transcription, translation, protein folding, sorting and degradation, and responses to abiotic stresses. The interactome of this set of proteins represents a total network composed of 218 nodes and 1792 interactions, obtained mostly from databases and text mining. The interactions among the identified proteins of the ferns D. affinis and D. oreades, together with the description of their biological functions, might contribute to a better understanding of the function and development of ferns as well as fill knowledge gaps in plant evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Ojosnegros
- Area of Plant Physiology, Department of Organisms and Systems Biology, University of Oviedo, 33071 Oviedo, Spain; (S.O.); (J.M.A.)
| | - José Manuel Alvarez
- Area of Plant Physiology, Department of Organisms and Systems Biology, University of Oviedo, 33071 Oviedo, Spain; (S.O.); (J.M.A.)
| | - Jonas Grossmann
- Functional Genomic Center Zurich, University and ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland;
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Valeria Gagliardini
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology & Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center, University of Zurich, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland; (V.G.); (U.G.)
| | - Luis G. Quintanilla
- Department of Biology and Geology, Physics and Inorganic Chemistry, University Rey Juan Carlos, 28933 Móstoles, Spain;
| | - Ueli Grossniklaus
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology & Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center, University of Zurich, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland; (V.G.); (U.G.)
| | - Helena Fernández
- Area of Plant Physiology, Department of Organisms and Systems Biology, University of Oviedo, 33071 Oviedo, Spain; (S.O.); (J.M.A.)
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Lakehal A, Dob A, Beeckman T. Specification and evolution of lateral roots. Curr Biol 2023; 33:R170-R175. [PMID: 36917935 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.12.054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/16/2023]
Abstract
Plants have evolved a remarkable capacity to develop new organs post-embryonically throughout their lifespan. A prime example of this is root branching. Root branching occurs in two ways: dichotomous and lateral branching. The dichotomous branching is the result of the division of the root apical meristem into two daughter meristems, likely through symmetric cell divisions of the root apical cell, as has recently been illustrated in the extant lycophyte Selaginella moellendorffii (Figure 1). Lateral root branching relies on the de novo specification of a subset of founder cells (hereinafter referred to as lateral root stem cells) located in the internal tissues of an existing root. This step is followed by initiation, in which the specified cells re-enter the cell cycle, and subsequently by primordium formation and emergence. In this primer, we summarize recent advances describing the molecular bases underlying lateral root stem cell specification in angiosperms and highlight the important positional signals that fine tune this process. By delving into the evolutionary origins of root branching, we point out that positional control of lateral root stem cell specification has not been the prevailing mechanism among all plants and discuss the process in ferns (i.e., a sister group of seed plants), where it seems to be under the control of lineage-dependent mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdellah Lakehal
- Ghent University, Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Asma Dob
- Ghent University, Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Tom Beeckman
- Ghent University, Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, 9052 Ghent, Belgium.
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