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Stéger A, Palmgren M. Hypothesis paper: the development of a regulatory layer in P2B autoinhibited Ca 2+-ATPases may have facilitated plant terrestrialization and animal multicellularization. Plant Signal Behav 2023; 18:2204284. [PMID: 37096591 PMCID: PMC10132250 DOI: 10.1080/15592324.2023.2204284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
With the appearance of plants and animals, new challenges emerged. These multicellular eukaryotes had to solve for example the difficulties of multifaceted communication between cells and adaptation to new habitats. In this paper, we are looking for one piece of the puzzle that made the development of complex multicellular eukaryotes possible with a focus on regulation of P2B autoinhibited Ca2+-ATPases. P2B ATPases pump Ca2+ out of the cytosol at the expense of ATP hydrolysis, and thereby maintain a steep gradient between the extra- and intracytosolic compartments which is utilized for Ca2+-mediated rapid cell signaling. The activity of these enzymes is regulated by a calmodulin (CaM)-responsive autoinhibitory region, which can be located in either termini of the protein, at the C-terminus in animals and at the N-terminus in plants. When the cytoplasmic Ca2+ level reaches a threshold, the CaM/Ca2+ complex binds to a calmodulin-binding domain (CaMBD) in the autoinhibitor, which leads to the upregulation of pump activity. In animals, protein activity is also controlled by acidic phospholipids that bind to a cytosolic portion of the pump. Here, we analyze the appearance of CaMBDs and the phospholipid-activating sequence and show that their evolution in animals and plants was independent. Furthermore, we hypothesize that different causes may have initiated the appearance of these regulatory layers: in animals, it is linked to the appearance of multicellularity, while in plants it co-occurs with their water-to-land transition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anett Stéger
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Michael Palmgren
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
- CONTACT Michael Palmgren Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, FrederiksbergDK-1871, Denmark
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Wolfe JM, Ballou L, Luque J, Watson-Zink VM, Ahyong ST, Barido-Sottani J, Chan TY, Chu KH, Crandall KA, Daniels SR, Felder DL, Mancke H, Martin JW, Ng PKL, Ortega-Hernández J, Palacios Theil E, Pentcheff ND, Robles R, Thoma BP, Tsang LM, Wetzer R, Windsor AM, Bracken-Grissom HD. Convergent adaptation of true crabs (Decapoda: Brachyura) to a gradient of terrestrial environments. Syst Biol 2023:syad066. [PMID: 37941464 DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syad066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023] Open
Abstract
For much of terrestrial biodiversity, the evolutionary pathways of adaptation from marine ancestors are poorly understood, and have usually been viewed as a binary trait. True crabs, the decapod crustacean infraorder Brachyura, comprise over 7,600 species representing a striking diversity of morphology and ecology, including repeated adaptation to non-marine habitats. Here, we reconstruct the evolutionary history of Brachyura using new and published sequences of 10 genes for 344 tips spanning 88 of 109 brachyuran families. Using 36 newly vetted fossil calibrations, we infer that brachyurans most likely diverged in the Triassic, with family-level splits in the late Cretaceous and early Paleogene. By contrast, the root age is underestimated with automated sampling of 328 fossil occurrences explicitly incorporated into the tree prior, suggesting such models are a poor fit under heterogeneous fossil preservation. We apply recently defined trait-by-environment associations to classify a gradient of transitions from marine to terrestrial lifestyles. We estimate that crabs left the marine environment at least seven and up to 17 times convergently, and returned to the sea from non-marine environments at least twice. Although the most highly terrestrial- and many freshwater-adapted crabs are concentrated in Thoracotremata, Bayesian threshold models of ancestral state reconstruction fail to identify shifts to higher terrestrial grades due to the degree of underlying change required. Lineages throughout our tree inhabit intertidal and marginal marine environments, corroborating the inference that the early stages of terrestrial adaptation have a lower threshold to evolve. Our framework and extensive new fossil and natural history datasets will enable future comparisons of non-marine adaptation at the morphological and molecular level. Crabs provide an important window into the early processes of adaptation to novel environments, and different degrees of evolutionary constraint that might help predict these pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna M Wolfe
- Museum of Comparative Zoology and Department of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Lauren Ballou
- Institute of Environment and Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Biscayne Bay Campus, North Miami, FL 33181, USA
| | - Javier Luque
- Museum of Comparative Zoology and Department of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Institute of Environment and Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Biscayne Bay Campus, North Miami, FL 33181, USA
| | | | - Shane T Ahyong
- Australian Museum, 1 William St, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia
- School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Joëlle Barido-Sottani
- Institut de Biologie de l'École Normale Supérieure (IBENS), ENS, CNRS, INSERM, Université PSL (Paris Sciences & Lettres), Paris, France
| | - Tin-Yam Chan
- Institute of Marine Biology and Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 202301, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Ka Hou Chu
- Simon F. S. Li Marine Science Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China
| | - Keith A Crandall
- Computational Biology Institute, Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology, US National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA
| | - Savel R Daniels
- Department of Botany and Zoology, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland, 7602, South Africa
| | - Darryl L Felder
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology, US National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA
- Department of Biology and Laboratory for Crustacean Research, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA 70504, USA
| | - Harrison Mancke
- Institute of Environment and Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Biscayne Bay Campus, North Miami, FL 33181, USA
| | - Joel W Martin
- Research and Collections, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90007, USA
| | - Peter K L Ng
- Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, 2 Conservatory Drive, 117377 Singapore, Singapore
| | - Javier Ortega-Hernández
- Museum of Comparative Zoology and Department of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Emma Palacios Theil
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Hydrobiology, University of Łódź, ul. Banacha 12/16, 90237 Łódź, Poland
| | - N Dean Pentcheff
- Research and Collections, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90007, USA
| | - Rafael Robles
- Department of Biology and Laboratory for Crustacean Research, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA 70504, USA
- Facultad de Ciencias Químico Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Campeche, San Francisco de Campeche, Campeche, México
| | - Brent P Thoma
- Department of Biology, Jackson State University, P.O. Box 18540, Jackson, MS 39217, USA
| | - Ling Ming Tsang
- Simon F. S. Li Marine Science Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Regina Wetzer
- Research and Collections, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90007, USA
| | - Amanda M Windsor
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology, US National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA
- United States Food and Drug Administration, Office of Regulatory Science, 5001 Campus Dr. College Park, MD 20740, USA
| | - Heather D Bracken-Grissom
- Institute of Environment and Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Biscayne Bay Campus, North Miami, FL 33181, USA
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology, US National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA
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Aristide L, Fernández R. Genomic Insights into Mollusk Terrestrialization: Parallel and Convergent Gene Family Expansions as Key Facilitators in Out-of-the-Sea Transitions. Genome Biol Evol 2023; 15:evad176. [PMID: 37793176 PMCID: PMC10581543 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evad176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Revised: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Animals abandoned their marine niche and successfully adapted to life on land multiple times throughout evolution, providing a rare opportunity to study the mechanisms driving large scale macroevolutionary convergence. However, the genomic factors underlying this process remain largely unknown. Here, we investigate the macroevolutionary dynamics of gene repertoire evolution during repeated transitions out of the sea in mollusks, a lineage that has transitioned to freshwater and terrestrial environments multiple independent times. Through phylogenomics and phylogenetic comparative methods, we examine ∼100 genomic data sets encompassing all major molluskan lineages. We introduce a conceptual framework for identifying and analyzing parallel and convergent evolution at the orthogroup level (groups of genes derived from a single ancestral gene in the species in question) and explore the extent of these mechanisms. Despite deep temporal divergences, we found that parallel expansions of ancient gene families played a major role in facilitating adaptation to nonmarine habitats, highlighting the relevance of the preexisting genomic toolkit in facilitating adaptation to new environments. The expanded functions primarily involve metabolic, osmoregulatory, and defense-related systems. We further found functionally convergent lineage-exclusive gene gains, while family contractions appear to be driven by neutral processes. Also, genomic innovations likely contributed to fuel independent habitat transitions. Overall, our study reveals that various mechanisms of gene repertoire evolution-parallelism, convergence, and innovation-can simultaneously contribute to major evolutionary transitions. Our results provide a genome-wide gene repertoire atlas of molluskan terrestrialization that paves the way toward further understanding the functional and evolutionary bases of this process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leandro Aristide
- Metazoa Phylogenomics Laboratory Biodiversity Program, Institute of Evolutionary Biology (Spanish Research Council-University Pompeu Fabra), BarcelonaSpain
| | - Rosa Fernández
- Metazoa Phylogenomics Laboratory Biodiversity Program, Institute of Evolutionary Biology (Spanish Research Council-University Pompeu Fabra), BarcelonaSpain
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Marin IN, Tiunov AV. Terrestrial crustaceans (Arthropoda, Crustacea): taxonomic diversity, terrestrial adaptations, and ecological functions. Zookeys 2023; 1169:95-162. [PMID: 38328027 PMCID: PMC10848873 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1169.97812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/29/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Terrestrial crustaceans are represented by approximately 4,900 species from six main lineages. The diversity of terrestrial taxa ranges from a few genera in Cladocera and Ostracoda to about a third of the known species in Isopoda. Crustaceans are among the smallest as well as the largest terrestrial arthropods. Tiny microcrustaceans (Branchiopoda, Ostracoda, Copepoda) are always associated with water films, while adult stages of macrocrustaceans (Isopoda, Amphipoda, Decapoda) spend most of their lives in terrestrial habitats, being independent of liquid water. Various adaptations in morphology, physiology, reproduction, and behavior allow them to thrive in virtually all geographic areas, including extremely arid habitats. The most derived terrestrial crustaceans have acquired highly developed visual and olfactory systems. The density of soil copepods is sometimes comparable to that of mites and springtails, while the total biomass of decapods on tropical islands can exceed that of mammals in tropical rainforests. During migrations, land crabs create record-breaking aggregations and biomass flows for terrestrial invertebrates. The ecological role of terrestrial microcrustaceans remains poorly studied, while omnivorous macrocrustaceans are important litter transformers and soil bioturbators, occasionally occupying the position of the top predators. Notably, crustaceans are the only group among terrestrial saprotrophic animals widely used by humans as food. Despite the great diversity and ecological impact, terrestrial crustaceans, except for woodlice, are often neglected by terrestrial ecologists. This review aims to narrow this gap discussing the diversity, abundance, adaptations to terrestrial lifestyle, trophic relationships and ecological functions, as well as the main methods used for sampling terrestrial crustaceans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan N. Marin
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, RussiaA.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of SciencesMoscowRussia
| | - Alexei V. Tiunov
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, RussiaA.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of SciencesMoscowRussia
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McCourt RM, Lewis LA, Strother PK, Delwiche CF, Wickett NJ, de Vries J, Bowman JL. Green land: Multiple perspectives on green algal evolution and the earliest land plants. Am J Bot 2023; 110:e16175. [PMID: 37247371 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Green plants, broadly defined as green algae and the land plants (together, Viridiplantae), constitute the primary eukaryotic lineage that successfully colonized Earth's emergent landscape. Members of various clades of green plants have independently made the transition from fully aquatic to subaerial habitats many times throughout Earth's history. The transition, from unicells or simple filaments to complex multicellular plant bodies with functionally differentiated tissues and organs, was accompanied by innovations built upon a genetic and phenotypic toolkit that have served aquatic green phototrophs successfully for at least a billion years. These innovations opened an enormous array of new, drier places to live on the planet and resulted in a huge diversity of land plants that have dominated terrestrial ecosystems over the past 500 million years. This review examines the greening of the land from several perspectives, from paleontology to phylogenomics, to water stress responses and the genetic toolkit shared by green algae and plants, to the genomic evolution of the sporophyte generation. We summarize advances on disparate fronts in elucidating this important event in the evolution of the biosphere and the lacunae in our understanding of it. We present the process not as a step-by-step advancement from primitive green cells to an inevitable success of embryophytes, but rather as a process of adaptations and exaptations that allowed multiple clades of green plants, with various combinations of morphological and physiological terrestrialized traits, to become diverse and successful inhabitants of the land habitats of Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard M McCourt
- Department of Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, 19118, USA
| | - Louise A Lewis
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA
| | - Paul K Strother
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Boston College Weston Observatory, 381 Concord Road, Weston, MA, 02493, USA
| | - Charles F Delwiche
- Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
| | - Norman J Wickett
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, 132 Long Hall, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA
| | - Jan de Vries
- Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, Department of Applied Bioinformatics, University of Göttingen Goldschmidtstr. 1, Göttingen, 37077, Germany
| | - John L Bowman
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton Campus, Melbourne, Victoria, 3800, Australia
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Kurepa J, Shull TE, Smalle JA. Friends in Arms: Flavonoids and the Auxin/Cytokinin Balance in Terrestrialization. Plants (Basel) 2023; 12:517. [PMID: 36771601 PMCID: PMC9921348 DOI: 10.3390/plants12030517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Land plants survive the challenges of new environments by evolving mechanisms that protect them from excess irradiation, nutrient deficiency, and temperature and water availability fluctuations. One such evolved mechanism is the regulation of the shoot/root growth ratio in response to water and nutrient availability by balancing the actions of the hormones auxin and cytokinin. Plant terrestrialization co-occurred with a dramatic expansion in secondary metabolism, particularly with the evolution and establishment of the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway. Flavonoid biosynthesis is responsive to a wide range of stresses, and the numerous synthesized flavonoid species offer two main evolutionary advantages to land plants. First, flavonoids are antioxidants and thus defend plants against those adverse conditions that lead to the overproduction of reactive oxygen species. Second, flavonoids aid in protecting plants against water and nutrient deficiency by modulating root development and establishing symbiotic relations with beneficial soil fungi and bacteria. Here, we review different aspects of the relationships between the auxin/cytokinin module and flavonoids. The current body of knowledge suggests that whereas both auxin and cytokinin regulate flavonoid biosynthesis, flavonoids act to fine-tune only auxin, which in turn regulates cytokinin action. This conclusion agrees with the established master regulatory function of auxin in controlling the shoot/root growth ratio.
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Permann C, Gierlinger N, Holzinger A. Zygospores of the green alga Spirogyra: new insights from structural and chemical imaging. Front Plant Sci 2022; 13:1080111. [PMID: 36561459 PMCID: PMC9763465 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1080111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Zygnematophyceae, a class of streptophyte green algae and sister group to land plants (Embryophytes) live in aquatic to semi-terrestrial habitats. The transition from aquatic to terrestrial environments requires adaptations in the physiology of vegetative cells and in the structural properties of their cell walls. Sexual reproduction occurs in Zygnematophyceae by conjugation and results in the formation of zygospores, possessing unique multi-layered cell walls, which might have been crucial in terrestrialization. We investigated the structure and chemical composition of field sampled Spirogyra sp. zygospore cell walls by multiple microscopical and spectral imaging techniques: light microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy, transmission electron microscopy following high pressure freeze fixation/freeze substitution, Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. This comprehensive analysis allowed the detection of the subcellular organization and showed three main layers of the zygospore wall, termed endo-, meso- and exospore. The endo- and exospore are composed of polysaccharides with different ultrastructural appearance, whereas the electron dense middle layer contains aromatic compounds as further characterized by Raman spectroscopy. The possible chemical composition remains elusive, but algaenan or a sporopollenin-like material is suggested. Similar compounds with a non-hydrolysable character can be found in moss spores and pollen of higher plants, suggesting a protective function against desiccation stress and high irradiation. While the tripartite differentiation of the zygospore wall is well established in Zygnematopyhceae, Spirogyra showed cellulose fibrils arranged in a helicoidal pattern in the endo- and exospore. Initial incorporation of lipid bodies during early zygospore wall formation was also observed, suggesting a key role of lipids in zygospore wall synthesis. Multimodal imaging revealed that the cell wall of the sexually formed zygospores possess a highly complex internal structure as well as aromatics, likely acting as protective compounds and leading to impregnation. Both, the newly discovered special three-dimensional arrangement of microfibrils and the integration of highly resistant components in the cell wall are not found in the vegetative state. The variety of methods gave a comprehensive view on the intricate zygospore cell wall and its potential key role in the terrestrial colonization and plant evolution is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Permann
- Department of Botany, University of Innsbruck, Functional Plant Biology, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Notburga Gierlinger
- Department of Nanobiotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Vienna, Austria
| | - Andreas Holzinger
- Department of Botany, University of Innsbruck, Functional Plant Biology, Innsbruck, Austria
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Alexander Bowles. New Phytol 2022; 236:2014-5. [PMID: 36385266 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
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Tihelka E, Howard RJ, Cai C, Lozano-Fernandez J. Was There a Cambrian Explosion on Land? The Case of Arthropod Terrestrialization. Biology (Basel) 2022; 11:biology11101516. [PMID: 36290419 PMCID: PMC9598930 DOI: 10.3390/biology11101516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2022] [Revised: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Arthropods, the most diverse form of macroscopic life in the history of the Earth, originated in the sea. Since the early Cambrian, at least ~518 million years ago, these animals have dominated the oceans of the world. By the Silurian-Devonian, the fossil record attests to arthropods becoming the first animals to colonize land, However, a growing body of molecular dating and palaeontological evidence suggests that the three major terrestrial arthropod groups (myriapods, hexapods, and arachnids), as well as vascular plants, may have invaded land as early as the Cambrian-Ordovician. These dates precede the oldest fossil evidence of those groups and suggest an unrecorded continental "Cambrian explosion" a hundred million years prior to the formation of early complex terrestrial ecosystems in the Silurian-Devonian. We review the palaeontological, phylogenomic, and molecular clock evidence pertaining to the proposed Cambrian terrestrialization of the arthropods. We argue that despite the challenges posed by incomplete preservation and the scarcity of early Palaeozoic terrestrial deposits, the discrepancy between molecular clock estimates and the fossil record is narrower than is often claimed. We discuss strategies for closing the gap between molecular clock estimates and fossil data in the evolution of early ecosystems on land.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik Tihelka
- School of Earth and Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Richard J. Howard
- Department of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Chenyang Cai
- School of Earth and Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Jesus Lozano-Fernandez
- School of Earth and Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
- Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics & Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio), University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
- Correspondence:
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Abstract
More than half a billion years ago a streptophyte algal lineage began terraforming the terrestrial habitat and the Earth's atmosphere. This pioneering step enabled the subsequent evolution of all complex life on land, and the past decade has uncovered that many traits, both morphological and genetic, once thought to be unique to land plants, are conserved across some streptophyte algae. They provided the common ancestor of land plants with a repertoire of genes, of which many were adapted to overcome the new biotic and abiotic challenges. Exploring these molecular adaptations in non-tracheophyte species may help us to better prepare all green life, including our crops, for the challenges precipitated by the climate change of the Anthropocene because the challenges mostly differ by the speed with which they are now being met.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mona Schreiber
- Plant Cell Biology, University of Marburg, 35043 Marburg, Germany.
| | - Stefan A Rensing
- Plant Cell Biology, University of Marburg, 35043 Marburg, Germany; Centre for Biological Signalling Studies (BIOSS), University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
| | - Sven B Gould
- Institute for Molecular Evolution, Heinrich Heine University (HHU) Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
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Vinde MH, Cao D, Chesterfield RJ, Yoneyama K, Gumulya Y, Thomson RES, Matila T, Ebert BE, Beveridge CA, Vickers CE, Gillam EMJ. Ancestral sequence reconstruction of the CYP711 family reveals functional divergence in strigolactone biosynthetic enzymes associated with gene duplication events in monocot grasses. New Phytol 2022; 235:1900-1912. [PMID: 35644901 PMCID: PMC9544836 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The strigolactone (SL) class of phytohormones shows broad chemical diversity, the functional importance of which remains to be fully elucidated, along with the enzymes responsible for the diversification of the SL structure. Here we explore the functional evolution of the highly conserved CYP711A P450 family, members of which catalyze several key monooxygenation reactions in the strigolactone pathway. Ancestral sequence reconstruction was utilized to infer ancestral CYP711A sequences based on a comprehensive set of extant CYP711 sequences. Eleven ancestral enzymes, corresponding to key points in the CYP711A phylogenetic tree, were resurrected and their activity was characterized towards the native substrate carlactone and the pure enantiomers of the synthetic strigolactone analogue, GR24. The ancestral and extant CYP711As tested accepted GR24 as a substrate and catalyzed several diversifying oxidation reactions on the structure. Evidence was obtained for functional divergence in the CYP711A family. The monocot group 3 ancestor, arising from gene duplication events within monocot grasses, showed both increased catalytic activity towards GR24 and high stereoselectivity towards the GR24 isomer resembling strigol-type SLs. These results are consistent with a role for CYP711As in strigolactone diversification in early land plants, which may have extended to the diversification of strigol-type SLs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcos H. Vinde
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and NanotechnologyThe University of QueenslandSt LuciaQld4072Australia
- School of Chemistry and Molecular BiosciencesThe University of QueenslandSt LuciaQld4072Australia
- CSIRO Synthetic Biology Future Science PlatformCSIRO Land & Water, EcoSciences PrecinctDutton ParkBrisbaneQld4012Australia
| | - Da Cao
- School of Biological Sciences, ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and AgricultureThe University of QueenslandSt LuciaQld4072Australia
| | - Rebecca J. Chesterfield
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and NanotechnologyThe University of QueenslandSt LuciaQld4072Australia
- CSIRO Synthetic Biology Future Science PlatformCSIRO Land & Water, EcoSciences PrecinctDutton ParkBrisbaneQld4012Australia
| | - Kaori Yoneyama
- Graduate School of AgricultureEhime UniversityEhime790‐8566Japan
- Japan Science and Technology AgencyPRESTOSaitama332‐0012Japan
| | - Yosephine Gumulya
- School of Chemistry and Molecular BiosciencesThe University of QueenslandSt LuciaQld4072Australia
| | - Raine E. S. Thomson
- School of Chemistry and Molecular BiosciencesThe University of QueenslandSt LuciaQld4072Australia
| | - Tebogo Matila
- School of Chemistry and Molecular BiosciencesThe University of QueenslandSt LuciaQld4072Australia
| | - Birgitta E. Ebert
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and NanotechnologyThe University of QueenslandSt LuciaQld4072Australia
| | - Christine A. Beveridge
- School of Biological Sciences, ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and AgricultureThe University of QueenslandSt LuciaQld4072Australia
| | - Claudia E. Vickers
- Japan Science and Technology AgencyPRESTOSaitama332‐0012Japan
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic BiologyQueensland University of TechnologyBrisbaneQld4000Australia
- Griffith Institute for Drug DesignGriffith UniversityNathanBrisbaneQld4111Australia
| | - Elizabeth M. J. Gillam
- School of Chemistry and Molecular BiosciencesThe University of QueenslandSt LuciaQld4072Australia
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Degola
- Department of Chemistry, Life Science and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, 43124 Parma, Italy
| | | | - Alessandro Petraglia
- Department of Chemistry, Life Science and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, 43124 Parma, Italy
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Nascimento LBDS, Tattini M. Beyond Photoprotection: The Multifarious Roles of Flavonoids in Plant Terrestrialization. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:5284. [PMID: 35563675 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23095284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Revised: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/06/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Plants evolved an impressive arsenal of multifunctional specialized metabolites to cope with the novel environmental pressures imposed by the terrestrial habitat when moving from water. Here we examine the multifarious roles of flavonoids in plant terrestrialization. We reason on the environmental drivers, other than the increase in UV-B radiation, that were mostly responsible for the rise of flavonoid metabolism and how flavonoids helped plants in land conquest. We are reasonably based on a nutrient-deficiency hypothesis for the replacement of mycosporine-like amino acids, typical of streptophytic algae, with the flavonoid metabolism during the water-to-land transition. We suggest that flavonoids modulated auxin transport and signaling and promoted the symbiosis between plants and fungi (e.g., arbuscular mycorrhizal, AM), a central event for the conquest of land by plants. AM improved the ability of early plants to take up nutrients and water from highly impoverished soils. We offer evidence that flavonoids equipped early land plants with highly versatile “defense compounds”, essential for the new set of abiotic and biotic stressors imposed by the terrestrial environment. We conclude that flavonoids have been multifunctional since the appearance of plants on land, not only acting as UV filters but especially improving both nutrient acquisition and biotic stress defense.
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Zhang Z, Ma X, Liu Y, Yang L, Shi X, Wang H, Diao R, Zhong B. Origin and evolution of green plants in the light of key evolutionary events. J Integr Plant Biol 2022; 64:516-535. [PMID: 35018728 DOI: 10.1111/jipb.13224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Green plants (Viridiplantae) are ancient photosynthetic organisms that thrive both in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, greatly contributing to the changes in global climates and ecosystems. Significant progress has been made toward understanding the origin and evolution of green plants, and plant biologists have arrived at the consensus that green plants first originated in marine deep-water environments and later colonized fresh water and dry land. The origin of green plants, colonization of land by plants and rapid radiation of angiosperms are three key evolutionary events during the long history of green plants. However, the comprehensive understanding of evolutionary features and molecular innovations that enabled green plants to adapt to complex and changeable environments are still limited. Here, we review current knowledge of phylogenetic relationships and divergence times of green plants, and discuss key morphological innovations and distinct drivers in the evolution of green plants. Ultimately, we highlight fundamental questions to advance our understanding of the phenotypic novelty, environmental adaptation, and domestication of green plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenhua Zhang
- College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Xiaoya Ma
- College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Yannan Liu
- College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Lingxiao Yang
- College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Xuan Shi
- College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Hao Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Runjie Diao
- College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Bojian Zhong
- College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, China
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Pfeifer L, Utermöhlen J, Happ K, Permann C, Holzinger A, von Schwartzenberg K, Classen B. Search for evolutionary roots of land plant arabinogalactan-proteins in charophytes: presence of a rhamnogalactan-protein in Spirogyra pratensis (Zygnematophyceae). Plant J 2022; 109:568-584. [PMID: 34767672 PMCID: PMC7612518 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.15577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2021] [Revised: 11/03/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Charophyte green algae (CGA) are assigned to be the closest relatives of land plants and therefore enlighten processes in the colonization of terrestrial habitats. For the transition from water to land, plants needed significant physiological and structural changes, as well as with regard to cell wall composition. Sequential extraction of cell walls of Nitellopsis obtusa (Charophyceae) and Spirogyra pratensis (Zygnematophyceae) offered a comparative overview on cell wall composition of late branching CGA. Because arabinogalactan-proteins (AGPs) are considered common for all land plant cell walls, we were interested in whether these special glycoproteins are present in CGA. Therefore, we investigated both species with regard to characteristic features of AGPs. In the cell wall of Nitellopsis, no hydroxyproline was present and no AGP was precipitable with the β-glucosyl Yariv's reagent (βGlcY). By contrast, βGlcY precipitation of the water-soluble cell wall fraction of Spirogyra yielded a glycoprotein fraction rich in hydroxyproline, indicating the presence of AGPs. Putative AGPs in the cell walls of non-conjugating Spirogyra filaments, especially in the area of transverse walls, were detected by staining with βGlcY. Labelling increased strongly in generative growth stages, especially during zygospore development. Investigations of the fine structure of the glycan part of βGlcY-precipitated molecules revealed that the galactan backbone resembled that of AGPs with 1,3- 1,6- and 1,3,6-linked Galp moieties. Araf was present only in small amounts and the terminating sugars consisted predominantly of pyranosidic terminal and 1,3-linked rhamnose residues. We introduce the term 'rhamnogalactan-protein' for this special AGP-modification present in S. pratensis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Pfeifer
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Pharmaceutical Institute, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Kiel 24118, Germany
| | - Jon Utermöhlen
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Pharmaceutical Institute, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Kiel 24118, Germany
| | - Kathrin Happ
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Pharmaceutical Institute, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Kiel 24118, Germany
| | - Charlotte Permann
- Department of Botany, Functional Plant Biology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck 6020, Austria
| | - Andreas Holzinger
- Department of Botany, Functional Plant Biology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck 6020, Austria
| | | | - Birgit Classen
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Pharmaceutical Institute, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Kiel 24118, Germany
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Althoff F, Wegner L, Ehlers K, Buschmann H, Zachgo S. Developmental Plasticity of the Amphibious Liverwort Riccia fluitans. Front Plant Sci 2022; 13:909327. [PMID: 35677239 PMCID: PMC9168770 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.909327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
The colonization of land by ancestors of embryophyte plants was one of the most significant evolutionary events in the history of life on earth. The lack of a buffering aquatic environment necessitated adaptations for coping with novel abiotic challenges, particularly high light intensities and desiccation as well as the formation of novel anchoring structures. Bryophytes mark the transition from freshwater to terrestrial habitats and form adaptive features such as rhizoids for soil contact and water uptake, devices for gas exchange along with protective and repellent surface layers. The amphibious liverwort Riccia fluitans can grow as a land form (LF) or water form (WF) and was employed to analyze these critical traits in two different habitats. A combination of light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies was conducted to characterize and compare WF and LF morphologies. A complete phenotypic adaptation of a WF plant to a terrestrial habitat is accomplished within 15 days after the transition. Stable transgenic R. fluitans lines expressing GFP-TUBULIN and mCherry proteins were generated to study cell division and differentiation processes and revealed a higher cell division activity in enlarged meristematic regions at LF apical notches. Morphological studies demonstrated that the R. fluitans WF initiates air pore formation. However, these pores are arrested at an early four cell stage and do not develop further into open pores that could mediate gas exchange. Similarly, also arrested rhizoid initial cells are formed in the WF, which exhibit a distinctive morphology compared to other ventral epidermal cells. Furthermore, we detected that the LF thallus has a reduced surface permeability compared to the WF, likely mediated by formation of thicker LF cell walls and a distinct cuticle compared to the WF. Our R. fluitans developmental plasticity studies can serve as a basis to further investigate in a single genotype the molecular mechanisms of adaptations essential for plants during the conquest of land.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Althoff
- Department of Botany, Osnabrück University, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Linus Wegner
- Department of Botany, Justus-Liebig University, Gießen, Germany
| | - Katrin Ehlers
- Department of Botany, Justus-Liebig University, Gießen, Germany
| | - Henrik Buschmann
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Mittweida, Mittweida, Germany
| | - Sabine Zachgo
- Department of Botany, Osnabrück University, Osnabrück, Germany
- *Correspondence: Sabine Zachgo,
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Zhao D, Yao Z, Zhang J, Zhang R, Mou Z, Zhang X, Li Z, Feng X, Chen S, Reiter RJ. Melatonin synthesis genes N-acetylserotonin methyltransferases evolved into caffeic acid O-methyltransferases and both assisted in plant terrestrialization. J Pineal Res 2021; 71:e12737. [PMID: 33844336 DOI: 10.1111/jpi.12737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Revised: 03/25/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Terrestrialization is one of the most momentous events in the history of plant life, which leads to the subsequent evolution of plant diversity. The transition species, in this process, had to acquire a range of adaptive mechanisms to cope with the harsh features of terrestrial environments compared to that of aquatic habitat. As an ancient antioxidant, a leading regulator of ROS signaling or homeostasis, and a presumed plant master regulator, melatonin likely assisted plants transition to land and their adaption to terrestrial ecosystems. N-acetylserotonin methyltransferases (ASMT) and caffeic acid O-methyltransferases (COMT), both in the O-methyltransferase (OMT) family, catalyze the core O-methylation reaction in melatonin biosynthesis. How these two enzymes with close relevance evolved in plant evolutionary history and whether they participated in plant terrestrialization remains unknown. Using combined phylogenetic evidence and protein structure analysis, it is revealed that COMT likely evolved from ASMT by gene duplication and subsequent divergence. Newly emergent COMT gained a significantly higher ASMT activity to produce greater amounts of melatonin for immobile plants to acclimate to the stressful land environments after evolving from the more environmentally-stable aquatic conditions. The COMT genes possess more conserved substrate-binding sites at the amino acid level and more open protein conformation compared to ASMT, and getting a new function to catalyze the lignin biosynthesis. This development directly contributed to the dominance of vascular plants among the Earth's flora and prompted plant colonization of land. Thus, ASMT, together with its descendant COMT, might play key roles in plant transition to land. The current study provides new insights into plant terrestrialization with gene duplication contributing to this process along with well-known horizontal gene transfer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dake Zhao
- Biocontrol Engineering Research Center of Plant Disease and Pest, Biocontrol Engineering Research Center of Crop Disease and Pest, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
- School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Zhengping Yao
- Biocontrol Engineering Research Center of Plant Disease and Pest, Biocontrol Engineering Research Center of Crop Disease and Pest, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
- School of Life Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Jiemei Zhang
- Biocontrol Engineering Research Center of Plant Disease and Pest, Biocontrol Engineering Research Center of Crop Disease and Pest, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
- School of Life Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Renjun Zhang
- Biocontrol Engineering Research Center of Plant Disease and Pest, Biocontrol Engineering Research Center of Crop Disease and Pest, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
- School of Life Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Zongmin Mou
- Biocontrol Engineering Research Center of Plant Disease and Pest, Biocontrol Engineering Research Center of Crop Disease and Pest, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
- School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Xue Zhang
- Biocontrol Engineering Research Center of Plant Disease and Pest, Biocontrol Engineering Research Center of Crop Disease and Pest, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
- School of Life Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Zonghang Li
- School of Life Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Xiaoli Feng
- School of Life Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Suiyun Chen
- Biocontrol Engineering Research Center of Plant Disease and Pest, Biocontrol Engineering Research Center of Crop Disease and Pest, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
- School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Russel J Reiter
- Department of Cell Systems and Anatomy, UT Health, Long School of Medicine, San Antonio, TX, USA
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Temmink RJM, Cruijsen PMJM, Smolders AJP, Bouma TJ, Fivash GS, Lengkeek W, Didderen K, Lamers LPM, van der Heide T. Overcoming establishment thresholds for peat mosses in human-made bog pools. Ecol Appl 2021; 31:e02359. [PMID: 33884709 PMCID: PMC8459249 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Revised: 01/06/2021] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Globally, peatlands have been affected by drainage and peat extraction, with adverse effects on their functioning and services. To restore peat-forming vegetation, drained bogs are being rewetted on a large scale. Although this practice results in higher groundwater levels, unfortunately it often creates deep lakes in parts where peat was extracted to greater depths than the surroundings. Revegetation of these deeper waters by peat mosses appears to be challenging due to strong abiotic feedbacks that keep these systems in an undesired bare state. In this study, we theoretically explore if a floating peat mat and an open human-made bog lake can be considered two alternative stable states using a simple model, and experimentally test in the field whether stable states are present, and whether a state shift can be accomplished using floating biodegradable structures that mimic buoyant peat. We transplanted two peat moss species into these structures (pioneer sp. Sphagnum cuspidatum and later-successional sp. S. palustre) with and without additional organic substrate. Our model suggests that these open human-made bog lakes and floating peat mats can indeed be regarded as alternative stable states. Natural recovery by spontaneous peat moss growth, i.e., a state shift from open water to floating mats, is only possible when the water table is sufficiently shallow to avoid light limitation (<0.29 m at our site). Our experiment revealed that alternative stable states are present and that the floating structures facilitated the growth of pioneer S. cuspidatum and vascular plants. Organic substrate addition particularly facilitated vascular plant growth, which correlated to higher moss height. The structures remained too wet for the late-successional species S. palustre. We conclude that open water and floating peat mats in human-made bog lakes can be considered two alternative stable states, and that temporary floating establishment structures can induce a state shift from the open water state to peat-forming vegetation state. These findings imply that for successful restoration, there is a clear water depth threshold to enable peat moss growth and there is no need for addition of large amounts of donor-peat substrate. Correct species selection for restoration is crucial for success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ralph J. M. Temmink
- Aquatic Ecology and Environmental BiologyInstitute for Water and Wetland ResearchRadboud UniversityHeyendaalseweg 135Nijmegen6525 AJthe Netherlands
- Department Coastal SystemsRoyal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research and Utrecht UniversityLandsdiep 4't Hortje (Texel)1797 SZthe Netherlands
| | - Peter M. J. M. Cruijsen
- Aquatic Ecology and Environmental BiologyInstitute for Water and Wetland ResearchRadboud UniversityHeyendaalseweg 135Nijmegen6525 AJthe Netherlands
| | - Alfons J. P. Smolders
- Aquatic Ecology and Environmental BiologyInstitute for Water and Wetland ResearchRadboud UniversityHeyendaalseweg 135Nijmegen6525 AJthe Netherlands
- B‐WARE Research CentreToernooiveld 1Nijmegen6525 EDthe Netherlands
| | - Tjeerd J. Bouma
- Department of Estuarine and Delta SystemsRoyal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research and Utrecht UniversityKorringaweg 7Yerseke4401 NTthe Netherlands
- Delta Academy Applied Research CentreHZ University of Applied SciencesVlissingenthe Netherlands
- Faculty of GeosciencesDepartment of Physical GeographyUtrecht UniversityPrincetonlaan 8aUtrecht3584 CBthe Netherlands
- Conservation Ecology GroupGroningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenNijenborgh 7Groningen9747 AGthe Netherlands
| | - Gregory S. Fivash
- Department of Estuarine and Delta SystemsRoyal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research and Utrecht UniversityKorringaweg 7Yerseke4401 NTthe Netherlands
| | - Wouter Lengkeek
- Aquatic Ecology and Environmental BiologyInstitute for Water and Wetland ResearchRadboud UniversityHeyendaalseweg 135Nijmegen6525 AJthe Netherlands
- Bureau WaardenburgVarkensmarkt 9Culemborg4101 CKthe Netherlands
| | - Karin Didderen
- Bureau WaardenburgVarkensmarkt 9Culemborg4101 CKthe Netherlands
| | - Leon P. M. Lamers
- Aquatic Ecology and Environmental BiologyInstitute for Water and Wetland ResearchRadboud UniversityHeyendaalseweg 135Nijmegen6525 AJthe Netherlands
- B‐WARE Research CentreToernooiveld 1Nijmegen6525 EDthe Netherlands
| | - Tjisse van der Heide
- Aquatic Ecology and Environmental BiologyInstitute for Water and Wetland ResearchRadboud UniversityHeyendaalseweg 135Nijmegen6525 AJthe Netherlands
- Department Coastal SystemsRoyal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research and Utrecht UniversityLandsdiep 4't Hortje (Texel)1797 SZthe Netherlands
- Conservation Ecology GroupGroningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenNijenborgh 7Groningen9747 AGthe Netherlands
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Kubásek J, Hájek T, Duckett J, Pressel S, Šantrůček J. Erratum. New Phytol 2021; 231:2399. [PMID: 34337752 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
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Kubásek J, Hájek T, Duckett J, Pressel S, Šantrůček J. Moss stomata do not respond to light and CO 2 concentration but facilitate carbon uptake by sporophytes: a gas exchange, stomatal aperture, and 13 C-labelling study. New Phytol 2021; 230:1815-1828. [PMID: 33458818 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Stomata exert control on fluxes of CO2 and water (H2 O) in the majority of vascular plants and thus are pivotal for planetary fluxes of carbon and H2 O. However, in mosses, the significance and possible function of the sporophytic stomata are not well understood, hindering understanding of the ancestral function and evolution of these key structures of land plants. Infrared gas analysis and 13 CO2 labelling, with supporting data from gravimetry and optical and scanning electron microscopy, were used to measure CO2 assimilation and water exchange on young, green, ± fully expanded capsules of 11 moss species with a range of stomatal numbers, distributions, and aperture sizes. Moss sporophytes are effectively homoiohydric. In line with their open fixed apertures, moss stomata, contrary to those in tracheophytes, do not respond to light and CO2 concentration. Whereas the sporophyte cuticle is highly impermeable to gases, stomata are the predominant sites of 13 CO2 entry and H2 O loss in moss sporophytes, and CO2 assimilation is closely linked to total stomatal surface areas. Higher photosynthetic autonomy of moss sporophytes, consequent on the presence of numerous stomata, may have been the key to our understanding of evolution of large, gametophyte-independent sporophytes at the onset of plant terrestrialization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiří Kubásek
- Department of Experimental Plant Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská, České Budějovice, 1760/31, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Hájek
- Department of Experimental Plant Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská, České Budějovice, 1760/31, Czech Republic
| | - Jeffrey Duckett
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Silvia Pressel
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Jiří Šantrůček
- Department of Experimental Plant Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská, České Budějovice, 1760/31, Czech Republic
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21
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Naumann B, Schweiger S, Hammel JU, Müller H. Parallel evolution of direct development in frogs - Skin and thyroid gland development in African Squeaker Frogs (Anura: Arthroleptidae: Arthroleptis). Dev Dyn 2021; 250:584-600. [PMID: 33354814 DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Revised: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cases of parallel evolution offer the possibility to identify adaptive traits and to uncover developmental constraints on the evolutionary trajectories of these traits. The independent evolution of direct development from the ancestral biphasic life history in frogs is such a case of parallel evolution. In frogs, aquatic larvae (tadpoles) differ profoundly from their adult forms and exhibit a stunning diversity regarding their habitats, morphology and feeding behaviors. The transition from the tadpole to the adult is a climactic, thyroid hormone (TH)-dependent process of profound and fast morphological rearrangement called metamorphosis. One of the organ systems that experiences the most comprehensive metamorphic rearrangements is the skin. Direct-developing frogs lack a free-swimming tadpole and hatch from terrestrial eggs as fully formed froglets. In the few species examined, development is characterized by the condensed and transient formation of some tadpole-specific features and the early formation of adult-specific features during a "cryptic" metamorphosis. RESULTS We show that skin in direct-developing African squeaker frogs (Arthroleptis) is also repatterned from a tadpole-like to an adult-like histology during a cryptic metamorphosis. This repatterning correlates with histological thyroid gland maturation. A comparison with data from the Puerto Rican coqui (Eleutherodactylus coqui) reveals that the evolution of direct development in these frogs is associated with a comparable heterochronic shift of thyroid gland maturation. CONCLUSION This suggests that the development of many adult features is still dependent on, and possibly constrained by, the ancestral dependency on thyroid hormone signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Susan Schweiger
- Institut für Zoologie und Evolutionsforschung, Jena, Germany
| | - Jörg U Hammel
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Zentrum für Material- und Küstenforschung, Außenstelle am DESY, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Hendrik Müller
- Institut für Zoologie und Evolutionsforschung, Jena, Germany.,Zentralmagazin Naturwissenschaftlicher Sammlungen, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.,Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London, UK
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22
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Gueriau P, Lamsdell JC, Wogelius RA, Manning PL, Egerton VM, Bergmann U, Bertrand L, Denayer J. A new Devonian euthycarcinoid reveals the use of different respiratory strategies during the marine-to-terrestrial transition in the myriapod lineage. R Soc Open Sci 2020; 7:201037. [PMID: 33204464 PMCID: PMC7657913 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 09/03/2020] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Myriapods were, together with arachnids, the earliest animals to occupy terrestrial ecosystems, by at least the Silurian. The origin of myriapods and their land colonization have long remained puzzling until euthycarcinoids, an extinct group of aquatic arthropods considered amphibious, were shown to be stem-group myriapods, extending the lineage to the Cambrian and evidencing a marine-to-terrestrial transition. Although possible respiratory structures comparable to the air-breathing tracheal system of myriapods are visible in several euthycarcinoids, little is known about the mechanism by which they respired. Here, we describe a new euthycarcinoid from Upper Devonian alluvio-lagoonal deposits of Belgium. Synchrotron-based elemental X-ray analyses were used to extract all available information from the only known specimen. Sulfur X-ray fluorescence (XRF) mapping and spectroscopy unveil sulfate evaporation stains, spread over the entire slab, suggestive of a very shallow-water to the terrestrial environment prior to burial consistent with an amphibious lifestyle. Trace metal XRF mapping reveals a pair of ventral spherical cavities or chambers on the second post-abdominal segment that do not compare to any known feature in aquatic arthropods, but might well play a part in air-breathing. Our data provide additional support for amphibious lifestyle in euthycarcinoids and show that different respiratory strategies were used during the marine-to-terrestrial transition in the myriapod lineage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Gueriau
- Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Lausanne, Géopolis, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, ministère de la Culture, UVSQ, MNHN, Institut photonique d'analyse non-destructive européen des matériaux anciens, 91192, Saint-Aubin, France
- Author for correspondence: Pierre Gueriau e-mail:
| | - James C. Lamsdell
- Department of Geology and Geography, West Virginia University, 98 Beechurst Avenue, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
| | - Roy A. Wogelius
- University of Manchester, Interdisciplinary Centre for Ancient Life, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
| | - Phillip L. Manning
- University of Manchester, Interdisciplinary Centre for Ancient Life, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
- The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, 3000 N Meridian St, Indianapolis, IN 46208, USA
| | - Victoria M. Egerton
- University of Manchester, Interdisciplinary Centre for Ancient Life, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
- The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, 3000 N Meridian St, Indianapolis, IN 46208, USA
| | - Uwe Bergmann
- Stanford PULSE Institute, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Loïc Bertrand
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, ministère de la Culture, UVSQ, MNHN, Institut photonique d'analyse non-destructive européen des matériaux anciens, 91192, Saint-Aubin, France
- Université Paris-Saclay, ENS Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Photophysique et Photochimie Supramoléculaires et Macromoléculaires, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, Saint-Aubin, France
| | - Julien Denayer
- Evolution and Diversity Dynamics Lab, Geology Research Unit, University of Liège, Allée du Six-Août, B18, Sart Tilman, B4000 Liège, Belgium
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Jamet E, Dunand C, Popper ZA. Editorial: Co-Evolution of Plant Cell Wall Polymers. Front Plant Sci 2020; 11:598299. [PMID: 33072157 PMCID: PMC7531020 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.598299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Accepted: 09/03/2020] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Elisabeth Jamet
- Laboratoire de Recherche en Sciences Végétales, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, Auzeville-Tolosane, France
| | - Christophe Dunand
- Laboratoire de Recherche en Sciences Végétales, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, Auzeville-Tolosane, France
| | - Zoë A. Popper
- Botany and Plant Science, School of Natural Sciences, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland
- Ryan Institute for Environmental, Marine, and Energy Research, School of Natural Sciences, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland
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Lamsdell JC, McCoy VE, Perron-Feller OA, Hopkins MJ. Air Breathing in an Exceptionally Preserved 340-Million-Year-Old Sea Scorpion. Curr Biol 2020; 30:4316-4321.e2. [PMID: 32916114 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.08.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2020] [Revised: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 08/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Arachnids are the second most successful terrestrial animal group after insects [1] and were one of the first arthropod clades to successfully invade land [2]. Fossil evidence for this transition is limited, with the majority of arachnid clades first appearing in the terrestrial fossil record. Furthermore, molecular clock dating has suggested a Cambrian-Ordovician terrestrialization event for arachnids [3], some 60 Ma before their first fossils in the Silurian, although these estimates assume that arachnids evolved from a fully aquatic ancestor. Eurypterids, the sister clade to terrestrial arachnids [4-6], are known to have undergone major macroecological shifts in transitioning from marine to freshwater environments during the Devonian [7, 8]. Discoveries of apparently subaerial eurypterid trackways [9, 10] have led to the suggestion that eurypterids were even able to venture on land and possibly breathe air [11]. However, modern horseshoe crabs undertake amphibious excursions onto land to reproduce [12], rendering trace fossil evidence alone inconclusive. Here, we present details of the respiratory organs of Adelophthalmus pyrrhae sp. nov. from the Carboniferous of Montagne Noire, France [13], revealed through micro computed tomography (μ-CT) imaging. Pillar-like trabeculae on the dorsal surface of each gill lamella indicate eurypterids were capable of subaerial breathing, suggesting that book gills are the direct precursors to book lungs while vascular ancillary respiratory structures known as Kiemenplatten represent novel air-breathing structures. The discovery of air-breathing structures in eurypterids indicates that characters permitting terrestrialization accrued in the arachnid stem lineage and suggests the Cambrian-Ordovician ancestor of arachnids would also have been semi-terrestrial.
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Affiliation(s)
- James C Lamsdell
- Department of Geology and Geography, West Virginia University, 98 Beechurst Avenue, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA.
| | - Victoria E McCoy
- Department of Geosciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 3209 N. Maryland Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53211, USA
| | - Opal A Perron-Feller
- Department of Geology, Oberlin College, 52 W. Lorain Street, Oberlin, OH 44074, USA
| | - Melanie J Hopkins
- Division of Paleontology (Invertebrates), American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA
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Althoff F, Zachgo S. Transformation of Riccia fluitans, an Amphibious Liverwort Dynamically Responding to Environmental Changes. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:E5410. [PMID: 32751392 PMCID: PMC7432341 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21155410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2020] [Revised: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The colonization of land by streptophyte algae, ancestors of embryophyte plants, was a fundamental event in the history of life on earth. Bryophytes are early diversifying land plants that mark the transition from freshwater to terrestrial ecosystems. The amphibious liverwort Riccia fluitans can thrive in aquatic and terrestrial environments and thus represents an ideal organism to investigate this major transition. Therefore, we aimed to establish a transformation protocol for R. fluitans to make it amenable for genetic analyses. An Agrobacterium transformation procedure using R. fluitans callus tissue allows to generate stably transformed plants within 10 weeks. Furthermore, for comprehensive studies spanning all life stages, we demonstrate that the switch from vegetative to reproductive development can be induced by both flooding and poor nutrient availability. Interestingly, a single R. fluitans plant can consecutively adapt to different growth environments and forms distinctive and reversible features of the thallus, photosynthetically active tissue that is thus functionally similar to leaves of vascular plants. The morphological plasticity affecting vegetative growth, air pore formation, and rhizoid development realized by one genotype in response to two different environments makes R. fluitans ideal to study the adaptive molecular mechanisms enabling the colonialization of land by aquatic plants.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sabine Zachgo
- Botany Department, School of Biology and Chemistry, Osnabrück University, 49076 Osnabrück, Germany;
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26
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Orton LM, Fitzek E, Feng X, Grayburn WS, Mower JP, Liu K, Zhang C, Duvall MR, Yin Y. Zygnema circumcarinatum UTEX 1559 chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes provide insight into land plant evolution. J Exp Bot 2020; 71:3361-3373. [PMID: 32206790 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/eraa149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2019] [Accepted: 03/19/2020] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
The complete chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes of Charophyta have shed new light on land plant terrestrialization. Here, we report the organellar genomes of the Zygnema circumcarinatum strain UTEX 1559, and a comparative genomics investigation of 33 plastomes and 18 mitogenomes of Chlorophyta, Charophyta (including UTEX 1559 and its conspecific relative SAG 698-1a), and Embryophyta. Gene presence/absence was determined across these plastomes and mitogenomes. A comparison between the plastomes of UTEX 1559 (157 548 bp) and SAG 698-1a (165 372 bp) revealed very similar gene contents, but substantial genome rearrangements. Surprisingly, the two plastomes share only 85.69% nucleotide sequence identity. The UTEX 1559 mitogenome size is 215 954 bp, the largest among all sequenced Charophyta. Interestingly, this large mitogenome contains a 50 kb region without homology to any other organellar genomes, which is flanked by two 86 bp direct repeats and contains 15 ORFs. These ORFs have significant homology to proteins from bacteria and plants with functions such as primase, RNA polymerase, and DNA polymerase. We conclude that (i) the previously published SAG 698-1a plastome is probably from a different Zygnema species, and (ii) the 50 kb region in the UTEX 1559 mitogenome might be recently acquired as a mobile element.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren M Orton
- Biological Sciences, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA
| | - Elisabeth Fitzek
- Biology/Computational Biology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
- Center for Biotechnology-CeBiTec, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Xuehuan Feng
- Department of Food Science and Technology, Nebraska Food for Health Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - W Scott Grayburn
- Biological Sciences, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA
| | - Jeffrey P Mower
- Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
- Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE USA
| | - Kan Liu
- Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Chi Zhang
- Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Melvin R Duvall
- Biological Sciences, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA
| | - Yanbin Yin
- Department of Food Science and Technology, Nebraska Food for Health Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
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Becker B, Feng X, Yin Y, Holzinger A. Desiccation tolerance in streptophyte algae and the algae to land plant transition: evolution of LEA and MIP protein families within the Viridiplantae. J Exp Bot 2020; 71:3270-3278. [PMID: 32107542 PMCID: PMC7289719 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/eraa105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2019] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The present review summarizes the effects of desiccation in streptophyte green algae, as numerous experimental studies have been performed over the past decade particularly in the early branching streptophyte Klebsormidium sp. and the late branching Zygnema circumcarinatum. The latter genus gives its name to the Zygenmatophyceae, the sister group to land plants. For both organisms, transcriptomic investigations of desiccation stress are available, and illustrate a high variability in the stress response depending on the conditions and the strains used. However, overall, the responses of both organisms to desiccation stress are very similar to that of land plants. We highlight the evolution of two highly regulated protein families, the late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins and the major intrinsic protein (MIP) family. Chlorophytes and streptophytes encode LEA4 and LEA5, while LEA2 have so far only been found in streptophyte algae, indicating an evolutionary origin in this group. Within the MIP family, a high transcriptomic regulation of a tonoplast intrinsic protein (TIP) has been found for the first time outside the embryophytes in Z. circumcarinatum. The MIP family became more complex on the way to terrestrialization but simplified afterwards. These observations suggest a key role for water transport proteins in desiccation tolerance of streptophytes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Xuehuan Feng
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Yanbin Yin
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Andreas Holzinger
- University of Innsbruck, Department of Botany, Innsbruck, Austria
- Correspondence:
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Buschmann H. Into another dimension: how streptophyte algae gained morphological complexity. J Exp Bot 2020; 71:3279-3286. [PMID: 32270175 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/eraa181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2020] [Accepted: 04/07/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Land plants with elaborated three-dimensional (3D) body plans have evolved from streptophyte algae. The streptophyte algae are known to exhibit varying degrees of morphological complexity, ranging from single-celled flagellates to branched macrophytic forms exhibiting tissue-like organization. In this review, I discuss mechanisms by which, during evolution, filamentous algae may have gained 2D and eventually 3D body plans. There are, in principle, two mechanisms by which an additional dimension may be added to an existing algal filament or cell layer: first, by tip growth-mediated branching. An example of this mechanism is the emergence and polar expansion of root hairs from land plants. The second possibility is the rotation of the cell division plane. In this case, the plane of the forthcoming cell division is rotated within the parental cell wall. This type of mechanism corresponds to the formative cell division seen in meristems of land plants. This literature review shows that of the extant streptophyte algae, the Charophyceae and Coleochaetophyceae are capable of performing both mechanisms, while the Zygnematophyceae (the actual sister to land plants) show tip growth-based branching only. I finally discuss how apical cells with two or three cutting faces, as found in mosses, may have evolved from algal ancestors.
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Edgecombe GD, Strullu-Derrien C, Góral T, Hetherington AJ, Thompson C, Koch M. Aquatic stem group myriapods close a gap between molecular divergence dates and the terrestrial fossil record. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:8966-72. [PMID: 32253305 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1920733117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Identifying marine or freshwater fossils that belong to the stem groups of the major terrestrial arthropod radiations is a longstanding challenge. Molecular dating and fossils of their pancrustacean sister group predict that myriapods originated in the Cambrian, much earlier than their oldest known fossils, but uncertainty about stem group Myriapoda confounds efforts to resolve the timing of the group's terrestrialization. Among a small set of candidates for membership in the stem group of Myriapoda, the Cambrian to Triassic euthycarcinoids have repeatedly been singled out. The only known Devonian euthycarcinoid, Heterocrania rhyniensis from the Rhynie and Windyfield cherts hot spring complex in Scotland, reveals details of head structures that constrain the evolutionary position of euthycarcinoids. The head capsule houses an anterior cuticular tentorium, a feature uniquely shared by myriapods and hexapods. Confocal microscopy recovers myriapod-like characters of the preoral chamber, such as a prominent hypopharynx supported by tentorial bars and superlinguae between the mandibles and hypopharynx, reinforcing an alliance between euthycarcinoids and myriapods recovered in recent phylogenetic analysis. The Cambrian occurrence of the earliest euthycarcinoids supplies the oldest compelling evidence for an aquatic stem group for either Myriapoda or Hexapoda, previously a lacuna in the body fossil record of these otherwise terrestrial lineages until the Silurian and Devonian, respectively. The trace fossil record of euthycarcinoids in the Cambrian and Ordovician reveals amphibious locomotion in tidal environments and fills a gap between molecular estimates for myriapod origins in the Cambrian and a post-Ordovician crown group fossil record.
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Lozano-Fernandez J, Tanner AR, Puttick MN, Vinther J, Edgecombe GD, Pisani D. A Cambrian-Ordovician Terrestrialization of Arachnids. Front Genet 2020; 11:182. [PMID: 32218802 PMCID: PMC7078165 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2020.00182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2019] [Accepted: 02/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the temporal context of terrestrialization in chelicerates depends on whether terrestrial groups, the traditional Arachnida, have a single origin and whether or not horseshoe crabs are primitively or secondarily marine. Molecular dating on a phylogenomic tree that recovers arachnid monophyly, constrained by 27 rigorously vetted fossil calibrations, estimates that Arachnida originated during the Cambrian or Ordovician. After the common ancestor colonized the land, the main lineages appear to have rapidly radiated in the Cambrian-Ordovician boundary interval, coinciding with high rates of molecular evolution. The highest rates of arachnid diversification are detected between the Permian and Early Cretaceous. A pattern of ancient divergence estimates for terrestrial arthropod groups in the Cambrian while the oldest fossils are Silurian (seen in both myriapods and arachnids) is mirrored in the molecular and fossil records of land plants. We suggest the discrepancy between molecular and fossil evidence for terrestrialization is likely driven by the extreme sparseness of terrestrial sediments in the rock record before the late Silurian.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesus Lozano-Fernandez
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Alastair R. Tanner
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Mark N. Puttick
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Jakob Vinther
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | | | - Davide Pisani
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
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32
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Damsgaard C, Baliga VB, Bates E, Burggren W, McKenzie DJ, Taylor E, Wright PA. Evolutionary and cardio-respiratory physiology of air-breathing and amphibious fishes. Acta Physiol (Oxf) 2020; 228:e13406. [PMID: 31630483 DOI: 10.1111/apha.13406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2019] [Revised: 09/28/2019] [Accepted: 10/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Air-breathing and amphibious fishes are essential study organisms to shed insight into the required physiological shifts that supported the full transition from aquatic water-breathing fishes to terrestrial air-breathing tetrapods. While the origin of air-breathing in the evolutionary history of the tetrapods has received considerable focus, much less is known about the evolutionary physiology of air-breathing among fishes. This review summarizes recent advances within the field with specific emphasis on the cardiorespiratory regulation associated with air-breathing and terrestrial excursions, and how respiratory physiology of these living transitional forms are affected by development and personality. Finally, we provide a detailed and re-evaluated model of the evolution of air-breathing among fishes that serves as a framework for addressing new questions on the cardiorespiratory changes associated with it. This review highlights the importance of combining detailed studies on piscine air-breathing model species with comparative multi-species studies, to add an additional dimension to our understanding of the evolutionary physiology of air-breathing in vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Vikram B. Baliga
- Department of Zoology University of British Columbia Vancouver BC Canada
| | - Eric Bates
- Derailleur Interactive Vancouver BC Canada
| | - Warren Burggren
- Department of Biological Sciences University of North Texas Denton TX USA
| | - David J. McKenzie
- UMR Marbec, CNRS, IRD, Ifremer Université Montpellier Montpellier France
| | - Edwin Taylor
- School of Biosciences University of Birmingham Birmingham UK
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Happ K, Classen B. Arabinogalactan-Proteins from the Liverwort Marchantia polymorpha L., a Member of a Basal Land Plant Lineage, Are Structurally Different to Those of Angiosperms. Plants (Basel) 2019; 8:E460. [PMID: 31671872 PMCID: PMC6918356 DOI: 10.3390/plants8110460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2019] [Revised: 10/21/2019] [Accepted: 10/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
The thalloid liverwort Marchantia polymorpha as a member of a basal land plant lineage has to cope with the challenge of terrestrial life. Obviously, the plant cell wall has been strongly involved in the outstanding evolutionary process of water-to-land-transition. AGPs are signaling glycoproteins of the cell wall, which seem to be ubiquitous in seed plants and might play a role in adaption to abiotic and biotic stress situations. Therefore, we investigated the cell wall composition of Marchantia polymorpha with special focus on structural characterization of arabinogalactan-proteins. The Marchantia AGP shows typical features known from seed plant AGPs like precipitation with β-glucosyl-Yariv's reagent, a protein moiety with hydroxyproline and a carbohydrate part with 1,3,6-linked galactose and terminal arabinose residues. On the other hand, striking differences to AGPs of angiosperms are the occurrence of terminal 3-O-methyl-rhamnose and a highly branched galactan lacking appreciable amounts of 1,6-linked galactose. Binding of different AGP-antibodies (JIM13, KM1, LM2, LM6, LM14, LM26, and MAC207) to Marchantia AGP was investigated and confirmed structural differences between liverwort and angiosperm AGP, possibly due to deviating functions of these signaling molecules in the different taxonomic groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathrin Happ
- Pharmaceutical Institute, Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Gutenbergstr. 76, 24118 Kiel, Germany.
| | - Birgit Classen
- Pharmaceutical Institute, Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Gutenbergstr. 76, 24118 Kiel, Germany.
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Schmidt J, Decker H, Marx MT. Jumping on the Edge-First Evidence for a 2 × 6-meric Hemocyanin in Springtails. Biomolecules 2019; 9:E396. [PMID: 31443418 DOI: 10.3390/biom9090396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2019] [Revised: 08/16/2019] [Accepted: 08/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Hemocyanins are respiratory dioxygen carrier proteins found in many arthropods including ancient terrestrial species such as spiders and scorpions as well as marine horseshoe crabs. As hemocyanins are highly conserved in this lineage, it is possible to observe an evolutionary descent through its subunits and their overall structure. Unfortunately, little is known about the structure and function of hexapod hemocyanins. Using recent springtail taxa (Collembola) as models for basal hexapods, and the help of electron microscopy, light scattering, SDS PAGE, and Western blot, we could demonstrate for the first time the presence of 2 × 6-meric hemocyanins in the hemolymph of hexapods. The quaternary structure is composed of at least two different subunits and looks nearly identical to the hemocyanin found in decapod crustaceans. In addition, homology modeling and western blotting suggest a close structural relationship between collembolan and crustacean hemocyanin. Such a respiratory protein was possibly helpful in the early terrestrialization process of ancient Collembola. In addition, physiological adaptations to hypoxic or temporarily anoxic conditions could be a possible explanation for the presence of this respiratory protein. Nevertheless, it has to be concluded that the primary benefit of hemocyanin for springtails remains unclear.
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Gould SB, Garg SG, Handrich M, Nelson-Sathi S, Gruenheit N, Tielens AGM, Martin WF. Adaptation to life on land at high O 2 via transition from ferredoxin-to NADH-dependent redox balance. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20191491. [PMID: 31431166 PMCID: PMC6732389 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Pyruvate : ferredoxin oxidoreductase (PFO) and iron only hydrogenase ([Fe]-HYD) are common enzymes among eukaryotic microbes that inhabit anaerobic niches. Their function is to maintain redox balance by donating electrons from food oxidation via ferredoxin (Fd) to protons, generating H2 as a waste product. Operating in series, they constitute a soluble electron transport chain of one-electron transfers between FeS clusters. They fulfil the same function—redox balance—served by two electron-transfers in the NADH- and O2-dependent respiratory chains of mitochondria. Although they possess O2-sensitive FeS clusters, PFO, Fd and [Fe]-HYD are also present among numerous algae that produce O2. The evolutionary persistence of these enzymes among eukaryotic aerobes is traditionally explained as adaptation to facultative anaerobic growth. Here, we show that algae express enzymes of anaerobic energy metabolism at ambient O2 levels (21% v/v), Chlamydomonas reinhardtii expresses them with diurnal regulation. High O2 environments arose on Earth only approximately 450 million years ago. Gene presence/absence and gene expression data indicate that during the transition to high O2 environments and terrestrialization, diverse algal lineages retained enzymes of Fd-dependent one-electron-based redox balance, while the land plant and land animal lineages underwent irreversible specialization to redox balance involving the O2-insensitive two-electron carrier NADH.
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Affiliation(s)
- S B Gould
- Institute for Molecular Evolution, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - S G Garg
- Institute for Molecular Evolution, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - M Handrich
- Institute for Molecular Evolution, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - S Nelson-Sathi
- Interdisciplinary Biology, Computational Biology Laboratory, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram, India
| | - N Gruenheit
- Institute for Molecular Evolution, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - A G M Tielens
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.,Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - W F Martin
- Institute for Molecular Evolution, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
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Williamson CJ, Cameron KA, Cook JM, Zarsky JD, Stibal M, Edwards A. Glacier Algae: A Dark Past and a Darker Future. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:524. [PMID: 31019491 PMCID: PMC6458304 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.00524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2018] [Accepted: 02/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
"Glacier algae" grow on melting glacier and ice sheet surfaces across the cryosphere, causing the ice to absorb more solar energy and consequently melt faster, while also turning over carbon and nutrients. This makes glacier algal assemblages, which are typically dominated by just three main species, a potentially important yet under-researched component of the global biosphere, carbon, and water cycles. This review synthesizes current knowledge on glacier algae phylogenetics, physiology, and ecology. We discuss their significance for the evolution of early land plants and highlight their impacts on the physical and chemical supraglacial environment including their role as drivers of positive feedbacks to climate warming, thereby demonstrating their influence on Earth's past and future. Four complementary research priorities are identified, which will facilitate broad advances in glacier algae research, including establishment of reliable culture collections, sequencing of glacier algae genomes, development of diagnostic biosignatures for remote sensing, and improved predictive modeling of glacier algae biological-albedo effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher J Williamson
- Bristol Glaciology Centre, School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Karen A Cameron
- Institute of Biological, Environmental & Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, United Kingdom
| | - Joseph M Cook
- Department of Geography, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Jakub D Zarsky
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Marek Stibal
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Arwyn Edwards
- Institute of Biological, Environmental & Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, United Kingdom
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37
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Herburger K, Xin A, Holzinger A. Homogalacturonan Accumulation in Cell Walls of the Green Alga Zygnema sp. (Charophyta) Increases Desiccation Resistance. Front Plant Sci 2019; 10:540. [PMID: 31105732 PMCID: PMC6494968 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.00540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2019] [Accepted: 04/09/2019] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Land plants inherited several traits from their green algal ancestors (Zygnematophyceae), including a polysaccharide-rich cell wall, which is a prerequisite for terrestrial survival. A major component of both land plant and Zygnematophyceaen cell walls is the pectin homogalacturonan (HG), and its high water holding capacity may have helped algae to colonize terrestrial habitats, characterized by water scarcity. To test this, HG was removed from the cell walls of Zygnema filaments by pectate lyase (PL), and their effective quantum yield of photosystem II (YII) as a proxy for photosynthetic performance was measured in response to desiccation stress by pulse amplitude modulation (PAM). Old filaments were found to contain more HG and are more resistant against desiccation stress but relatively lose more desiccation resistance after HG removal than young filaments. After rehydration, the photosynthetic performance recovered less efficiently in filaments with a HG content reduced by PL, independently of filament age. Immunolabeling showed that partial or un-methylesterified HG occurs throughout the longitudinal cell walls of both young and old filaments, while no labeling signal occurred when filaments were treated with PL prior labeling. This confirmed that most HG can be removed from the cell walls by PL. The initial labeling pattern was restored after ~3 days. A different form of methylesterified HG was restricted to cell poles and cross cell walls. In conclusion, it was shown that the accumulation of HG in Zygnema filaments increases their resistance against desiccation stress. This trait might have played an important role during the colonization of land by Zygnematophyceae, which founded the evolution of all land plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaus Herburger
- The Edinburgh Cell Wall Group, Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Functional Plant Biology, Department of Botany, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Anzhou Xin
- The Edinburgh Cell Wall Group, Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Andreas Holzinger
- Functional Plant Biology, Department of Botany, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
- *Correspondence: Andreas Holzinger,
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Abbott GD, Fletcher IW, Tardio S, Hack E. Exploring the geochemical distribution of organic carbon in early land plants: a novel approach. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 373:rstb.2016.0499. [PMID: 29254964 PMCID: PMC5745335 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2016.0499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Terrestrialization depended on the evolution of biosynthetic pathways for biopolymers including lignin, cutin and suberin, which were concentrated in specific tissues, layers or organs such as the xylem, cuticle and roots on the submillimetre scale. However, it is often difficult, or even impossible especially for individual cells, to resolve the biomolecular composition of the different components of fossil plants on such a scale using the well-established coupled techniques of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Here, we report the application of techniques for surface analysis to investigate the composition of Rhynia gwynne-vaughanii. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of two different spots (both 300 µm × 600 µm) confirmed the presence of carbon. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) revealed ‘chemical maps’ (imaging mode with 300 nm resolution) of aliphatic and aromatic carbon in the intact fossil that correlate with the vascular structures observed in high-resolution optical images. This study shows that imaging ToF-SIMS has value for determining the location of the molecular components of fossil embryophytes while retaining structural information that will help elucidate how terrestrialization shaped the early evolution of land plant cell wall biochemistry. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘The Rhynie cherts: our earliest terrestrial ecosystem revisited’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geoffrey D Abbott
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Drummond Building, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Ian W Fletcher
- National EPSRC XPS Users' Service (NEXUS), School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Sabrina Tardio
- National EPSRC XPS Users' Service (NEXUS), School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Ethan Hack
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Ridley Building, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
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Heimroth RD, Casadei E, Salinas I. Effects of Experimental Terrestrialization on the Skin Mucus Proteome of African Lungfish ( Protopterus dolloi). Front Immunol 2018; 9:1259. [PMID: 29915597 PMCID: PMC5994560 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.01259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2018] [Accepted: 05/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal mucosal barriers constantly interact with the external environment, and this interaction is markedly different in aquatic and terrestrial environments. Transitioning from water to land was a critical step in vertebrate evolution, but the immune adaptations that mucosal barriers such as the skin underwent during that process are essentially unknown. Vertebrate animals such as the African lungfish have a bimodal life, switching from freshwater to terrestrial habitats when environmental conditions are not favorable. African lungfish skin mucus secretions contribute to the terrestrialization process by forming a cocoon that surrounds and protects the lungfish body. The goal of this study was to characterize the skin mucus immunoproteome of African lungfish, Protopterus dolloi, before and during the induction phase of terrestrialization as well as the immunoproteome of the gill mucus during the terrestrialization induction phase. Using LC-MS/MS, we identified a total of 974 proteins using a lungfish Illumina RNA-seq database, 1,256 proteins from previously published lungfish sequence read archive and 880 proteins using a lungfish 454 RNA-seq database for annotation in the three samples analyzed (free-swimming skin mucus, terrestrialized skin mucus, and terrestrialized gill mucus). The terrestrialized skin mucus proteome was enriched in proteins with known antimicrobial functions such as histones and S100 proteins compared to free-swimming skin mucus. In support, gene ontology analyses showed that the terrestrialized skin mucus proteome has predicted functions in processes such as viral process, defense response to Gram-negative bacterium, and tumor necrosis factor-mediated signaling. Importantly, we observed a switch in immunoglobulin heavy chain secretion upon terrestrialization, with IgW1 long form (IgW1L) and IgM1 present in free-swimming skin mucus and IgW1L, IgM1, and IgM2 in terrestrialized skin mucus. Combined, these results indicate an increase in investment in the production of unique immune molecules in P. dolloi skin mucus in response to terrestrialization that likely better protects lungfish against external aggressors found in land.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Irene Salinas
- Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology (CETI), Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States
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de Vries J, Archibald JM. Plant evolution: landmarks on the path to terrestrial life. New Phytol 2018; 217:1428-1434. [PMID: 29318635 DOI: 10.1111/nph.14975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 149] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2017] [Accepted: 11/28/2017] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Contents Summary 1428 I. The singularity of plant terrestrialization 1428 II. Adaptation vs exaptation - what shaped the land plant toolkit? 1430 III. Trait mosaicism in (higher-branching) streptophyte algae 1431 IV. CONCLUSIONS a streptophyte algal perspective on land plant trait evolution 1432 Acknowledgements 1432 ORCID 1433 References 1433 SUMMARY: Photosynthetic eukaryotes thrive anywhere there is sunlight and water. But while such organisms are exceptionally diverse in form and function, only one phototrophic lineage succeeded in rising above its substrate: the land plants (embryophytes). Molecular phylogenetic data show that land plants evolved from streptophyte algae most closely related to extant Zygnematophyceae, and one of the principal aims of plant evolutionary biology is to uncover the key features of such algae that enabled this important transition. At the present time, however, mosaic and reductive evolution blur our picture of the closest algal ancestors of plants. Here we discuss recent progress and problems in inferring the biology of the algal progenitor of the terrestrial photosynthetic macrobiome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan de Vries
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - John M Archibald
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada
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Zedek F, Bureš P. Holocentric chromosomes: from tolerance to fragmentation to colonization of the land. Ann Bot 2018; 121:9-16. [PMID: 29069342 PMCID: PMC5786251 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcx118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2017] [Accepted: 08/24/2017] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The dispersed occurrence of holocentric chromosomes across eukaryotes implies they are adaptive, but the conditions under which they confer an advantage over monocentric chromosomes remain unclear. Due to their extended kinetochore and the attachment of spindle microtubules along their entire length, holocentric chromosomes tolerate fragmentation; hence, they may be advantageous in times of exposure to factors that cause chromosomal fragmentation (clastogens). SCOPE It is shown that holocentric organisms may, indeed, thrive better than monocentric organisms under clastogenic conditions and that such conditions of various duration and intensity have occurred many times throughout the history of Earth's biota. One of the most important clastogenic events in eukaryotic history, in which holocentric chromosomes may have played the key role, was the colonization of land by plants and animals half a billion years ago. In addition to arguments supporting the anticlastogenic hypothesis of holocentric chromosomes and a discussion of its evolutionary consequences, experiments and analyses are proposed to explore this hypothesis in more depth. CONCLUSIONS It is argued that the tolerance to clastogens explains the origin of holocentric lineages and may also have far-reaching consequences for eukaryotic evolution in general as exemplified by the potential role of holocentric chromosomes in terrestrialization.
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Affiliation(s)
- František Zedek
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Masaryk University, Kotlarska, Brno, Czech Republic
- For correspondence. E-mail
| | - Petr Bureš
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Masaryk University, Kotlarska, Brno, Czech Republic
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Lebreton F, Manson AL, Saavedra JT, Straub TJ, Earl AM, Gilmore MS. Tracing the Enterococci from Paleozoic Origins to the Hospital. Cell 2017; 169:849-861.e13. [PMID: 28502769 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.04.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 144] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2016] [Revised: 03/16/2017] [Accepted: 04/19/2017] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
We examined the evolutionary history of leading multidrug resistant hospital pathogens, the enterococci, to their origin hundreds of millions of years ago. Our goal was to understand why, among the vast diversity of gut flora, enterococci are so well adapted to the modern hospital environment. Molecular clock estimation, together with analysis of their environmental distribution, phenotypic diversity, and concordance with host fossil records, place the origins of the enterococci around the time of animal terrestrialization, 425-500 mya. Speciation appears to parallel the diversification of hosts, including the rapid emergence of new enterococcal species following the End Permian Extinction. Major drivers of speciation include changing carbohydrate availability in the host gut. Life on land would have selected for the precise traits that now allow pathogenic enterococci to survive desiccation, starvation, and disinfection in the modern hospital, foreordaining their emergence as leading hospital pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- François Lebreton
- Department of Ophthalmology and Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Infectious Disease & Microbiome Program, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Abigail L Manson
- Infectious Disease & Microbiome Program, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Jose T Saavedra
- Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Timothy J Straub
- Infectious Disease & Microbiome Program, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Ashlee M Earl
- Infectious Disease & Microbiome Program, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
| | - Michael S Gilmore
- Department of Ophthalmology and Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Infectious Disease & Microbiome Program, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
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Van Wassenbergh S, Bonte C, Michel KB. Terrestrial capture of prey by the reedfish, a model species for stem tetrapods. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:3856-3860. [PMID: 28616182 PMCID: PMC5468123 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2016] [Revised: 11/18/2016] [Accepted: 11/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Due to morphological resemblance, polypterid fishes are used as extant analogues of Late Devonian lobe‐finned sarcopterygians to identify the features that allowed the evolution of a terrestrial lifestyle in early tetrapods. Previous studies using polypterids showed how terrestrial locomotion capacity can develop, and how air ventilation for breathing was possible in extinct tetrapodomorphs. Interestingly, one polypterid species, the reedfish Erpetoichthys calabaricus, has been noted being capable of capturing prey on land. We now identified the mechanism of terrestrial prey‐capture in reedfish. We showed that this species uses a lifted trunk and downward inclined head to capture ground‐based prey, remarkably similar to the mechanism described earlier for eel‐catfish. Reedfish similarly use the ground support and flexibility of their elongated body to realize the trunk elevation and dorsoventral flexion of the anterior trunk region, without a role for the pectoral fins. However, curving of the body to lift the trunk may not have been an option for the Devonian tetrapodomorphs as they are significantly less elongated than reedfish and eel‐catfish. This would imply that, in contrast to the eel‐like extant species, evolution of the capacity to capture prey on land in early tetrapods may be linked to the evolution of the pectoral system to lift the anterior part of the body.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sam Van Wassenbergh
- Department of Biology University of Antwerp Antwerp Belgium.,Département d'Ecologie et de Gestion de la Biodiversité Muséum National D'Histoire Naturelle UMR 7179 CNRS Paris Cedex 05 France
| | | | - Krijn B Michel
- Department of Biology University of Antwerp Antwerp Belgium.,Structure & Motion Laboratory The Royal Veterinary College Hatfield Hertfordshire UK
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Waldrop LD, Miller LA, Khatri S. A tale of two antennules: the performance of crab odour-capture organs in air and water. J R Soc Interface 2016; 13:20160615. [PMID: 27974576 PMCID: PMC5221524 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2016.0615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2016] [Accepted: 11/17/2016] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Odour capture is an important part of olfaction, where dissolved chemical cues (odours) are brought into contact with chemosensory structures. Antennule flicking by marine crabs is an example of discrete odour capture (sniffing) where an array of chemosensory hairs is waved through the water to create a flow-no flow pattern based on a narrow range of speeds, diameters of and spacings between hairs. Changing the speed of movement and spacing of hairs at this scale to manipulate flow represents a complicated fluid dynamics problem. In this study, we use numerical simulation of the advection and diffusion of a chemical gradient to reveal how morphological differences of the hair arrays affect odour capture. Specifically, we simulate odour capture by a marine crab (Callinectes sapidus) and a terrestrial crab (Coenobita rugosus) in both air and water to compare performance. We find that the antennule morphologies of each species are adaptions to capturing odours in their native habitats. Sniffing is an important part of odour capture for marine crabs in water where the diffusivity of odorant molecules is low and flow through the array is necessary. On the other hand, flow within the hair array diminishes odour-capture performance in air where diffusivities are high. This study highlights some of the adaptations necessary to transition from water to air.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay D Waldrop
- Applied Mathematics Unit, School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA 95343, USA
- Department of Biology, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro NM 87081, USA
| | - Laura A Miller
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
- Department of Mathematics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Shilpa Khatri
- Applied Mathematics Unit, School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA 95343, USA
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45
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Garwood RJ, Edgecombe GD, Charbonnier S, Chabard D, Sotty D, Giribet G. Carboniferous Onychophora from Montceau-les-Mines, France, and onychophoran terrestrialization. Invertebr Biol 2016; 135:179-190. [PMID: 27708504 PMCID: PMC5042098 DOI: 10.1111/ivb.12130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
The geological age of the onychophoran crown-group, and when the group came onto land, have been sources of debate. Although stem-group Onychophora have been identified from as early as the Cambrian, the sparse record of terrestrial taxa from before the Cretaceous is subject to contradictory interpretations. A Late Carboniferous species from the Mazon Creek biota of the USA, Helenodora inopinata, originally interpreted as a crown-group onychophoran, has recently been allied to early Cambrian stem-group taxa. Here we describe a fossil species from the Late Carboniferous Montceau-les-Mines Lagerstätte, France, informally referred to as an onychophoran for more than 30 years. The onychophoran affinities of Antennipatus montceauensis gen. nov., sp. nov. are indicated by the form of the trunk plicae and the shape and spacing of their papillae, details of antennal annuli, and the presence of putative slime papillae. The poor preservation of several key systematic characters for extant Onychophora, however, prohibits the precise placement of the Carboniferous fossil in the stem or crown of the two extant families, or the onychophoran stem-group as a whole. Nevertheless, A. montceauensis is the most compelling candidate to date for a terrestrial Paleozoic onychophoran.
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Affiliation(s)
- Russell J. Garwood
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental SciencesThe University of ManchesterManchesterM13 9PLUK
- Department of Earth SciencesThe Natural History MuseumLondonSW7 5BDUK
| | | | - Sylvain Charbonnier
- Département Histoire de la TerreMuséum national d'Histoire naturelle, ParisF‐75005ParisFrance
| | | | - Daniel Sotty
- Muséum d'Histoire naturelle d'AutunF‐71400AutunFrance
| | - Gonzalo Giribet
- Museum of Comparative Zoology and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary BiologyHarvard UniversityCambridgeMassachusetts02138USA
- Department of Life SciencesThe Natural History MuseumLondonSW7 5BDUK
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Lozano-Fernandez J, Carton R, Tanner AR, Puttick MN, Blaxter M, Vinther J, Olesen J, Giribet G, Edgecombe GD, Pisani D. A molecular palaeobiological exploration of arthropod terrestrialization. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 371:20150133. [PMID: 27325830 PMCID: PMC4920334 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/29/2016] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding animal terrestrialization, the process through which animals colonized the land, is crucial to clarify extant biodiversity and biological adaptation. Arthropoda (insects, spiders, centipedes and their allies) represent the largest majority of terrestrial biodiversity. Here we implemented a molecular palaeobiological approach, merging molecular and fossil evidence, to elucidate the deepest history of the terrestrial arthropods. We focused on the three independent, Palaeozoic arthropod terrestrialization events (those of Myriapoda, Hexapoda and Arachnida) and showed that a marine route to the colonization of land is the most likely scenario. Molecular clock analyses confirmed an origin for the three terrestrial lineages bracketed between the Cambrian and the Silurian. While molecular divergence times for Arachnida are consistent with the fossil record, Myriapoda are inferred to have colonized land earlier, substantially predating trace or body fossil evidence. An estimated origin of myriapods by the Early Cambrian precedes the appearance of embryophytes and perhaps even terrestrial fungi, raising the possibility that terrestrialization had independent origins in crown-group myriapod lineages, consistent with morphological arguments for convergence in tracheal systems.This article is part of the themed issue 'Dating species divergences using rocks and clocks'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesus Lozano-Fernandez
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Robert Carton
- Department of Biology, The National University of Ireland Maynooth, Maynooth, Kildare, Ireland
| | - Alastair R Tanner
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Mark N Puttick
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Mark Blaxter
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3TF, UK
| | - Jakob Vinther
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Jørgen Olesen
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Gonzalo Giribet
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Gregory D Edgecombe
- Department of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Davide Pisani
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
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de Vries J, Stanton A, Archibald JM, Gould SB. Streptophyte Terrestrialization in Light of Plastid Evolution. Trends Plant Sci 2016; 21:467-476. [PMID: 26895731 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2016.01.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2015] [Revised: 01/19/2016] [Accepted: 01/28/2016] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Key steps in evolution are often singularities. The emergence of land plants is one such case and it is not immediately apparent why. A recent analysis found that the zygnematophycean algae represent the closest relative to embryophytes. Intriguingly, many exaptations thought essential to conquer land are common among various streptophytes, but zygnematophycean algae share with land plants the transfer of a few plastid genes to the nucleus. Considering the contribution of the chloroplast to terrestrialization highlights potentially novel exaptations that currently remain unexplored. We discuss how the streptophyte chloroplast evolved into what we refer to as the embryoplast, and argue this was as important for terrestrialization by freshwater algae as the host cell-associated exaptations that are usually focused upon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan de Vries
- Institute for Molecular Evolution, Heinrich-Heine-University (HHU) Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Amanda Stanton
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - John M Archibald
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Sven B Gould
- Institute for Molecular Evolution, Heinrich-Heine-University (HHU) Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
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48
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Harholt J, Moestrup Ø, Ulvskov P. Why Plants Were Terrestrial from the Beginning. Trends Plant Sci 2016; 21:96-101. [PMID: 26706443 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2015.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2015] [Revised: 09/27/2015] [Accepted: 11/13/2015] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
The current hypothesis is that land plants originated from a charophycean green alga and that a prominent feature for adaptation to land was their development of alternating life cycles. Our work on cell wall evolution and morphological and physiological observations in the charophycean green algae challenged us to reassess how land plants became terrestrial. Our hypothesis is simple in that the charophycean green algae ancestors were already living on land and had been doing so for some time before the emergence of land plants. The evolution of alternate life cycles merely made the ancestral land plants evolutionary successful and had nothing to do with terrestrialization per se.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Øjvind Moestrup
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
| | - Peter Ulvskov
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1871 Frederiksberg, Denmark.
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49
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Tuchina O, Koczan S, Harzsch S, Rybak J, Wolff G, Strausfeld NJ, Hansson BS. Central projections of antennular chemosensory and mechanosensory afferents in the brain of the terrestrial hermit crab (Coenobita clypeatus; Coenobitidae, Anomura). Front Neuroanat 2015; 9:94. [PMID: 26236202 PMCID: PMC4502362 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2015.00094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2015] [Accepted: 06/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The Coenobitidae (Decapoda, Anomura, Paguroidea) is a taxon of hermit crabs that includes two genera with a fully terrestrial life style as adults. Previous studies have shown that Coenobitidae have evolved a sense of spatial odor localization that is behaviorally highly relevant. Here, we examined the central olfactory pathway of these animals by analyzing central projections of the antennular nerve of Coenobita clypeatus, combining backfilling of the nerve with dextran-coupled dye, Golgi impregnations and three-dimensional reconstruction of the primary olfactory center, the antennular lobe. The principal pattern of putative olfactory sensory afferents in C. clypeatus is in many aspects similar to what have been established for aquatic decapod crustaceans, such as the spiny lobster Panulirus argus. However, there are also obvious differences that may, or may not represent adaptations related to a terrestrial lifestyle. In C. clypeatus, the antennular lobe dominates the deutocerebrum, having more than one thousand allantoid-shaped subunits. We observed two distinct patterns of sensory neuron innervation: putative olfactory afferents from the aesthetascs either supply the cap/subcap region of the subunits or they extend through its full depth. Our data also demonstrate that any one sensory axon can supply input to several subunits. Putative chemosensory (non-aesthetasc) and mechanosensory axons represent a different pathway and innervate the lateral and median antennular neuropils. Hence, we suggest that the chemosensory input in C. clypeatus might be represented via a dual pathway: aesthetascs target the antennular lobe, and bimodal sensilla target the lateral antennular neuropil and median antennular neuropil. The present data is compared to related findings in other decapod crustaceans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oksana Tuchina
- Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Beutenberg Campus, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology Jena, Germany ; Laboratory for Genomic and Proteomic Research, Institute of Chemistry and Biology, Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University Kaliningrad, Russia
| | - Stefan Koczan
- Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Beutenberg Campus, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology Jena, Germany
| | - Steffen Harzsch
- Cytology and Evolutionary Biology, Zoological Institute and Museum, Ernst Moritz Arndt University Greifswald Greifswald, Germany
| | - Jürgen Rybak
- Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Beutenberg Campus, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology Jena, Germany
| | - Gabriella Wolff
- Department of Neuroscience, The University of Arizona Tucson, AZ, USA
| | | | - Bill S Hansson
- Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Beutenberg Campus, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology Jena, Germany
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Edwards D, Kenrick P. The early evolution of land plants, from fossils to genomics: a commentary on Lang (1937) 'On the plant-remains from the Downtonian of England and Wales'. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2015; 370:20140343. [PMID: 25750238 PMCID: PMC4360123 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2014.0343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
During the 1920s, the botanist W. H. Lang set out to collect and investigate some very unpromising fossils of uncertain affinity, which predated the known geological record of life on land. His discoveries led to a landmark publication in 1937, 'On the plant-remains from the Downtonian of England and Wales', in which he revealed a diversity of small fossil organisms of great simplicity that shed light on the nature of the earliest known land plants. These and subsequent discoveries have taken on new relevance as botanists seek to understand the plant genome and the early evolution of fundamental organ systems. Also, our developing knowledge of the composition of early land-based ecosystems and the interactions among their various components is contributing to our understanding of how life on land affects key Earth Systems (e.g. carbon cycle). The emerging paradigm is one of early life on land dominated by microbes, small bryophyte-like organisms and lichens. Collectively called cryptogamic covers, these are comparable with those that dominate certain ecosystems today. This commentary was written to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dianne Edwards
- School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK
| | - Paul Kenrick
- Department of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
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