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Levins J, Dierschke T, Bowman JL. A subclass II bHLH transcription factor in Marchantia polymorpha gives insight into the ancestral land plant trait of spore formation. Curr Biol 2024; 34:895-901.e5. [PMID: 38280380 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.008] [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: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/29/2024]
Abstract
Sporopollenin is often said to be one of the toughest biopolymers known to man. The shift in dormancy cell wall deposition from around the diploid zygotes of charophycean algae to sporopollenin around the haploid spores of land plants essentially imparted onto land plants the gift of passive motility, a key acquisition that contributed to their vast and successful colonization across terrestrial habitats.1,2 A putative transcription factor controlling the land plant mode of sporopollenin deposition is the subclass II bHLHs, which are conserved and novel to land plants, with mutants of genes in angiosperms and mosses divulging roles relating to tapetum degeneration and spore development.3,4,5,6,7 We demonstrate that a subclass II bHLH gene, MpbHLH37, regulates sporopollenin biosynthesis and deposition in the model liverwort Marchantia polymorpha. Mpbhlh37 sporophytes show a striking loss of secondary wall deposits of the capsule wall, the elaters, and the spore exine, all while maintaining spore viability, identifying MpbHLH37 as a master regulator of secondary wall deposits of the sporophyte. Localization of MpbHLH37 to the capsule wall and elaters of the sporophyte directly designates these tissue types as a bona fide tapetum in liverworts, giving support to the notion that the presence of a tapetum is an ancestral land plant trait. Finally, as early land plant spore walls exhibit evidence of tapetal deposition,8,9,10,11,12 a tapetal capsule wall could have provided these plants with a developmental mechanism for sporopollenin deposition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Levins
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Tom Dierschke
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - John L Bowman
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.
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2
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D'Apice G, Moschin S, Nigris S, Ciarle R, Muto A, Bruno L, Baldan B. Identification of key regulatory genes involved in the sporophyte and gametophyte development in Ginkgo biloba ovules revealed by in situ expression analyses. Am J Bot 2022; 109:887-898. [PMID: 35506584 PMCID: PMC9322462 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.1862] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2022] [Revised: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 04/15/2022] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE In Arabidopsis thaliana, the role of the most important key genes that regulate ovule development is widely known. In nonmodel species, and especially in gymnosperms, the ovule developmental processes are still quite obscure. In this study, we describe the putative roles of Ginkgo biloba orthologs of regulatory genes during ovule development. Specifically, we studied AGAMOUS (AG), AGAMOUS-like 6 (AGL6), AINTEGUMENTA (ANT), BELL1 (BEL1), Class III HD-Zip, and YABBY Ginkgo genes. METHODS We analyzed their expression domains through in situ hybridizations on two stages of ovule development: the very early stage that corresponds to the ovule primordium, still within wintering buds, and the late stage at pollination time. RESULTS GBM5 (Ginkgo ortholog of AG), GbMADS8 (ortholog of AGL6) and GbC3HDZ1-2-3 were expressed in both the stages of ovule development, while GbMADS1, GbAGL6-like genes (orthologs of AGL6), GbBEL1-2 and YABBY Ginkgo orthologs (GbiYAB1B and GbiYABC) seem mostly involved at pollination time. GbANTL1 was not expressed in the studied stages and was different from GbANTL2 and GbBEL1, which seem to be involved at both stages of ovule development. In Ginkgo, the investigated genes display patterns of expression only partially comparable to those of other studied seed plants. CONCLUSIONS The expression of most of these regulatory genes in the female gametophyte region at pollination time leads to suggest a communication between the sporophytic maternal tissue and the developing female gametophyte, as demonstrated for well-studied model angiosperms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Greta D'Apice
- Botanical GardenUniversity of PadovaPadova35123Italy
- Department of BiologyUniversity of PadovaPadova35131Italy
| | - Silvia Moschin
- Botanical GardenUniversity of PadovaPadova35123Italy
- Department of BiologyUniversity of PadovaPadova35131Italy
| | - Sebastiano Nigris
- Botanical GardenUniversity of PadovaPadova35123Italy
- Department of BiologyUniversity of PadovaPadova35131Italy
| | - Riccardo Ciarle
- Botanical GardenUniversity of PadovaPadova35123Italy
- Department of BiologyUniversity of PadovaPadova35131Italy
| | - Antonella Muto
- Department of BiologyEcology and Earth Sciences (DiBEST), University of Calabria, Arcavacata of RendeCS87036Italy
| | - Leonardo Bruno
- Department of BiologyEcology and Earth Sciences (DiBEST), University of Calabria, Arcavacata of RendeCS87036Italy
| | - Barbara Baldan
- Botanical GardenUniversity of PadovaPadova35123Italy
- Department of BiologyUniversity of PadovaPadova35131Italy
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Kirbis A, Waller M, Ricca M, Bont Z, Neubauer A, Goffinet B, Szövényi P. Transcriptional Landscapes of Divergent Sporophyte Development in Two Mosses, Physcomitrium (Physcomitrella) patens and Funaria hygrometrica. Front Plant Sci 2020; 11:747. [PMID: 32587596 PMCID: PMC7299128 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.00747] [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] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2020] [Accepted: 05/11/2020] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the molecular basis of morphological shifts is a fundamental question of evolutionary biology. New morphologies may arise through the birth/death of genes (gene gain/loss) or by reutilizing existing gene sets. Yet, the relative contribution of these two processes to radical morphological shifts is still poorly understood. Here, we use the model system of two mosses, Funaria hygrometrica and Physcomitrium (Physcomitrella) patens, to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying contrasting sporophyte architectures. We used comparative analysis of time-series expression data for four stages of sporophyte development in both species to address this question in detail. We found that large-scale differences in sporophytic architecture are mainly governed by orthologous (i.e., shared) genes frequently experiencing temporal gene expression shifts between the two species. While the absolute number of species-specific genes expressed during sporophyte development is somewhat smaller, we observed a significant increase of their proportion in preferentially sporophyte expressed genes, suggesting a fundamental role in the sporophyte phase. However, further functional studies are necessary to determine their contribution to diverging sporophyte morphologies. Our results add to the growing set of studies suggesting that radical changes in morphology may rely on the heterochronic expression of conserved regulators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Kirbis
- Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, University of Zurich, Zurich and Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Manuel Waller
- Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, University of Zurich, Zurich and Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Mariana Ricca
- Department for BioMedical Research (DBMR), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Zoe Bont
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Anna Neubauer
- Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, University of Zurich, Zurich and Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Bernard Goffinet
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States
| | - Péter Szövényi
- Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, University of Zurich, Zurich and Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center, Zurich, Switzerland
- *Correspondence: Péter Szövényi,
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Arun A, Coelho SM, Peters AF, Bourdareau S, Pérès L, Scornet D, Strittmatter M, Lipinska AP, Yao H, Godfroy O, Montecinos GJ, Avia K, Macaisne N, Troadec C, Bendahmane A, Cock JM. Convergent recruitment of TALE homeodomain life cycle regulators to direct sporophyte development in land plants and brown algae. eLife 2019; 8:e43101. [PMID: 30644818 PMCID: PMC6368402 DOI: 10.7554/elife.43101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [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: 10/24/2018] [Accepted: 01/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Three amino acid loop extension homeodomain transcription factors (TALE HD TFs) act as life cycle regulators in green algae and land plants. In mosses these regulators are required for the deployment of the sporophyte developmental program. We demonstrate that mutations in either of two TALE HD TF genes, OUROBOROS or SAMSARA, in the brown alga Ectocarpus result in conversion of the sporophyte generation into a gametophyte. The OUROBOROS and SAMSARA proteins heterodimerise in a similar manner to TALE HD TF life cycle regulators in the green lineage. These observations demonstrate that TALE-HD-TF-based life cycle regulation systems have an extremely ancient origin, and that these systems have been independently recruited to regulate sporophyte developmental programs in at least two different complex multicellular eukaryotic supergroups, Archaeplastida and Chromalveolata.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alok Arun
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Algal Genetics Group, Integrative Biology of Marine Models (LBI2M), Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR)RoscoffFrance
| | - Susana M Coelho
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Algal Genetics Group, Integrative Biology of Marine Models (LBI2M), Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR)RoscoffFrance
| | | | - Simon Bourdareau
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Algal Genetics Group, Integrative Biology of Marine Models (LBI2M), Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR)RoscoffFrance
| | - Laurent Pérès
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Algal Genetics Group, Integrative Biology of Marine Models (LBI2M), Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR)RoscoffFrance
| | - Delphine Scornet
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Algal Genetics Group, Integrative Biology of Marine Models (LBI2M), Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR)RoscoffFrance
| | - Martina Strittmatter
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Algal Genetics Group, Integrative Biology of Marine Models (LBI2M), Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR)RoscoffFrance
| | - Agnieszka P Lipinska
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Algal Genetics Group, Integrative Biology of Marine Models (LBI2M), Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR)RoscoffFrance
| | - Haiqin Yao
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Algal Genetics Group, Integrative Biology of Marine Models (LBI2M), Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR)RoscoffFrance
| | - Olivier Godfroy
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Algal Genetics Group, Integrative Biology of Marine Models (LBI2M), Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR)RoscoffFrance
| | - Gabriel J Montecinos
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Algal Genetics Group, Integrative Biology of Marine Models (LBI2M), Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR)RoscoffFrance
| | - Komlan Avia
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Algal Genetics Group, Integrative Biology of Marine Models (LBI2M), Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR)RoscoffFrance
| | - Nicolas Macaisne
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Algal Genetics Group, Integrative Biology of Marine Models (LBI2M), Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR)RoscoffFrance
| | - Christelle Troadec
- Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Institute of Plant Sciences Paris-Saclay (IPS2), CNRS, Université Paris-SudOrsayFrance
| | - Abdelhafid Bendahmane
- Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Institute of Plant Sciences Paris-Saclay (IPS2), CNRS, Université Paris-SudOrsayFrance
| | - J Mark Cock
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Algal Genetics Group, Integrative Biology of Marine Models (LBI2M), Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR)RoscoffFrance
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Budke JM, Goffinet B, Jones CS. Dehydration protection provided by a maternal cuticle improves offspring fitness in the moss Funaria hygrometrica. Ann Bot 2013; 111:781-9. [PMID: 23471009 PMCID: PMC3631323 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mct033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS In bryophytes the sporophyte offspring are in contact with, nourished from, and partially surrounded by the maternal gametophyte throughout their lifespan. During early development, the moss sporophyte is covered by the calyptra, a cap of maternal gametophyte tissue that has a multilayered cuticle. In this study the effects on sporophyte offspring fitness of removing the maternal calyptra cuticle, in combination with dehydration stress, is experimentally determined. METHODS Using the moss Funaria hygrometrica, calyptra cuticle waxes were removed by chemical extraction and individuals were exposed to a short-term dehydration event. Sporophytes were returned to high humidity to complete development and then aspects of sporophyte survival, development, functional morphology, and reproductive output were measured. KEY RESULTS It was found that removal of calyptra cuticle under low humidity results in significant negative impacts to moss sporophyte fitness, resulting in decreased survival, increased tissue damage, incomplete sporophyte development, more peristome malformations, and decreased reproductive output. CONCLUSIONS This study represents the strongest evidence to date that the structure of the calyptra cuticle functions in dehydration protection of the immature moss sporophyte. The investment in a maternal calyptra with a multilayered cuticle increases offspring fitness and provides a functional explanation for calyptra retention across mosses. The moss calyptra may represent the earliest occurance of maternal protection via structural provisioning of a cuticle in green plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica M Budke
- University of Connecticut, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 75 North Eagleville Road, U-3043, Storrs, CT 06269, USA.
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