From water to land: What bryophytes reveal about plant evolution and adaptations

The transition of plants from aquatic to terrestrial environments occurred approximately 400 million years ago, leading to the diversification of two major lineages: tracheophytes (vascular plants) and bryophytes (non-vascular plants). While most studies on plant adaptation to environmental stressors focus on angiosperms— which include the majority of crop species—similar research in bryophytes remains less explored. However, bryophytes provide insights into the characteristics of the most recent common ancestor of land plants. Using a pangenome approach, Beaulieu and colleagues conducted a genome-environment association study on 133 accessions of the bryophyte Marchantia. Their analyses revealed conserved molecular mechanisms across land plants, with nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) gene families and class III peroxidases emerging as key adaptive strategies. These findings demonstrate that bryophyte studies can complement and inform research on angiosperms. Intraspecific diversity in bryophytes was also evident, particularly in genes involved in the biosynthesis and storage of oil bodies, which stood out as lineage-specific determinants and may have evolved through horizontal gene transfer. This extensive dataset provides a valuable resource for future studies to uncover new regulators of plant-environment interactions across land plant species. (Summary by Ching Chan @ntnuchanlab) Nature Genetics 10.1038/s41588-024-02071-4