Recent Posts

Auxin Regulates Growth of a Characean Alga

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Auxin regulates many aspects of growth and development in land plants, but the origin and evolution of auxin signaling and response mechanisms remain largely unknown. Genome analyses of the moss Physcomitrella patens revealed the presence of the principal gene families involved in auxin homeostasis and…

Is All Root Hair Development the Same?

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Root hairs are long tubular extensions of root epidermal cells that greatly increase the root surface area and thereby assist in water and nutrient absorption. Root hairs are found in nearly all vascular plants, including angiosperms, gymnosperms, and lycophytes, and they exhibit similar cellular features,…

Wild tobacco genomes reveal the evolution of nicotine biosynthesis

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The genus Nicotiana encompasses several species and hybrids, the most famous being Nicotiana tabacum, cultivated for production of tobacco. Xu et al. sequenced the genome of Nicotiana attenuata and Nicotiana obtusifolia with an interest in identifying the origins of nicotine biosynthesis. Nicotine is…

Review: Ancestral alliances: Plant mutualistic symbioses with fungi and bacteria ($)

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Martin et al. have written a must-read review on the evolution of plant mutualistic symbioses and strategies through which hosts and microbes communicate and coordinate their activities. This review also covers the contributions of hormones in the formation of symbiotic tissues, and how the mutualistic…

Early history of Arabidopsis thaliana

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Arabidopsis thaliana is a good study system to shed light on evolutionary processes. Its broad native range and genetic diversity provide resources to study speciation and local adaptation. Durvasula et al. studied the early history and transition to selfing of this species by comparing genome sequences…

Silver birch: genome sequence and population genomic analyses

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Salojärvi et al. have assembled the genome of silver birch (Betula pendula) and examined genomic diversity across 150 individuals collected from across Northern Europe and Asia. Their study shows that there have been several genetic bottlenecks associated with climate upheaval (e.g., at the K-Pg boundary…

Young inversion with multiple linked QTLs under selection in a hybrid zone

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Chromosomal inversions are chromosomal rearrangements that can span several Mb and have been described in several organisms from Drosophila to maize. Inversions suppress recombination and can favor local adaptation and speciation if they capture favorable alleles. It’s not clear though if favorable…

Review: Phytochrome diversification in cyanobacteria and eukaryotic algae ($)

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Phytochromes were first characterized in classic studies of plants, in which their contributions to seed germination and initiation of flowering were described. Subsequently, phytochromes were identified in cyanobacteria and in non-photosynthetic organisms including fungi. Rockwell and Lagarias review…

Review: Light-harvesting antenna complexes in Physcomitrella patens: implications for evolutionary transition from green algae to land plants ($)

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The ancestors of land plants were aquatic. Myriad changes accompanied the transition from aquatic to terrestrial life, including changes necessitated by the difference in light intensity and quality. Bryophytes, the earliest diverging land plants, have some characteristics that reveal how plants transitioned…