State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Nat Plants. 2020 Feb;6(2):107-118. doi: 10.1038/s41477-019-0588-4. Epub 2020 Feb 10.
Hornworts, liverworts and mosses are three early diverging clades of land plants, and together comprise the bryophytes. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of the hornwort Anthoceros angustus. Phylogenomic inferences confirm the monophyly of bryophytes, with hornworts sister to liverworts and mosses. The simple morphology of hornworts correlates with low genetic redundancy in plant body plan, while the basic transcriptional regulation toolkit for plant development has already been established in this early land plant lineage. Although the Anthoceros genome is small and characterized by minimal redundancy, expansions are observed in gene families related to RNA editing, UV protection and desiccation tolerance. The genome of A. angustus bears the signatures of horizontally transferred genes from bacteria and fungi, in particular of genes operating in stress-response and metabolic pathways. Our study provides insight into the unique features of hornworts and their molecular adaptations to live on land.
角苔、地钱和苔藓是三个早期分化的陆地植物分支，共同组成了苔藓植物。在这里，我们报告了角苔 Anthoceros angustus 的基因组草图序列。系统发育基因组学推断证实了苔藓植物的单系性，角苔与地钱和苔藓为姐妹群关系。角苔的简单形态与植物体遗传冗余度较低相关，而植物发育的基本转录调控工具包已经在这个早期的陆地植物谱系中建立。尽管 Anthoceros 基因组较小且特征是最小冗余，但在与 RNA 编辑、UV 保护和耐旱性相关的基因家族中观察到了扩张。A. angustus 的基因组带有来自细菌和真菌的水平转移基因的特征，特别是在应激反应和代谢途径中起作用的基因。我们的研究提供了对角苔独特特征及其对陆地生活的分子适应的深入了解。
