Faculty of Life Sciences, Kyoto Sangyo University, Kamigamo-Motoyama, Kita-ku, Kyoto, Japan.
Center for Plant Sciences, Kyoto Sangyo University, Kamigamo-Motoyama, Kita-ku, Kyoto, Japan.
Commun Biol. 2024 Apr 18;7(1):431. doi: 10.1038/s42003-024-06088-7.
The ability to respond to varying environments is crucial for sessile organisms such as plants. The amphibious plant Rorippa aquatica exhibits a striking type of phenotypic plasticity known as heterophylly, a phenomenon in which leaf form is altered in response to environmental factors. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of heterophylly are yet to be fully understood. To uncover the genetic basis and analyze the evolutionary processes driving heterophylly in R. aquatica, we assembled the chromosome-level genome of the species. Comparative chromosome painting and chromosomal genomics revealed that allopolyploidization and subsequent post-polyploid descending dysploidy occurred during the speciation of R. aquatica. Based on the obtained genomic data, the transcriptome analyses revealed that ethylene signaling plays a central role in regulating heterophylly under submerged conditions, with blue light signaling acting as an attenuator of ethylene signal. The assembled R. aquatica reference genome provides insights into the molecular mechanisms and evolution of heterophylly.
对植物等固着生物而言，适应不同环境的能力至关重要。两栖植物稻槎菜表现出一种显著的表型可塑性，称为异形叶性，即叶片形态会根据环境因素发生改变。然而，异形叶性的潜在分子机制尚未完全阐明。为了揭示稻槎菜异形叶性的遗传基础和分析驱动其进化的过程，我们构建了该物种的染色体水平基因组。比较染色体原位杂交和染色体基因组学揭示了稻槎菜的物种形成过程中发生了异源多倍化，随后出现了多倍体下降的非整倍性。基于获得的基因组数据，转录组分析表明，乙烯信号在水淹条件下调节异形叶性中发挥核心作用，蓝光信号作为乙烯信号的调节剂。组装的稻槎菜参考基因组为异形叶性的分子机制和进化提供了新的见解。
