Genomes of multicellular algal sisters to land plants illuminate signaling network evolution

Authors

• Xuehuan Feng, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
• Jinfang Zheng, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Zhejiang Lab
• Iker Irisarri, University of Goettingen, Zoological Museum Hamburg
• Huihui Yu, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, University of GoettingenFollow
• Bo Zheng, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Zahin Ali, Nanyang Technological University
• Sophie de Vries, University of Goettingen
• Jean Keller, Université de Toulouse
• Janine M. R. Fürst-Jansen, University of Goettingen
• Armin Dadras, University of Goettingen
• Jaccoline M. S. Zegers, University of Goettingen
• Tim P. Rieseberg, University of Goettingen
• Amra Dhabalia Ashok, University of Goettingen
• Tatyana Darienko, University of Goettingen
• Maaike J. Bierenbroodspot, University of Goettingen
• Lydia Gramzow, University of Jena
• Romy Petroll, University of Marburg, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen
• Fabian B. Haas, University of Marburg, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen
• Noe Fernandez-Pozo, University of Marburg, Institute for Mediterranean and Subtropical Horticulture ‘La Mayora’
• Orestis Nousias, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Tang Li, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Elisabeth Fitzek, Bielefeld University
• W. Scott Grayburn, Northern Illinois University
• Nina Rittmeier, University of Innsbruck
• Charlotte Permann, University of Innsbruck
• Florian Rümpler, University of Jena
• John M. Archibald, Dalhousie University
• Günter Theißen, University of Jena
• Jeffrey P. Mower, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
• Maike Lorenz16, University of Goettingen
• Henrik Buschmann, University of Applied Sciences Mittweida
• Klaus von Schwartzenberg, Universität Hamburg
• Lori Boston, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology
• Richard D. Hayes, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• Chris Daum, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• Kerrie Barry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• Igor V. Grigoriev, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California Berkeley
• Xiyin Wang, North China University of Science and Technology
• Fay-Wei Li, Boyce Thompson Institute, Cornell University
• Stefan A. Rensing, University of Marburg, University of Marburg
• Julius Ben Ari, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• Noa Keren, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• Assaf Mosquna, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• Andreas Holzinger, University of Innsbruck
• Pierre-Marc Delaux, Université de Toulouse
• Chi Zhang, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
• Jinling Huang, East Carolina University, Henan University
• Marek Mutwil6,, Nanyang Technological University
• Jan de Vries, University of Goettingen
• Yanbin Yin, University of Nebraska – LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

3-25-2024

Citation

Nature Genetics | Volume 56 | May 2024 | 1018–1031. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-024-01737-3

Comments

Open access.

Abstract

Zygnematophyceae are the algal sisters of land plants. Here we sequenced four genomes of filamentous Zygnematophyceae, including chromosome-scale assemblies for three strains of Zygnema circumcarinatum. We inferred traits in the ancestor of Zygnematophyceae and land plants that might have ushered in the conquest of land by plants: expanded genes for signaling cascades, environmental response, and multicellular growth. Zygnematophyceae and land plants share all the major enzymes for cell wall synthesis and remodifications, and gene gains shaped this toolkit. Co-expression network analyses uncover gene cohorts that unite environmental signaling with multicellular developmental programs. Our data shed light on a molecular chassis that balances environmental response and growth modulation across more than 600 million years of streptophyte evolution.