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.