Flowering plant embryos: How did we end up here?

Rensing, Stefan A.; Weijers, Dolf

doi:10.1007/s00497-021-00427-y

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 46 publications

(50 reference statements)

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“…The monophyletic group of land plants is characterised by a huge variation in reproductive solutions that is the result of successive key evolutionary innovations (Renzaglia et al ., 2000 ; Hackenberg & Twell, 2019 ; Hisanaga et al ., 2019 ; Rensing & Weijers, 2021 ; Sharma et al ., 2021 ). The developmental process controlled by AtMS1 and AtMMD1 , that is tapetum‐assisted microspore and pollen formation facilitating downstream male gametogenesis, is for example a derived trait of angiosperms (Hackenberg & Twell, 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

MS1/MMD1 homologues in the moss Physcomitrium patens are required for male and female gametogenesis

et al. 2022

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Summary The Arabidopsis Plant HomeoDomain (PHD) proteins AtMS1 and AtMMD1 provide chromatin‐mediated transcriptional regulation essential for tapetum‐dependent pollen formation. This pollen‐based male gametogenesis is a derived trait of seed plants. Male gametogenesis in the common ancestors of land plants is instead likely to have been reminiscent of that in extant bryophytes where flagellated sperms are produced by an elaborate gametophyte generation. Still, also bryophytes possess MS1/MMD1‐related PHD proteins. We addressed the function of two MS1/MMD1‐homologues in the bryophyte model moss Physcomitrium patens by the generation and analysis of reporter and loss‐of‐function lines. The two genes are together essential for both male and female fertility by providing functions in the gamete‐producing inner cells of antheridia and archegonia. They are furthermore expressed in the diploid sporophyte generation suggesting a function during sporogenesis, a process proposed related by descent to pollen formation in angiosperms. We propose that the moss MS1/MMD1‐related regulatory network required for completion of male and female gametogenesis, and possibly for sporogenesis, represent a heritage from ancestral land plants.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

MS1/MMD1 homologues in the moss Physcomitrium patens are required for male and female gametogenesis

et al. 2022

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“…Plant embryogenesis is an old process that most likely emerged at the root of Embryophyta (ps12), predating the later invention of seeds and flowers in seed plants (Schneider 2018, Radoeva et al 2019, Rensing and Weijers 2021). In this context, zygotic embryogenesis in flowering plants could be considered an evolutionary derived process, which includes innovations such as endosperm formation, desiccation, and dormancy (Linkies et al 2010, Radoeva et al 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Somatic embryogenesis of grapevine (Vitis vinifera) expresses a transcriptomic hourglass

Koska,

Leljak-Levanić,

Malenica

et al. 2024

Preprint

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At the molecular level, multicellular eukaryotic lineages and bacterial biofilms show predictable evolutionary footprints in their development. For instance, the zygotic embryogenesis ofArabidopsis, which is initiated by gamete fusion, shows hourglass-shaped ontogeny-phylogeny correlations at the transcriptome level. However, many plants are capable of yielding a fully viable next generation by somatic embryogenesis — a comparable developmental process that usually starts by the embryogenic induction of a diploid somatic cell. This leads to the question: is the hourglass-shaped ontogeny-phylogeny correlation preserved in somatic embryogenesis? To explore the correspondence between ontogeny and phylogeny in this alternative developmental route in plants, we developed a new and highly efficient model of somatic embryogenesis in grapevine (Vitis vinifera) and sequenced its developmental transcriptomes. By combining the evolutionary properties of grapevine genes with their expression values, which were recovered from early induction until the formation of juvenile plants, we found a strongly supported hourglass-shaped developmental trajectory. However, in contrast to zygotic embryogenesis inArabidopsiswhere the torpedo stage was evolutionary the most inert, we found that in the somatic embryogenesis of grapevine the heart stage expressed evolutionary the oldest and the most conserved transcriptome. This is a surprising finding because it suggests a better evolutionary system-level analogy between animal development and plant somatic embryogenesis than zygotic embryogenesis. We conclude that macroevolutionary logic is deeply hardwired in plant ontogeny and that somatic embryogenesis is likely a primordial embryogenic program in plants.

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“…Another fascinating characteristic of land plants is their haplodiplontic life cycle in which mitotically dividing and multicellular haploid gametophytes and diploid sporophytes alternate (alternation of generations) [71], whereas in streptophyte algae only the haploid phase is multicellular and divides through mitosis [72]. Among various multicellular eukaryotic lineages, embryo-like structures evolved in animals, brown algae, and also in land plants (that possess a diploid sporophyte embryo, giving the Embryophyta their name) [72].…”

Section: How the Earth Finally Became Greenmentioning

confidence: 99%