Chromosome Numbers and Reproductive Life Cycles in Green Plants: A Phylotranscriptomic Perspective.

ABSTRACT: The strong correlation between reproductive life cycle type and chromosome numbers in green plants has been a long-standing mystery in evolutionary biology. Within green plants, the derived condition of heterosporous reproduction has emerged from the ancestral condition of homospory in disparate locations on the phylogenetic tree at least 11 times, of which three lineages are extant. In all green plant lineages where heterospory has emerged, there has been a significant downsizing in chromosome numbers. This dynamic has been investigated without clear answers for many decades. In this study, we combine known ideas from existing literature with novel methods, tools, and data to generate fresh insights into an old question. Using gene family evolution models and selection analyses, we identi

SUBMITTER: Dhakal RR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11758355 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature