Amyloplasts are necessary for full gravitropism in thallus of Marchantia polymorpha.

ABSTRACT: Gravitropism is a plant response to gravity that directs organ growth and development, playing a key role in the adaptation of land plants. While its molecular basis has been extensively studied in flowering plants, much less is known about this process in other plant lineages. Here, we investigated the gravitropic response of the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, a model for early land plant evolution. In darkness, the thallus tips extended upward, forming several straight, narrow structures whose growth direction was consistently opposite to gravity and disrupted by clinostat treatment. These structures contained amyloplasts in parenchymatous cells, and their sedimentation preceded gravitropic curvature, suggesting a role as statoliths. Amyloplast sedimentation started near the tip and sl

SUBMITTER: Hashimoto-Sugimoto M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12675261 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature