Loss of Plastid Developmental Genes Coincides With a Reversion to Monoplastidy in Hornworts.

ABSTRACT: The first plastid evolved from an endosymbiotic cyanobacterium in the common ancestor of the Archaeplastida. The transformative steps from cyanobacterium to organelle included the transfer of control over developmental processes, a necessity for the host to orchestrate, for example, the fission of the organelle. The plastids of almost all embryophytes divide independently from nuclear division, leading to cells housing multiple plastids. Hornworts, however, are monoplastidic (or near-monoplastidic), and their photosynthetic organelles are a curious exception among embryophytes for reasons such as the occasional presence of pyrenoids. In this study, we screened genomic and transcriptomic data of eleven hornworts for components of plastid developmental pathways. We found intriguing differenc

SUBMITTER: MacLeod AI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8964177 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature