Researchers examined gene expression in the six main lineages of streptophyte algae, which constitute the ancestors of land plants, and found that in response to stress induced by light and cold, streptophytes expressed genes that are active in land plants during stress response signaling, including plastid genes, which are key players in plant stress response signaling; moreover, streptophytes most closely related to land plants harbored several genes implicated in communication between the nucleus and plastids in land plants, findings that might illuminate the evolution of land plants.
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Article #17-19230: "Embryophyte stress signaling evolved in the algal progenitors of land plants," by Jan de Vries, Bruce Curtis, Sven Gould, and John M Archibald.
MEDIA CONTACT: Jan de Vries, Dalhousie University, Halifax, CANADA; tel: 902-410-5165; e-mail: jan.devries@dal.ca
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences