Abstract
Colonization of the land by multicellular green plants was a fundamental step in the evolution of life on earth. Land plants evolved from fresh-water aquatic algae, and the transition to a terrestrial environment required the acquisition of developmental plasticity appropriate to the conditions of water availability, ranging from drought to flood. Here we show that extant bryophytes exhibit submergence-induced developmental plasticity, suggesting that submergence responses evolved relatively early in the evolution of land plants. We also show that a major component of the bryophyte submergence response is controlled by the phytohormone ethylene, using a perception mechanism that has subsequently been conserved throughout the evolution of land plants. Thus a plant environmental response mechanism with major ecological and agricultural importance probably had its origins in the very earliest stages of the colonization of the land.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 947-959 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Plant Journal |
Volume | 72 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Dec 2012 |
Keywords
- Ethylene
- Evolution
- Physcomitrella patens
- Phytohormones
- Submergence
- Water relations