Fringed aristolochia (①flower ② seedling ③ fruit ④ flower cut surface ⑤ root)
Provided by the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences ■Tian Ruiying, trainee reporter of our newspaper
■Our newspaper trainee reporter Tian Ruiying ■Our newspaper trainee reporter Tian Ruiying "Trap-captivity-release", unlike other magnolia plants, the pollination system of Aristolochia plants is extremely deceptive, and the unique flower shape is an important "bait" for attracting pollinators
In a study published in "Nature-Plants" on September 2, the researcher Jiao Yuannian's team and collaborators from the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences ) sequenced and assembled the genome of the fringed Aristolochia , A high-quality reference genome was obtained, and 21751 protein-coding genes were annotated
Chinese Academy of Sciences The "second" in the world
The "second" in the world "Flowers" are unique to angiosperms.
Researchers believe that the origins of angiosperms and their "various" family members are closely related to the emergence and diversification of their innovative new traits "flowers", and the source of their genetic diversity may be related to the advancement of existing angiosperms and their ancestors.
Previously, scientists believed that the only species in the existing angiosperms that did not undergo branch-specific polyploidization was the earliest diversified oil-free camphor
In this study, Jiao Yuannian's team found through genome analysis that besides oil-free camphor, the second sequenced species in the world that has not experienced branch-specific polyploidization-Fringed Aristolochia
"The unique genomic evolution history of Fringed Aristolochia makes it an important object of comparative genomics research, providing an important reference for analyzing the evolution of other angiosperm genomes and the characteristics of angiosperm ancestor genomes
Using this reference genome, the researchers not only accurately located the genome-wide doubling events shared by Cinnamomum and Magnolia, but also discovered two additional ancient genome-wide doubling events in black pepper that were not previously detected
Jiao Yuannian said that the genome contains the genetic code of an organism, and changes in the genome are usually accompanied by changes in the organism's related traits and adaptability
Jiao Yuannian believes that the analysis of the ancestral genome characteristics of angiosperms will help to reveal the evolution of various groups and plant genomes through comparative analysis, and to better understand the genetic basis of plant evolution and diversification
Gene sequencing reveals evolutionary mystery
Gene sequencing reveals evolutionary mystery Angiosperms are divided into four core branches, namely ANA angiosperm basal group, magnolias, monocots and true dicots
Aristolochia can be described as "unique" among the magnolias.
Qin Liuyu, the first author of the paper and a doctoral student at the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences , told the Chinese Journal of Science that Aristolochia, unlike most plants, relies on nectar and pollen as a reward to attract insects to pollinate, but attracts insects by emitting a unique flower scent.
Chinese Academy of Sciences In view of the evolutionary position of Aristolochia, its unique flower morphology, and its controversial medicinal value, researchers hope to find an important breakthrough in the evolution of angiosperms in it
After comparing the genome structure of representative species of the main groups of angiosperms, the researchers found that magnolias and monocots shared a chromosome translocation event, while true dicots lacked this evolutionary feature
.
"In the process of evolution, plant genomes usually undergo chromosomal breaks, fusions, crossovers and other structural mutations
.
Chromosomal translocations are also one of the types of mutations, which means that two chromosomes break separately and exchange fragments.
Later reorganization occurred
.
" Jiao Yuannian explained
.
The researchers believe that this result supports that magnolias and monocots may be sister groups to each other, and eudicots have formed before the differentiation of the two
.
In addition, using this high-quality reference genome, the researchers further explored the genetic basis of Aristolochia flower development and the synthesis of secondary metabolites, and found that the redundancy of homologous genes related to flower development was extremely low, and all identified flowers developed.
There is only one copy of related genes, and there are no duplicate genes
.
Not only that, the sequence, structure and expression pattern of genes related to the development of Aristolochia fringe flowers are relatively conservative, which is more consistent with species such as oil-free camphor and Arabidopsis
.
Researchers believe that the formation of the specialization of Aristolochia fringe may be related to the specific expression patterns of related genes and changes in their downstream regulatory networks
.
"Class Representative" Candidate
"Class Representative" Candidate Model plants are essential for carrying out genetic analysis and other research, and generally require short life cycles, easy reproduction, and suitable for laboratory cultivation
.
Finding and studying these "class representatives" in plants is of great significance for understanding the status of the "classmates"
.
However, the current model plants in botany research are mainly in monocotyledonous plants (rice, corn, etc.
) and eudicotyledonous plants (Arabidopsis thaliana, tomatoes, tobacco, etc.
), in the basal group of magnolia and ANA angiosperms, There are still no model plants that can be used for gene function research
.
Researchers believe that Fringed Aristolochia has the characteristics of short growth cycle, easy large-scale planting, and small genome.
It has the potential to be developed into a magnolia model plant for flower development, developmental genetics, and secondary metabolite synthesis.
Aspects of research
.
"If Fringed Aristolochia is developed into a magnolia model plant, it is possible to use Fringed Aristolochia to carry out gene function studies on Aristolochiaceae and other magnolias, and to compare and analyze the various major groups of angiosperms in a more in-depth manner.
Gene function and molecular mechanism
.
" Jiao Yuannian said
.
Related paper information: https://doi.
org/10.
1038/s41477-021-00990-2
Related paper information: https://doi.
org/10.
1038/s41477-021-00990-2
This article is an English version of an article which is originally in the Chinese language on echemi.com and is provided for information purposes only.
This website makes no representation or warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness ownership or reliability of
the article or any translations thereof. If you have any concerns or complaints relating to the article, please send an email, providing a detailed
description of the concern or complaint, to
service@echemi.com. A staff member will contact you within 5 working days. Once verified, infringing content
will be removed immediately.
