About this Research Topic
Our current knowledge of plant development comes almost entirely from studies in angiosperms, and mostly from a few species such as Arabidopsis thaliana deemed an excellent candidate for its good qualities (fast vital cycle, small genome, etc.). However, the increased morphological and physiological complexity attained by seed plants can only be explained by considering the contribution provided by the successive land plant lineages that have preceded them. The comprehension of molecular mechanisms underlying the origins and continued modifications of the plant architecture is only possible through a comparison of extant species to infer either ancient or derived traits.
Thanks to the advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies, and shotgun proteomics by tandem mass spectrometry, among others, it is possible to obtain genomic data even in plants exhibiting a high number of chromosomes and large genomes such as ferns. Thus, the variation in gene expression, induced by whatever environmental or endogenous conditions, can be examined in non-model organisms because these techniques have become more feasible as automation and efficiency have reduced costs. Further models are increasingly being exploited as experimental systems for molecular analyses, including the moss Physcomitrella patents, the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, and lycopods in the genus Selaginella. This ambitious goal cannot be studied without focusing on more species, and in this regard, comparative studies in the monilophytes (ferns and relatives) are being conducted, which are the most closely related extant land plant lineages to seed plants.
The scope of the research topic covers the following aspects, in an evolutionary context:
• Molecular clues of plant terrestrialization
• The alternation of generations: one genome, two ontogenies
• Meristems organization, stem cell niches and cell fate
• Multicellularity, cell-to-cell signaling and tissue patterning
• Organogenesis, lateral organ development and branching
• Diversity of vegetative and reproductive structures
• Omics analyses and efficient transformation in non-model plants
• Phylogenetic systematics and morphological evolution
Thanks to the advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies, and shotgun proteomics by tandem mass spectrometry, among others, it is possible to obtain genomic data even in plants exhibiting a high number of chromosomes and large genomes such as ferns. Thus, the variation in gene expression, induced by whatever environmental or endogenous conditions, can be examined in non-model organisms because these techniques have become more feasible as automation and efficiency have reduced costs. Further models are increasingly being exploited as experimental systems for molecular analyses, including the moss Physcomitrella patents, the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, and lycopods in the genus Selaginella. This ambitious goal cannot be studied without focusing on more species, and in this regard, comparative studies in the monilophytes (ferns and relatives) are being conducted, which are the most closely related extant land plant lineages to seed plants.
The scope of the research topic covers the following aspects, in an evolutionary context:
• Molecular clues of plant terrestrialization
• The alternation of generations: one genome, two ontogenies
• Meristems organization, stem cell niches and cell fate
• Multicellularity, cell-to-cell signaling and tissue patterning
• Organogenesis, lateral organ development and branching
• Diversity of vegetative and reproductive structures
• Omics analyses and efficient transformation in non-model plants
• Phylogenetic systematics and morphological evolution
Keywords: non-seed plants, plant development, next-generation sequencing, monylophytes, angiosperms
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