Think the Earth

The joint research team consisting of members from 6 countries including Japan, US, Germany, and UK have succeeded in decoding the entire genome of moss or bryophytes (Physcomitrella patens). It is expected that identifying the functions of approximately 36,000 genes would reveal the evolutionary process of land plants, which dates back to 500 million years ago.

It is said that bryophytes separated from flowering plants immediately after the plants moved from sea to land. Therefore, by comparing genomes for bryophytes to flowering plants and those of algae that lived under the water before the move to land, it becomes possible to identify the genes that were necessary for plants to adapt to living on land.

The genes identified in this research have revealed that plant hormone genes of bryophytes, which are involved in growth or tolerating dehydration, are analogous to those of flowering plants. On the other hand, the study has also confirmed genes that are similar to those of algae. There is great hope that further comparison of such genes may elucidate the evolutionary process of plants, and also the difference between the evolutionary process of plants and animals.