0000000000600281
AUTHOR
P. J. Verrier
The Physcomitrella genome reveals evolutionary insights into the conquest of land by plants
We report the draft genome sequence of the model moss Physcomitrella patens and compare its features with those of flowering plants, from which it is separated by more than 400 million years, and unicellular aquatic algae. This comparison reveals genomic changes concomitant with the evolutionary movement to land, including a general increase in gene family complexity; loss of genes associated with aquatic environments (e.g., flagellar arms); acquisition of genes for tolerating terrestrial stresses (e.g., variation in temperature and water availability); and the development of the auxin and abscisic acid signaling pathways for coordinating multicellular growth and dehydration response. The …
Recruitment of glutathione into the nucleus during cell proliferation adjusts whole-cell redox homeostasis in Arabidopsis thaliana and lowers the oxidative defence shield
Summary Cellular redox homeostasis and signalling are important in progression of the eukaryotic cell cycle. In animals, the low-molecular-weight thiol tripeptide glutathione (GSH) is recruited into the nucleus early in the cell proliferation cycle. To determine whether a similar process occurs in plants, we studied cell proliferation in Arabidopsis thaliana. We show that GSH co-localizes with nuclear DNA during the proliferation of A. thaliana cells in culture. Moreover, GSH localization in the nucleus was observed in dividing pericycle cells of the lateral root meristem. There was pronounced accumulation of GSH in the nucleus at points in the growth cycle at which a high percentage of the…