Phytochrome diversity in green plants and the origin of canonical plant phytochromes

Fay-Wei Li (), Michael Melkonian, Carl J. Rothfels, Juan Carlos Villarreal, Dennis W. Stevenson, Sean W. Graham, Gane Ka-Shu Wong, Kathleen M. Pryer and Sarah Mathews ()
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Fay-Wei Li: Duke University
Michael Melkonian: Cologne Biocenter, University of Cologne
Carl J. Rothfels: University of California
Juan Carlos Villarreal: Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh
Dennis W. Stevenson: New York Botanical Garden
Sean W. Graham: University of British Columbia
Gane Ka-Shu Wong: University of Alberta
Kathleen M. Pryer: Duke University
Sarah Mathews: Harvard University Herbaria

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Phytochromes are red/far-red photoreceptors that play essential roles in diverse plant morphogenetic and physiological responses to light. Despite their functional significance, phytochrome diversity and evolution across photosynthetic eukaryotes remain poorly understood. Using newly available transcriptomic and genomic data we show that canonical plant phytochromes originated in a common ancestor of streptophytes (charophyte algae and land plants). Phytochromes in charophyte algae are structurally diverse, including canonical and non-canonical forms, whereas in land plants, phytochrome structure is highly conserved. Liverworts, hornworts and Selaginella apparently possess a single phytochrome, whereas independent gene duplications occurred within mosses, lycopods, ferns and seed plants, leading to diverse phytochrome families in these clades. Surprisingly, the phytochrome portions of algal and land plant neochromes, a chimera of phytochrome and phototropin, appear to share a common origin. Our results reveal novel phytochrome clades and establish the basis for understanding phytochrome functional evolution in land plants and their algal relatives.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8852

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