The Flying Spider-monkey Tree Fern Genome Provides Insights into Fern Evolution and Arborescence

Overview

Journal Nat Plants

Specialties Biology
Genetics

Date 2022 May 9

PMID 35534720

Authors

Xiong Huang

Wenling Wang

Ting Gong

David Wickell

Li-Yaung Kuo

Xingtan Zhang

Jialong Wen

Hoon Kim

Fachuang Lu

Hansheng Zhao

Song Chen

Hui Li

Wenqi Wu

Changjiang Yu

Su Chen

Wei Fan

Shuai Chen

Xiuqi Bao

Li Li

Dan Zhang

Longyu Jiang

Dipak Khadka

Xiaojing Yan

Zhenyang Liao

Gongke Zhou

Yalong Guo

John Ralph

Ronald R Sederoff

Hairong Wei

Ping Zhu

Fay-Wei Li

Ray Ming

Quanzi Li

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

To date, little is known about the evolution of fern genomes, with only two small genomes published from the heterosporous Salviniales. Here we assembled the genome of Alsophila spinulosa, known as the flying spider-monkey tree fern, onto 69 pseudochromosomes. The remarkable preservation of synteny, despite resulting from an ancient whole-genome duplication over 100 million years ago, is unprecedented in plants and probably speaks to the uniqueness of tree ferns. Our detailed investigations into stem anatomy and lignin biosynthesis shed new light on the evolution of stem formation in tree ferns. We identified a phenolic compound, alsophilin, that is abundant in xylem, and we provided the molecular basis for its biosynthesis. Finally, analysis of demographic history revealed two genetic bottlenecks, resulting in rapid demographic declines of A. spinulosa. The A. spinulosa genome fills a crucial gap in the plant genomic landscape and helps elucidate many unique aspects of tree fern biology.

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