Evidence that genes acquired from microbes by plants facilitated critical adaptations in their terrestrialization, including stress tolerance, phytohormone signaling, cell wall biosynthesis, and defense against pathogens and herbivores is synthesized.
Abstract
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) has been considered as a pivotal source of genetic innovation during early plant evolution. This review synthesizes evidence that genes acquired from microbes (e.g., bacteria and fungi) by plants facilitated critical adaptations in their terrestrialization. These include stress tolerance, phytohormone signaling, cell wall biosynthesis, and defense against pathogens and herbivores. The integration of foreign genes, often following post-transfer domestication such as intron gain, underscores a dynamic evolutionary process in land plants. Furthermore, bidirectional HGT events between plants and other organisms reveal a complex "web of life". Ultimately, HGT is a fundamental and continuous force that has shaped plant evolution, particularly during plant colonization of land.
Hybridization—the interbreeding of genetically distinct populations or species—is hypothesized as a major force in plant evolution, driving speciation and enabling the spread of beneficial traits through adaptive introgression. Advances in genomics, phylogenomics, and bioinformatics have transformed our ability to stud...
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a key mechanism driving microbial evolution, enabling diverse lineages to rapidly acquire adaptive traits. However, the forces governing the retention and functional impact of transferred genes remain poorly understood, particularly in natural communities where gene exchange is frequen...
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ABSTRACT Rice blast caused by Magnaporthe oryzae threatens global rice production, and wheat blast emergence highlights the pathogen’s capacity for host shifts. Although numerous studies have described M. oryzae genome organization and infection mechanisms, critical questions remain regarding the evolutionary drivers o...
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Transitions to saline environments pose formidable challenges to plants, yet halophytism has evolved independently across many flowering plant lineages. We assembled a comparative angiosperm gene catalog of ∼10 million protein-coding genes from 232 genomes spanning 55 families, with similar representation of halophytes...
Samadhi Wimalagunasekara, M. Dassanayake· bioRxiv· 0 citations
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