Green plants (Viridiplantae) are ancient photosynthetic organisms that thrive both in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, greatly contributing to the changes in global climates and ecosystems. ...Significant progress has been made toward understanding the origin and evolution of green plants, and plant biologists have arrived at the consensus that green plants first originated in marine deep‐water environments and later colonized fresh water and dry land. The origin of green plants, colonization of land by plants and rapid radiation of angiosperms are three key evolutionary events during the long history of green plants. However, the comprehensive understanding of evolutionary features and molecular innovations that enabled green plants to adapt to complex and changeable environments are still limited. Here, we review current knowledge of phylogenetic relationships and divergence times of green plants, and discuss key morphological innovations and distinct drivers in the evolution of green plants. Ultimately, we highlight fundamental questions to advance our understanding of the phenotypic novelty, environmental adaptation, and domestication of green plants.
It is imperative to understand the phenotypic novelty and environmental adaptation of green plants in the light of evolution. This review summaries the recent progresses on phylogeny, divergence times, morphological innovations and distinct drivers in the evolutionary history of green plants, and discusses future prospects for plant evolution.
X-derived retrogenes contribute to genetic diversity in evolution and are usually specifically expressed in testis and perform important functions during spermatogenesis.
Ubl4b
is an autosomal ...retrogene with testis-specific expression derived from
Ubl4a
, an X-linked housekeeping gene. In the current study, we performed phylogenetic analysis and revealed that
Ubl4a
and
Ubl4b
are subject to purifying selection and may have conserved functions in evolution.
Ubl4b
was knocked out in mice using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology and interestingly, we found no alterations in reproductive parameters of
Ubl4b
–/–
male mice. To get insights into whether
Ubl4a
could compensate the absence of
Ubl4b in vivo
, we further obtained
Ubl4a
–/Y
; Ubl4b
–/–
mice that lack both
Ubl4a
and
Ubl4b
, and the double knockout (dKO) mice also displayed normal spermatogenesis, showing that
Ubl4a
and
Ubl4b
are both dispensable for spermatogenesis. Thus, through the
in vivo
study of UBL4A and UBL4B, we provided a direct evidence for the first time that some X chromosome-derived autosomal retrogenes can be unfunctional in spermatogenesis, which represents an additional evolutionary type of X-derived retrogenes.
The BAP module, comprising BRASSINAZOLE RESISTANT 1 (BZR1), AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR 6 (ARF6), and PHYTOCHROME‐INTERACTING FACTOR 4 (PIF4), functions as a molecular hub to orchestrate plant growth and ...development. In Arabidopsis thaliana, components of the BAP module physically interact to form a complex system that integrates light, brassinosteroid (BR), and auxin signals. Little is known about the origin and evolution of the BAP module. Here, we conducted comparative genomic and transcriptomic analyses to investigate the evolution and functional diversification of the BAP module. Our results suggest that the BAP module originated in land plants and that the ζ, ε, and γ whole‐genome duplication/triplication events contributed to the expansion of BAP module components in seed plants. Comparative transcriptomic analysis suggested that the prototype BAP module arose in Marchantia polymorpha, experienced stepwise evolution, and became established as a mature regulatory system in seed plants. We developed a formula to calculate the signal transduction productivity of the BAP module and demonstrate that more crosstalk among components enables higher signal transduction efficiency. Our results reveal the evolutionary history of the BAP module and provide insights into the evolution of plant signaling networks and the strategies employed by plants to integrate environmental and endogenous signals.
The BAP module originated in land plants and became established as a mature regulatory system in seed plants; in seed plants, more crosstalk among BAP components enables higher signal transduction efficiency.
The biological mechanisms that underpin primate social evolution remain poorly understood. Asian colobines display a range of social organizations, which makes them good models for investigating ...social evolution. By integrating ecological, geological, fossil, behavioral, and genomic analyses, we found that colobine primates that inhabit colder environments tend to live in larger, more complex groups. Specifically, glacial periods during the past 6 million years promoted the selection of genes involved in cold-related energy metabolism and neurohormonal regulation. More-efficient dopamine and oxytocin pathways developed in odd-nosed monkeys, which may have favored the prolongation of maternal care and lactation, increasing infant survival in cold environments. These adaptive changes appear to have strengthened interindividual affiliation, increased male-male tolerance, and facilitated the stepwise aggregation from independent one-male groups to large multilevel societies.
A simple and low-cost shared aperture antenna module for 5G N78 and N257 applications is proposed. This module integrates a microwave (MW) patch antenna and a millimeter wave (MMW) ...substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW) slot antenna. The MW part employs splits etched on the patch and shorting vias to excite TM01, TM20, and TM21 modes simultaneously and generate a wide band covering N78 band. In the MMW part, beveled SIW cavities with additional metal vias are set on the same substrate of the patch antenna and extend the bandwidth of the slot antennas covering N257 band. The shared-aperture antenna module provides high port isolations, and high and flat gains for both bands. Moreover, the MMW beam scanning is manipulated in the E-and H-plane. A prototype is designed, implemented and measured for verification.
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