Takakia possesses a key marker of embryophyte sporopollenin
Dae-Yeon Suh, Damanpreet K Sraan, Neil W Ashton
TL;DR
This paper identifies a unique protein in the moss Takakia that marks the presence of sporopollenin, a key component in spore and pollen walls of land plants.
Contribution
The study confirms the presence of ASCL in Takakia and its absence in algae, establishing a molecular marker for sporopollenin.
Findings
Takakia lepidozioides possesses ASCL, a marker for sporopollenin in embryophyte spores and pollen.
Algae with sequenced genomes lack ASCL and thus do not produce sporopollenin.
ASCL is a distinguishing feature of land plant spore walls.
Abstract
The enigmatic moss, Takakia lepidozioides , possesses a particular type III polyketide synthase, ASCL (Anther-Specific Chalcone synthase-Like), that is an identifying marker for genuine sporopollenin in the walls of embryophyte spores and pollen grains. By contrast, a survey of all algae with sequenced genomes confirms that they do not possess ASCL and, therefore, their spore walls are not composed of sporopollenin.
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Taxonomy
TopicsFern and Epiphyte Biology · Marine and coastal plant biology