| Abstract Detail
Symbioses: Plant, Animal, and Microbe Interactions Wang, Bin [1], Qiu, Yin-Long [1]. Origin of Mycorrhizae in Land Plants: Molecular Evidence from DMI3, a Gene Controlling Mycorrhizal Development. Intimate associations between mycorrhizal fungi and plants occur throughout land plants. However, it is still debatable whether such fungal associations in vascular plants and bryophytes are evolutionarily homologous. Hence, the origin of mycorrhizae and their role in facilitating coloniozation of land by plants remain uncertain. Here we report presence of DMI3, a gene controlling mycorrhiza development in legumes, in many bryophytes and vascular plants. Our phylogenetic analyses indicate that the gene has been vertically inherited. These data suggest that the earliest land plants had possessed the genetic machinery to direct mycorrhizal development, and that mycorrhizae likely played an important role in the origin of land plants. Log in to add this item to your schedule
1 - University of Michigan, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, 830 North University Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109-1048, USA
Keywords: Mycorrhizae land plants Genes.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Topics Session: CP51 Location: Continental B/Hilton Date: Wednesday, July 11th, 2007 Time: 1:30 PM Number: CP51003 Abstract ID:1068 |