Cycad genome reveals deep evolutionary links across seed plants
In short: Researchers sequenced the 10.5-billion-base genome of the cycad Cycas panzhihuaensis along with transcriptomes from 339 cycad species. They found that cycads likely share a common ancestor with Ginkgo, identified an early duplication of the entire genome in ancestral gymnosperms, and spotted fungal genes that may help cycads resist herbivores.
Nuclear and plastid data place cycads and Ginkgo as sister lineages to all other living gymnosperms, though mitochondrial data instead puts cycads alone in that spot, showing how different parts of a genome can tell different evolutionary stories. The genome also carries a male-specific gene resembling one tied to sex determination in Ginkgo, hinting this system may be ancient.
The findings rest on one reference genome plus transcriptome data from many species; the conflicting nuclear, plastid and mitochondrial signals show that parts of cycad evolutionary history remain unsettled.
Why it matters: A cycad's genome offers rare genetic clues to how seed plants and their defenses evolved hundreds of millions of years ago.
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Sources
- Source: Research: Liu et al. (2022). The Cycas genome and the early evolution of seed plants. Nature Plants. · cc-by
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