Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0The Plant cell
The Spirogyra pratensis genome illuminates the evolution of developmental programs and spiral chloroplast biology
18 affiliations
- 1University of Göttingen, Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, Göttingen Centre for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), Campus Institute Data Science (CIDAS), Department of Applied Bioinformatics , Goldschmidtstr. 1, Göttingen 37077 ,
- 2Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg , Schaenzlestrasse 1, Freiburg 79104 ,
- 3Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Freiburg , Stefan-Meier-Str. 19, Freiburg 79104 ,
- 4Faculty of Biology, Plant Cell Biology, University of Marburg , Karl-von-Frisch-Str. 8, Marburg 35043 ,
- 5State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Southwest University, No. 2 Tiansheng Road, Beibei , Chongqing 400715 ,
- 6University of Hamburg, Institute of Plant Science and Microbiology, Department of Aquatic Ecophysiology and Phycology, Microalgae and Zygematophyceae Collection Hamburg , Ohnhorststr. 18, Hamburg 22609 ,
- 7Bioinformatics Group, Department of Computer Science, AlbertLudwigs-University Freiburg , Georges-Köhler-Allee 106, Freiburg 79110 ,
- 8Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Institute of Pharmacy, University of Kiel , Gutenbergstr. 76, Kiel 24118 ,
- 9Research Department for Limnology, University of Innsbruck , Mondseestr. 9, Mondsee 5310 ,
- 10Institute for Mediterranean and Subtropical Horticulture “La Mayora” (IHSM La Mayora-UMA-CSIC) , Avenida Louis Pasteur, 49, Malaga 29010 ,
- 11Department of Botany, University of Innsbruck , Sternwartestrasse 15, Innsbruck 6020 ,
- 12Biological and Medical Research Center (BMFZ), Medical Faculty and University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Universitaetsstr. 1 , 40225 Düsseldorf ,
- 13Cologne Center for Genomics (CCG), Medical Faculty, University of Cologne , Weyertal 115b, 50931 Cologne ,
- 14Albrecht Haller Institute of Plant Sciences, Göttingen Centre for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), Department of Plant Biochemistry, University of Göttingen , Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, Göttingen 37077 ,
- 15Biology Section, Duke University , Durham, 137 Biosci, Box 90338, NC 27708 ,
- 16Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, Institute Jean-Pierre Bourgin for Plant Sciences (IJPB) , 22 place de l′Agronomie, Versailles 78000 ,
- 17Department of Chromosome Biology, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research , Carl-von-Linne-Weg 10, 50829 Cologne , Germany
- 18University of Applied Sciences, Mittweida Department of Molecular Biotechnology, , Technikumplatz 17a, Mittweida 09648 ,
Abstract
Zygnematophytes emerged as the unexpected closest algal relatives of land plants despite their simple body plans, raising questions about the morphogenetic toolkit present in the last common ancestor of land plants and algae. Genomic analyses have revealed that zygnematophytes are cellular giants, sharing homologous frameworks for several phytohormones, secondary metabolites, and key morphogenetic and transcriptional regulatory processes. Zygnematophytes fall into 5 orders, each of which has charted its own evolutionary path. Here, we have sequenced a contiguous genome of Spirogyra pratensis, the eponymous representative of Spirogyrales and a classical model system for evolutionary cell biology in the green lineage. Building on this genome, we transcriptionally profiled the tractable life cycle of Spirogyra and its responses to a bifactorial gradient of light and temperature. Our data highlight the activation of quiescence and homeostatic programs. Yet what stands out most in Spirogyra is its spiral chloroplast—undulating intracellularly and abscising during mixed phragmoplast formation and furrowing. Leveraging the genome in tandem with co-expression network analyses, we describe the molecular underpinnings of the unique cytokinetic processes that govern both cell and plastid division. We find that Spirogyra deploys a molecular program characteristic of Phragmoplastophyta yet lacks the deeply conserved plastid division machinery found in other archaeplastid plastids.
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BibTeX
@article{goldbecker2026spirogyra,
title = {{The Spirogyra pratensis genome illuminates the evolution of developmental programs and spiral chloroplast biology}},
author = {Elisa S. Goldbecker and Deepti Varshney and Anja Holzhausen and Tatyana Darienko and Hong Zhou and Armin Dadras and Lukáš Pfeifer and Thomas Pröschold and Elvira López‐Gómez and Elke Woelken and Charlotte Permann and Tassilo Erik Wollenweber and Kerstin Becker and Stefanie Koenig and Franz Hadaček and Fay‐Wei Li and Ivo Feußner and Noé Fernández‐Pozo and Andreas Holzinger and Florian Maumus and André Marques and Henrik Buschmann and Klaus von Schwartzenberg and Jan de Vries and Stefan Andreas Rensing},
journal = {The Plant cell},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1093/plcell/koag224},
url = {https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05736884v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The Spirogyra pratensis genome illuminates the evolution of developmental programs and spiral chloroplast biology
AU - Elisa S. Goldbecker
AU - Deepti Varshney
AU - Anja Holzhausen
AU - Tatyana Darienko
AU - Hong Zhou
AU - Armin Dadras
AU - Lukáš Pfeifer
AU - Thomas Pröschold
AU - Elvira López‐Gómez
AU - Elke Woelken
AU - Charlotte Permann
AU - Tassilo Erik Wollenweber
AU - Kerstin Becker
AU - Stefanie Koenig
AU - Franz Hadaček
AU - Fay‐Wei Li
AU - Ivo Feußner
AU - Noé Fernández‐Pozo
AU - Andreas Holzinger
AU - Florian Maumus
AU - André Marques
AU - Henrik Buschmann
AU - Klaus von Schwartzenberg
AU - Jan de Vries
AU - Stefan Andreas Rensing
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/25
JO - The Plant cell
DO - 10.1093/plcell/koag224
UR - https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05736884v1
AB - Zygnematophytes emerged as the unexpected closest algal relatives of land plants despite their simple body plans, raising questions about the morphogenetic toolkit present in the last common ancestor of land plants and algae. Genomic analyses have revealed that zygnematophytes are cellular giants, sharing homologous frameworks for several phytohormones, secondary metabolites, and key morphogenetic and transcriptional regulatory processes. Zygnematophytes fall into 5 orders, each of which has charted its own evolutionary path. Here, we have sequenced a contiguous genome of Spirogyra pratensis, the eponymous representative of Spirogyrales and a classical model system for evolutionary cell biology in the green lineage. Building on this genome, we transcriptionally profiled the tractable life cycle of Spirogyra and its responses to a bifactorial gradient of light and temperature. Our data highlight the activation of quiescence and homeostatic programs. Yet what stands out most in Spirogyra is its spiral chloroplast—undulating intracellularly and abscising during mixed phragmoplast formation and furrowing. Leveraging the genome in tandem with co-expression network analyses, we describe the molecular underpinnings of the unique cytokinetic processes that govern both cell and plastid division. We find that Spirogyra deploys a molecular program characteristic of Phragmoplastophyta yet lacks the deeply conserved plastid division machinery found in other archaeplastid plastids.
SN - 1040-4651
SN - 1532-298X
ER -