A single genetic innovation at the origin of plant terrestrialization
Abstract
How the functional innovations that enabled plants to first colonize land 450 million years ago evolved remains puzzling. Here, we show that the gain of a single family of enzymes was pivotal in the evolution of two of these innovations, the cuticle that protect plants from dehydration and UV light, and the Arbuscular Mycorrhizal symbiosis promoting water and nutrient uptake. We show that functional phosphatase domain Glycerol-3-Phosphate Acyl Transferase (p-GPATs) evolved in the first land plants, concomitantly with the cuticle and symbiosis. Mutation of two p-GPATs from the liverwort Marchantia paleacea is sufficient to abolish both cuticle formation and AM symbiosis, leading to major developmental defects. We propose that the evolution of p-GPATs in land plants acted as a two birds-one stone innovation, diverting intracellular lipids to the extracellular space and providing a simple path to the evolution of two traits essential for the colonization of land.
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BibTeX
@misc{zamar2026single,
title = {{A single genetic innovation at the origin of plant terrestrialization}},
author = {Duchesse-Lacours Mbadinga Zamar and Philippe Ranocha and Mélanie Rich and Katharina Melkonian and Tatiana Vernié and Tifenn Pellen and Nicolas Vigneron and Jean Keller and Frédéric Domergue and Yves Martinez and Aurélie Le Ru and Christophe Dunand and Pierre-Marc Delaux},
howpublished = {HAL},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.64898/2026.08.14.744897},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05782762v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - A single genetic innovation at the origin of plant terrestrialization
AU - Duchesse-Lacours Mbadinga Zamar
AU - Philippe Ranocha
AU - Mélanie Rich
AU - Katharina Melkonian
AU - Tatiana Vernié
AU - Tifenn Pellen
AU - Nicolas Vigneron
AU - Jean Keller
AU - Frédéric Domergue
AU - Yves Martinez
AU - Aurélie Le Ru
AU - Christophe Dunand
AU - Pierre-Marc Delaux
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/17
PB - HAL
DO - 10.64898/2026.08.14.744897
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05782762v1
AB - How the functional innovations that enabled plants to first colonize land 450 million years ago evolved remains puzzling. Here, we show that the gain of a single family of enzymes was pivotal in the evolution of two of these innovations, the cuticle that protect plants from dehydration and UV light, and the Arbuscular Mycorrhizal symbiosis promoting water and nutrient uptake. We show that functional phosphatase domain Glycerol-3-Phosphate Acyl Transferase (p-GPATs) evolved in the first land plants, concomitantly with the cuticle and symbiosis. Mutation of two p-GPATs from the liverwort Marchantia paleacea is sufficient to abolish both cuticle formation and AM symbiosis, leading to major developmental defects. We propose that the evolution of p-GPATs in land plants acted as a two birds-one stone innovation, diverting intracellular lipids to the extracellular space and providing a simple path to the evolution of two traits essential for the colonization of land.
ER -