PRJNA281995
Huperzia selago Raw sequence reads
The extant lycophytes are the most ancient vascular plants. Their structural organization and functional features are similar to those in their extinct ancestors which appeared on Earth about 400 million years ago. The lycophytes represent a sister group of all other vascular plants. Their leaves are not homologous to the megaphylls of ferns/seed plants and represent a separate, microphyllous line of evolution. These leaves are formed in the shoot apical meristems (SAMs). Hormonal and molecular-genetic regulation of SAMs in the lycophytes has not been studied extensively. Within the lycophytes, heterosporous spike mosses (Isoetopsida) show fern-like SAM structure, while in homosporous club mosses (Lycopodiopsida) the structure and symplastic organization of the SAM resembles, but is not homologous to, that of seed plants. The genome of one of the representatives of spike mosses, Selaginella moellendorffii, has been sequenced. Analysis of the shoot tip transcriptome in a homoporous club moss, Huperzia selago, will yield the first hints about the genes involved in SAM function in this plant group. This will improve our understanding of the evolution of developmental mechanisms in land plants.