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Infer_Anth - Inferring missing links in the origin of angiosperms from their ancestralized developmental regulators

Infer_Anth - Inferring missing links in the origin of angiosperms from their ancestralized developmental regulators

The origin of the angiosperms, or flowering plants, is one of the great unsolved mysteries of evolutionary biology. We propose here a radically new approach, based on the presence of a whole genome duplication event in the angiosperm stem-lineage, to characterize the extinct gymnosperm group from which the angiosperms emerged. We will use molecular evolutionary analyses and ancestral sequence reconstruction followed by a range of in-vitro and in-vivo functional studies to elucidate the evolutionary history of genes that were important for the origin of several specific characters of flowering plants. The characters to be studied include the perianth, bisexual axis, carpel, outer ovule integument and rapid pollen-tube growth rate. The procedures to be used will indicate the likely order-of-origin of the angiosperm characters of interest, and this information will enable us to generate a "photo-fit portrait” of the extinct gymnosperm group from which the angiosperms likely arose. In the final phase of our project, we will reappraise the mid-Jurassic to early Cretaceous paleobotanical literature to determine whether any known fossil gymnosperm matches the profile determined from our molecular studies as the likely proximal ancestor of the angiosperms. We anticipate that our approach could in future be used to elucidate the emergence of numerous further large clades both in the green-plant clade and other major eukaryotic groups.

Team
Researchers
Raquel Tavares

Raquel Tavares

Position: Principal Researcher
Group:
PlantEvol
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Other members
Charlie Scutt (RDP, ENS Lyon) (PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR); Bastien Bousseau (LBBE, CNRS/ULyon1); Richard Bateman (RBG Kew); Paula Rudall (RBG Kew); Pierre Chambrier (RDP, ENS Lyon); Lucie Bastin-Heline (RDP, ENS Lyon).
State
Ongoing
Proponent Institution
ENS Lyon
Funded by
ANR
Dates
2021 (Duration: 4 years)
Participant Institutions
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ENS Lyon, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Univ. Lyon1
Reference
ANR-20-CE13-0027
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