A FLOE-related protein regulates the two-dimensional to three-dimensional growth transition in the moss Physcomitrium patens.

The colonization of the land by plants coincided with the evolution of three-dimensional (3D) growth: the acquisition of apical cells with the capacity to rotate the plane of cell division. The moss Physcomitrium patens has recently been developed as a model system in which to dissect the genetic basis of 3D growth, a unifying feature of all land plants. The cytokinin-unresponsive nog1-R mutant incorrectly orients division planes in developing buds and thus fails to make the transition to 3D growth.

The unique bryophyte-specific repeat-containing protein SHORT-LEAF regulates gametophore development in moss.

Convergent evolution of shoot development across plant lineages has prompted numerous comparative genetic studies. Though functional conservation of gene networks governing flowering plant shoot development has been explored in bryophyte gametophore development, the role of bryophyte-specific genes remains unknown. Previously, we have reported Tnt1 insertional mutants of moss defective in gametophore development.