Raising awareness of lichens in CT: Robert Miller: Finding intricacy in the commonplace lichen

Congratulations to Nasim for successfully defending her doctoral dissertation entitled “Patterns of gene expression during shifts in ploidy and function in Funaria hygrometrica (Bryophyta)”

Dong S., Q. He, S. Zhang, H. Wu, B. Goffinet& Y. Liu. 2019. The mitochondrial genomes of Bazzania tridens and Riccardia planiflora further confirms conservative evolution of mitogenomes in liverworts. The Bryologist 122: 130–139.

Abstract reads: The mitochondrial genomes of vascular plants are highly liable in both gene content and genome structure. In contrast, those of hornworts, liverworts, and mosses appear relatively stable over millions of years of evolution. All sequenced liverwort mitogenomes possess similar gene content and exactly the same gene order, except for that of Gymnomitrion concinnatum (Gymnomitriaceae, Jungermanniales), which is characterized by two rearrangements. To further explore the structural characteristic of liverworts mitogenomes, we sequenced and assembled the mitogenomes of representatives of two additional genera of liverworts, namely Bazzania tridens (Lepidoziaceae, Jungermanniales) and Riccardia planiflora (Metzgeriaceae, Metzgeriales). The two mitogenomes comprise 162,643 and 149,371 base pairs, respectively, and encoded the set of 72 genes present in all other liverwort mitochondrial genomes. The mitogenome of Bazzania tridens contains seven fewer introns than that of Marchantia, and the simple thalloid Riccardia planiflora contains one additional intron. A total of 370 and 471 C to U RNA editing sites were predicted from the 42 mitochondrial protein-coding genes of B.tridens and R.planiflora, respectively. The phylogenetic placement of the two taxa based on the mitochondrial protein-coding genes of thirteen liverwort species is consistent with former studies. Although the two sampled taxa are only distantly related, their mitogenomes share a same gene order, which is, moreover, shared by the majority of liverworts, thereby strengthening the hypothesis of overall stasis of the liverwort mitogenomes.

The first publication from our collaborative Assembling the [pleurocarpous moss] Tree of Life project, presenting the first phylogenetic reconstruction of mosses based complete organellar exomes and equivalent set of nuclear markers sampled for exemplars of all but one order, is now published:

Liu Y., M. G. Johnson, C. J. Cox, R. Medina, N. Devos, A. Vanderpoorten, L. Hedenäs, N. E. Bell, J. R. Shevock, B. Aguero, D. Quandt, N. J. Wickett, A. J. Shaw & B. Goffinet. 2019. Resolution of the backbone phylogeny of mosses using targeted exons from organellar and nuclear genomes. Nature Communications 10: 1485. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09454-w pdf

The publication of this study was featured in UConn today.

Abstract reads: Mosses compose a highly diverse lineage of land plants, whose diversification, spanning at least 400 million years, remains phylogenetically ambiguous due to the lack of fossils, massive early extinctions, late radiations, limited morphological variation, and conflicting signal among previously used markers. Here, we present phylogenetic reconstructions based on complete organellar exomes and a comparable set of nuclear genes for this major lineage of land plants. Our analysis of 142 species representing 29 of the 30 moss orders reveals that relative average rates of non-synonymous substitutions in nuclear versus plastid genes are much higher in mosses than in seed plants, consistent with the emerging concept of evolutionary dynamism in mosses. Our results highlight the evolutionary significance of taxa with reduced morphologies, shed light on the relative tempo and mechanisms underlying major cladogenic events, and suggest hypotheses for the relationships and delineation of moss orders.

Bernard Goffinet spent a week in the Province of Aysén, surveying the
diversity of Lobariales, and in particular of the genus Peltigera with Dr. Julieta Orlando and her student Diego Leiva Cáceres, two microbiologists exploring the diversity and function of the microbiomes of two Peltigera species. Also joining us for a day was Yanira Pía Vega Belmar, a beginning Master student at the University of Magallanes, focusing on public education in the Miniature Forests. Wonderful landscapes, many collections and exciting collaborations developing.

Medina R., F. Lara, B. Goffinet, R. Garilleti & V. Mazimpaka. 2019. On the priority of Orthotrichum cylindrocarpum Lesq. over O. coulteri Mitt. and Lesquereux’s early vindication of an autonomous American bryology. Taxon (in press). pdf

Abstract reads: In a recent revision of the Orthotrichum tenellum complex, the authors erroneously concluded that the name O. coulteri predated the supposed synonym O. cylindrocarpum. This confusion was due to incongruent publication dates reported in the literature and lack of evidence of effective publication of the latter. Here, we demonstrate that the name O. cylindrocarpum was indeed published a few months before O. coulteri based on correspondence by the authorities and dated reprints. The almost simultaneous publication of both names occurred during a period in which some early American bryologists advocated that the discovery of new species from North America should be reported by them and not by their European colleagues.

Cole T.C.H., H.H. Hilger & B. Goffinet (2019) released a new “Bryophyte Phylogeny Poster”, depicting the current phylogeny of mosses, liverworts, and hornworts with characteristics of all orders. This resource will ultimately be available in 12 languages through ResearchGate. A preprint version is also available through PeerJ.

Dr. Nikisha Patel joins the lab as a postdoctoral research associate. She completed her undergraduate at UCONN in 2012, and then a Ph.D. at the University of Vermont, with Dr. David Barrington. Her dissertation was entitled “Apomixis, hybridization, and biodiversity in ferns: insights from genera Phegopteris and Polystichum”. She went on to a postdoctoral position at the University of Tennessee with Dr. Jessica Budke, a former lab member. Niki comes with much experience and great enthusiasm to join the Physcomitrium project funded by NSF. Welcome (back) to UCONN and its bryology lab!

 

 

Bernard Goffinet spent a week in Chile, on Navarino Island and Punta Arenas, to participate further in the development of Ecotourism with a Hand Lens and associate programs in Environmental Ethics, led by Dr. Ricardo Rozzi. During the stay, Shaun Russel (Bangor University), Bernard, as well as student and staff of Omora Park offered a guided tour of the Miniature Forest to Jamie Bowden, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Chile (photo). Shaun, Ricardo and Bernard also gave an interview with the local radio station (Punta Arenas) Presidente Ibañez (link to interview).

https://today.uconn.edu/school-stories/role-genomic-duplications-catalysts-evolutionary-change/