microRNA156 (miR156) affects developmental timing in flowering plants. miR156 and its target relationships with members of the SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE (SPL) gene family appear universally conserved in land plants, but the specific functions of miR156 outside of flowering plants are unknown. We find that miR156 promotes a developmental change from young filamentous protonemata to ...

Plants and mammals are separated by a huge evolutionary distance. Consequently, biotechnology and genetics have traditionally been divided into 'green' and 'red'. Here, we provide comprehensive evidence that key components of the mammalian transcription, translation and secretion machineries are functional in the model plant Physcomitrella patens. Cross-kingdom compatibility of different expres...

miRNAs are non-coding small RNAs that involve diverse biological processes. Until now, little is known about their roles in plant drought resistance. Physcomitrella patens is highly tolerant to drought; however, it is not clear about the basic biology of the traits that contribute P. patens this important character. In this work, we discovered 16 drought stress-associated miRNA (DsAmR) families...

The coordinated action of the auxin-sensitive Aux/IAA transcriptional repressors and ARF transcription factors produces complex gene-regulatory networks in plants. Despite their importance, our knowledge of these two protein families is largely based on analysis of stabilized forms of the Aux/IAAs, and studies of a subgroup of ARFs that function as transcriptional activators. To understand how ...

BACKGROUND Research into the protection of rare and endangered plant species involves genetic analyses to determine their genetic variation and genetic structure. Various categories of genetic markers are used for this purpose. Microsatellites, also known as simple sequence repeats (SSR), are the most popular category of markers in population genetics research. In most cases, microsatellites ac...

The moss Physcomitrella patens is unique among land plants due to the high rate of homologous recombination in its nuclear DNA. The feasibility of gene targeting makes Physcomitrella an unrivalled model organism in the field of plant functional genomics. To further extend the potentialities of this seed-less plant we aimed at exploring the P. patens proteome. Experimental conditions had to be a...

The plasma membrane H (+) -ATPase provides the driving force for solute transport via an electrochemical gradient of H (+) across the plasma membrane, and regulates pH homeostasis and membrane potential in plant cells. However, the plasma membrane H (+) -ATPase in non-vascular plant bryophyte is largely unknown. Here, we show that the moss Physcomitrella patens, which is known as a model bryop...

Auxin has a fundamental role throughout the life cycle of land plants. Previous studies showed that the tomato cyclophilin DIAGEOTROPICA (DGT) promotes auxin response, but its specific role in auxin signaling remains unknown. We sequenced candidate genes in auxin-insensitive mutants of Physcomitrella patens and identified mutations in highly conserved regions of the moss ortholog of tomato DGT....