ArticleAnnals of botany2025
Distinct patterns of genome size evolution in each bryophyte lineage are not correlated with whole genome duplication.
Article in Annals of botany, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Helitrons are enriched in lichenized fungi with long generation lengths and small distribution sizes.G3 (Bethesda, Md.) · 2026Article
- Genomics is modifying our concepts of evolution in homosporous and heterosporous vascular plants.American journal of botany · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsGenome size varies by orders of magnitude across land plants, and the factors driving evolutionary increases and decreases in genome size vary across lineages. Bryophytes have the smallest genomes relative to other land plants, and there is growing evidence for frequent whole genome duplication (WGD) across the lineage. However, the broad patterns of genome size, chromosome number and WGD have yet to be characterized across bryophytes in a phylogenetic context.
methodsIn the present study, we adopt a phylogenetic comparative approach and leverage previously published data on genome size, chromosome number and WGD to reconstruct the evolutionary history of these traits across the three major bryophyte lineages: hornworts, liverworts and mosses. We infer ancestral haploid chromosome numbers for each lineage and introduce a novel metric for assessing polyploidy using chromosome counts. KEY
resultsEach lineage of bryophytes exhibits a distinct pattern of genome size evolution and prevalence of WGD, with mosses having the most dynamic genome sizes and highest propensity for WGD. We found that 21.3 % of mosses and 13 % of liverworts species have naturally occurring polyploids. In addition, haploid genome size (1C) is most dynamic in the mosses, which includes at least 15 transitions to larger genomes and nine reversals, largely in the orders Dicranales and Hypnales.
conclusionsThere is no correlation between genome size and WGD or between genome size and chromosome number, potentially suggesting rapid genome downsizing following WGD. Given that bryophytes are poikilohydric (desiccation-tolerant) plants, having large genomes might be physiologically prohibitive given the cost to growth and metabolism associated with them. These findings emphasize the unique evolution of the bryophytes broadly and of the hornworts, liverworts and mosses individually, and should therefore serve as impetus for more in-depth experimental studies of genome size evolution and WGD in bryophytes.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.