Adaptive innovation of green plants by horizontal gene transfer

Rujia Chen; Liexiang Huangfu; Yue Lu; Huimin Fang; Yang Xu; Pengcheng Li; Yong Zhou; Chenwu Xu; Jinling Huang; Zefeng Yang

doi:10.1016/j.biotechadv.2020.107671

Adaptive innovation of green plants by horizontal gene transfer

Biotechnol Adv. 2021 Jan-Feb:46:107671. doi: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2020.107671. Epub 2020 Nov 24.

Authors

Rujia Chen¹, Liexiang Huangfu¹, Yue Lu¹, Huimin Fang², Yang Xu¹, Pengcheng Li¹, Yong Zhou¹, Chenwu Xu³, Jinling Huang⁴, Zefeng Yang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology, Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics of the Ministry of Education, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genomics and Molecular Breeding, Agricultural College of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China; Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Modern Production Technology of Grain Crops, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China.
² Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Modern Production Technology of Grain Crops, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China.
³ Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology, Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics of the Ministry of Education, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genomics and Molecular Breeding, Agricultural College of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China; Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Modern Production Technology of Grain Crops, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China. Electronic address: cwxu@yzu.edu.cn.
⁴ Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 28590, USA; State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China; Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China. Electronic address: huangj@ecu.edu.
⁵ Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology, Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics of the Ministry of Education, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genomics and Molecular Breeding, Agricultural College of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China; Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Modern Production Technology of Grain Crops, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China. Electronic address: zfyang@yzu.edu.cn.

PMID: 33242576
DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2020.107671

Abstract

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) refers to the movement of genetic material between distinct species by means other than sexual reproduction. HGT has contributed tremendously to the genome plasticity and adaptive evolution of prokaryotes and certain unicellular eukaryotes. The evolution of green plants from chlorophyte algae to angiosperms and from water to land represents a process of adaptation to diverse environments, which has been facilitated by acquisition of genetic material from other organisms. In this article, we review the occurrence of HGT in major lineages of green plants, including chlorophyte and charophyte green algae, bryophytes, lycophytes, ferns, and seed plants. In addition, we discuss the significance of horizontally acquired genes in the adaptive innovations of green plants and their potential applications to crop breeding and improvement.

Keywords: Plant evolution; adaptation; crop breeding and improvement; exaptation; plant-to-plant HGT.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Eukaryota
Evolution, Molecular
Gene Transfer, Horizontal* / genetics
Phylogeny
Plant Breeding
Plants / genetics
Viridiplantae*