Physcomitrium <i>LATERAL SUPPRESSOR</i> genes promote formative cell divisions to produce germ cell lineages in both male and female gametangia

The evolution of green plants from aquatic to terrestrial environments is thought to have been facilitated by the acquisition of gametangia, specialized multicellular organs housing gametes. Antheridia and archegonia, responsible for producing and protecting sperm and egg cells, undergo formative cell divisions to produce a cell to differentiate into germ cell lineages and the other cell to give rise to surrounding structures. However, the genes governing this process remain unidentified. We isolated genes expressed during gametangia development from previously established gene-trap lines of Physcomitrium patens and characterized their function during gametangia formation. We identified P. patens LATERAL SUPPRESSOR 1 (PpLAS1) from the gene-trap library, encoding a GRAS transcription factor. The double-deletion mutant with its paralog PpLAS2 failed to form inner cells in both gametangia. PpLASs are expressed in cells undergoing formative cell division, and introducing PpLAS1 into the double-deletion mutant successfully rescued the phenotype. These findings underscore the pivotal role of PpLASs in regulating formative cell divisions, ensuring the separation of reproductive cell lineages from surrounding cells in antheridia and archegonia. Furthermore, they suggest a link between PpLASs and the evolutionary origin of male and female gametangia in the common ancestor of land plants.