Multiple independent acquisitions of a metallophore-synthesis gene by plants through horizontal microbial gene transfer
The evolution of land plants is marked by major innovations enhancing their vegetative and reproductive fitness. Despite their extensive adaptations to terrestrial habitats, plants rely on ecological interactions with microbes for various physiological processes. Beyond their role as critical partners in the conquest of, and diversification on land, fungi and bacteria also serve as sources of genetic tools. Analyses of the gene space of land plant model organisms suggest that such transfers are unique and ancient. However here, using genomic data spanning the diversity of mosses, we demonstrate that a metallophore-synthesis gene was acquired independently from distinct microbial donors by at least five plant lineages. Furthermore we find that the first NAS gene acquired by mosses was later replaced by another fungal copy, transferred to another major moss lineage. Such a complex history of acquisition of a gene may reflect a more general pattern of highly dynamic gene exchange across the tree of life.
Authors
- Mattia Storti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6798-5084)
- Bernard Goffinet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2754-3895)
- Shanshan Dong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2557-3361)
- Alessandro Alboresi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4818-7778)
- Catherine Curie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8884-1175)
- Laurent Ouerdane (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2752-3579)
- Yang Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5942-839X)
- Jun Yu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2702-055X)
- Léon Dirick (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3426-1773)
Institutions
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- University of Padua (IT)
- University of Connecticut (US)
- Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour (FR)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Université de Montpellier (FR)
- Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR)
- Fairy Lake Botanical Garden (CN)
- Botswana Geoscience Institute (BW)
- Institut Agro Montpelier (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-09-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61162-w
- Primary Topic
- Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche
- Università degli Studi di Padova