Loss of ancestral function in duckweed roots is accompanied by progressive anatomical reduction and a re-distribution of nutrient transporters

• DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.03.025
• Publication Date: 2023-03-28T15:37:06Z
• Authors: Alexander Ware; Dylan H. Jones; Paulina Flis; Elina Chrysanthou; Kellie E. Smith; Britta M.C. Kümpers; Levi Yant; Jonathan A. Atkinson; Darren M. Wells; Rahul Bhosale; Anthony Bishopp
• Keywords: plant evolution; Loss function; Body plan

Organ loss occurs frequently during plant and animal evolution. Sometimes, non-functional organs are retained through Vestigial defined as genetically determined structures that have lost their ancestral (or salient) function.1,2,3 Duckweeds, an aquatic monocot family, exhibit both these characteristics. They possess a uniquely simple body plan, variably across five genera, two of which rootless. Due to the existence closely related species with wide diversity in rooting strategies, duckweed roots represent powerful system for investigating vestigiality. To explore this, we employed panel physiological, ionomic, transcriptomic analyses, main goal elucidating extent vestigiality roots. We uncovered progressive reduction root anatomy genera diverge revealed has its salient function organ required supplying nutrients plant. Accompanying nutrient transporter expression patterns stereotypical biased localization observed other species. While examples such limbs reptiles4 or eyes cavefish5 display binary presence/absence, duckweeds provide unique snapshot varying degrees vestigialization neighbors thus resource exploration how behave at different stages along process loss.