Chara braunii genome: a new resource for plant electrophysiology

The large-celled green alga Chara provided early electrophysiological data, but this model organism lost popularity once the smaller cells of higher plants became accessible to electrophysiology and genetic manipulation. However, with the sequencing of the Chara braunii genome (Nishiyama et al. Cell 174: 448-464, 2018), the molecular identity of the underlaying ion transporters in Characeae can be found and placed in evolutionary context. As Characeae are close to ancestors of land plants, the wealth of electrophysiological data will provide insights into important aspects of plant physiology, such as salt tolerance and sensitivity, carbon concentrating mechanisms, pH banding and the action potential generation.