A simple cell-cycle control system in Marchantia polymorpha provides a framework for understanding plant cell
Facundo Romani1, Ignacy Bonter1, Marius Rebmann1
1Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EA, United Kingdom.
The Plant Cell
|April 12, 2026
Summary
The study reveals that the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha has a simple cell cycle system, offering insights into the evolution of plant cell division and providing a model for understanding multicellular proliferation.
Area of Science:
- Plant Biology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Eukaryotic cell division relies on cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs).
- The complex cyclin-CDK system in flowering plants presents functional analysis challenges due to redundancy.
- The ancestral cell cycle control in early land plants remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the ancestral state of cell cycle regulation in land plants.
- To analyze the reduced and non-redundant cell cycle gene set in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha.
- To understand the evolution of multicellular proliferation.
Main Methods:
- Phylogenetic analysis of cell cycle genes.
- Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) in Marchantia polymorpha.
- Live imaging of fluorescently tagged cell cycle proteins.
Main Results:
- Phylogenetic analysis indicates a simpler cell cycle system in non-seed plants compared to seed plants.
- Marchantia polymorpha exhibits phase-specific gene expression with limited overlap during cell division.
- Functional studies demonstrate specific roles for MpCYCD;1, MpCYCA, and MpCYCB;1 in cell cycle progression and regulation.
Conclusions:
- Marchantia polymorpha possesses a simplified, ancestral cell cycle system relevant to early land plants.
- Conserved features of eukaryotic cell cycle control are evident in Marchantia.
- This model system aids in understanding plant growth evolution and offers potential for developmental engineering.
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