Comparative transcriptone analysis in the moss Physcomitrella patens and the genetic basis of key reproductive innovations

During land plant evolution plants underwent extensive transformations. For the successful adaptation to the terrestrial environment the vegetative tissues were modified to cope with low water availability while new reproductive organs and strategies emerged to ensure plant dispersal and survival. Importantly, plant life cycles were dramatically modified, evolving from gametophyte dominant in early land plants such as Bryophytes to sporophyte dominance as it is observed in flowering plants.(...