Topic 1: Macro-evolution

The recent accumulation of plant genomic resources has provided an unprecedented opportunity to compare modern genomes with each other and to infer their evolutionary history from the reconstructed genomes of their most recent common ancestors (MRCA). Besides the inference ancestral genome for the monocots, eudicots and angiosperms, ancestral genomes have been reconstructed for angiosperm lineages such as grasses, Rosaceae, Brassicaceae, legumes, and Cucurbitaceae subfamilies. Inferred ancestral genomes are not only crucial for understanding how plant genomes, especially polyploid species, have evolved at the chromosome and gene scales, but also offer the possibility to perform, in novel ways, translational research from models to crops.

Plant genome evolution from reconstructed ancestors. The present-day monocot (right side, with grasses on a green background) and eudicot (left panel, on a pink background) genomes (bottom) are represented with color codes to illustrate the evolution of genomic segments from their founder ancestors (AAK, ancestral angiosperm karyotype; ABK, ancestral Brassicaceae karyotype; ACuK, ancestral Cucurbitaceae karyotype; AEK, ancestral eudicot karyotype; AGK, ancestral grass karyotype; ALK, ancestral legume karyotype; AMK, ancestral monocot karyotype; ARK, ancestral Rosaceae karyotype) over the time scale shown on the left (in mya). The polyploidization events that have shaped the structure of modern plant genomes during their evolution from inferred ancestors are indicated by red dots (duplication) and blue dots (triplication).

Main reference from the group:
Murat F, Armero A, Pont C, Klopp C, Salse J (2017) Reconstructing the genome of the most recent common ancestor of flowering plants. NATURE GENETICS. 49(4): 490-496