Hornworts, liverworts and mosses are three early diverging clades of land plants, and together comprise the bryophytes. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of the hornwort Anthoceros angustus. Phylogenomic inferences confirm the monophyly of bryophytes, with hornworts sister to liverworts and mosses. The simple morphology of hornworts correlates with low genetic redundancy in plant body plan, while the basic transcriptional regulation toolkit for plant development has already been established in this early land plant lineage. Although the Anthoceros genome is small and characterized by minimal redundancy, expansions are observed in gene families related to RNA editing, UV protection and desiccation tolerance. The genome of A. angustus bears the signatures of horizontally transferred genes from bacteria and fungi, in particular of genes operating in stress-response and metabolic pathways. Our study provides insight into the unique features of hornworts and their molecular adaptations to live on land.

Hornworts、地钱和苔藓是陆地植物的三个早期分化分支，共同构成苔藓植物。在这里，我们报告了金鱼藻的基因组序列草图。系统基因组推论证实了苔藓植物的单系性，金缕梅是地钱和苔藓的姐妹。金丝桃的简单形态与植物体计划中的低遗传冗余相关，而在这个早期的陆地植物谱系中已经建立了植物发育的基本转录调控工具包。尽管Anthoceros基因组很小并且具有最小冗余的特点，但在与 RNA 编辑、紫外线防护和干燥耐受性相关的基因家族中观察到了扩增。A. angustus的基因组具有来自细菌和真菌的水平转移基因的特征，特别是在压力反应和代谢途径中起作用的基因。我们的研究让我们深入了解金鱼草的独特特征及其对陆地生活的分子适应性。