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The plastid-targeted transcription factorWhirly1(WHY1) has been implicated in chloroplast biogenesis, plastid genome stability, and fungal defense response, which together represent characteristics of interest for the study of autotrophic losses across the angiosperms. While gene loss in the plastid and nuclear genomes has been well studied in mycoheterotrophic plants, the evolution of the molecular mechanisms impacting genome stability is completely unknown. Here, we characterize the evolution ofWHY1in four early transitional mycoheterotrophic orchid species in the genusCorallorhizaby synthesizing the results of phylogenetic, transcriptomic, and comparative genomic analyses withWHY1genomic sequences sampled from 21 orders of angiosperms. We found an increased number of non-canonicalWHY1isoforms assembled from all but the greenestCorallorhizaspecies, including intron retention in some isoforms. WithinCorallorhiza, phylotranscriptomic analyses revealed the presence of tissue-specific differential expression ofWHY1in only the most photosynthetically capable species and a coincident increase in the number of non-canonicalWHY1isoforms assembled from fully mycoheterotrophic species. Gene- and codon-level tests ofWHY1selective regimes did not infer significant signal of either relaxed selection or episodic diversifying selection inCorallorhizabut did so for relaxed selection in the late-stage full mycoheterotrophic orchidsEpipogium aphyllumandGastrodia elata. Additionally, nucleotide substitutions that most likely impact the function ofWHY1, such as nonsense mutations, were only observed in late-stage mycoheterotrophs. We propose that our findings suggest that splicing and expression changes may precede the selective shifts we inferred for late-stage mycoheterotrophic species, which therefore does not support a primary role forWHY1in the transition to mycoheterotrophy in the Orchidaceae. Taken together, this study provides the most comprehensive view ofWHY1evolution across the angiosperms to date. 

Abstract The invasive Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) affects a wide range of ecosystems and threatens biodiversity across the eastern USA. However, the mechanisms underlying rapid adaptation, plasticity, and epigenetics in the invasive range are largely unknown. We present a chromosome-level assembly for M. vimineum to investigate genome dynamics, evolution, adaptation, and the genomics of phenotypic plasticity. We generated a 1.12-Gb genome with scaffold N50 length of 53.44 Mb respectively, taking a de novo assembly approach that combined PacBio and Dovetail Genomics Omni-C sequencing. The assembly contains 23 pseudochromosomes, representing 99.96% of the genome. BUSCO assessment indicated that 80.3% of Poales gene groups are present in the assembly. The genome is predicted to contain 39,604 protein-coding genes, of which 26,288 are functionally annotated. Furthermore, 66.68% of the genome is repetitive, of which unclassified (35.63%) and long-terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons (26.90%) are predominant. Similar to other grasses, Gypsy (41.07%) and Copia (32%) are the most abundant LTR-retrotransposon families. The majority of LTR-retrotransposons are derived from a significant expansion in the past 1–2 Myr, suggesting the presence of relatively young LTR-retrotransposon lineages. We find corroborating evidence from Ks plots for a stiltgrass-specific duplication event, distinct from the more ancient grass-specific duplication event. The assembly and annotation of M. vimineum will serve as an essential genomic resource facilitating studies of the invasion process, the history and consequences of polyploidy in grasses, and provides a crucial tool for natural resource managers. 

Abstract Mycoheterotrophy is an alternative nutritional strategy whereby plants obtain sugars and other nutrients from soil fungi. Mycoheterotrophy and associated loss of photosynthesis have evolved repeatedly in plants, particularly in monocots. Although reductive evolution of plastomes in mycoheterotrophs is well documented, the dynamics of nuclear genome evolution remains largely unknown. Transcriptome datasets were generated from four mycoheterotrophs in three families (Orchidaceae, Burmanniaceae, Triuridaceae) and related green plants and used for phylogenomic analyses to resolve relationships among the mycoheterotrophs, their relatives, and representatives across the monocots. Phylogenetic trees based on 602 genes were mostly congruent with plastome phylogenies, except for an Asparagales + Liliales clade inferred in the nuclear trees. Reduction and loss of chlorophyll synthesis and photosynthetic gene expression and relaxation of purifying selection on retained genes were progressive, with greater loss in older nonphotosynthetic lineages. One hundred seventy-four of 1375 plant benchmark universally conserved orthologous genes were undetected in any mycoheterotroph transcriptome or the genome of the mycoheterotrophic orchid Gastrodia but were expressed in green relatives, providing evidence for massively convergent gene loss in nonphotosynthetic lineages. We designate this set of deleted or undetected genes Missing in Mycoheterotrophs (MIM). MIM genes encode not only mainly photosynthetic or plastid membrane proteins but also a diverse set of plastid processes, genes of unknown function, mitochondrial, and cellular processes. Transcription of a photosystem II gene (psb29) in all lineages implies a nonphotosynthetic function for this and other genes retained in mycoheterotrophs. Nonphotosynthetic plants enable novel insights into gene function as well as gene expression shifts, gene loss, and convergence in nuclear genomes. 

Abstract The capability to generate densely sampled single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data is essential in diverse subdisciplines of biology, including crop breeding, pathology, forensics, forestry, ecology, evolution and conservation. However, the wet‐laboratory expertise and bioinformatics training required to conduct genome‐scale variant discovery remain limiting factors for investigators with limited resources.Here we present ISSRseq, a PCR‐based method for reduced representation of genomic variation using simple sequence repeats as priming sites to sequence inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) regions. Briefly, ISSR regions are amplified with single primers, pooled, used to construct sequencing libraries with a commercially available kit, and sequenced on the Illumina platform. We also present a flexible bioinformatic pipeline that assembles ISSR loci, calls and hard filters variants, outputs data matrices in common formats, and conducts population analyses using R.Using three angiosperm species as case studies, we demonstrate that ISSRseq is highly repeatable, necessitates only simple wet‐laboratory skills and commonplace instrumentation, is flexible in terms of the number of single primers used, and can generate genomic‐scale variant discovery on par with existing RRS methods which require more complex wet‐laboratory procedures.ISSRseq represents a straightforward approach to SNP genotyping in any organism, and we predict that this method will be particularly useful for those studying population genomics and phylogeography of non‐model organisms. Furthermore, the ease of ISSRseq relative to other RRS methods should prove useful to those lacking advanced expertise in wet‐laboratory methods or bioinformatics.