The moss Physcomitrella patens

The Moss Physcomitrella patens has rapidly become an experimental model of choice for many aspects of molecular, cell and developmental biology in plant sciences. With a recently sequenced genome, which has further fuelled interest and research, Physcomitrella is accruing various new labels, from 'a green yeast' to the Drosophila, Caenorhabditis or Zebra fish of plant sciences.

A truly international collaboration, this timely volume brings together a selection of chapters each composed by experts in their field. The chapters included cover a broad range:

From those using P. patens as a marker against other species for evolutionary or ecological studies To those investigating the unique features of P. patens , e.g. gene targeting To those using moss, either as a comparator for other organisms or because of the ease of study in moss, to investigate standard biological processes

This landmark publication is essential reading for anyone studying plant evolutionary biology, genomics, molecular and cell biology and genetics. Libraries in all universities and research establishments, where biological and agricultural sciences are studied and taught, should have copies of this important book on their shelves.

Author Notes

Celia Knight is Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Pierre-Francois Perroud is Research Scientist at the Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, USA.
David Cove is Visiting Professor at both the Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK, and the Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, USA.

Brent D. Mishler and Melvin J. OliverStuart F. McDanielStefan A. Rensing and Daniel Lang and Andreas D. ZimmerYasuko Kamisugi and Andrew C. CumingMichael J. AxtellMagdalena Bezanilla and Pierre-Francois PerroudRumiko Kofuji and Takeshi Yoshimura and Haruko Inoue and Keiko Sakakibara and Yuji Hiwatashi and Tetsuya Kurata and Tsuyoshi Aoyama and Kunihiko Ueda and Mitsuyasu HasebeMamoru Sugita and Setsuyuki AokiMattias Thelander and Anders Nilsson and Hans RonneKlaus von SchwartzenbergSung Hyun Cho and Klaus von Schwartzenberg and Ralph QuatranoMichael Lawton and Hemalatha Saidasan

Contributors	p. x
Preface	p. xiii
Glossary	p. xv
1 Putting Physcomitrella patens on the Tree of Life: The Evolution and Ecology of Mosses	p. 1
1.1 Introduction to Physcomitrella	p. 1
1.2 The position of P. patens on the Tree of Life	p. 2
1.3 Relationships within the mosses	p. 4
1.4 Evolution and ecology of the mosses	p. 6
1.5 General implications for evolutionary processes in mosses	p. 12
2 The Genetic Basis of Natural Variation in Bryophyte Model Systems	p. 16
2.1 Introduction	p. 17
2.2 Genetic variation among bryophyte populations	p. 17
2.3 Mapping genes underlying natural variants	p. 26
2.4 Assigning genes to phenotypes	p. 32
3 Comparative Genomics	p. 42
3.1 Introduction	p. 42
3.2 A short history of P. patens genomics	p. 47
3.3 Features of the P. patens nuclear genome	p. 52
3.4 Comparisons with seed plants and algae	p. 60
3.5 Computational resources for P. patens	p. 66
3.6 Conclusions and outlook	p. 67
4 Gene targeting	p. 76
4.1 Introduction	p. 76
4.2 Gene targeting in eukaryotes	p. 77
4.3 Gene targeting in P. patens: practical aspects	p. 81
4.4 Targeted gene replacement versus targeted insertion	p. 96
4.5 Mechanisms of gene targeting	p. 98
4.6 Unanswered questions and future prospects	p. 105
5 The Small RNAs of Physcomitrella patens: Expression, Function and Evolution	p. 113
5.1 Introduction to small RNAs	p. 113
5.2 Classes of small silencing RNAs	p. 114
5.3 Expression of P. patens small RNAs	p. 118
5.4 Biogenesis of P. patens small RNAs: Dicers, Slicers and other utensils	p. 127
5.5 Targets of P. patens small RNAs	p. 130
5.6 Evolution of plant miRNAs	p. 133
5.7 Conclusions	p. 137
6 Tip Growth in the Moss Physcomitrella patens	p. 143
6.1 Introduction	p. 143
6.2 Morphology and structure of a tip cell	p. 144
6.3 Environmental signals affecting polar cell elongation	p. 147
6.4 Cellular structural components involved in polar cell elongation	p. 149
7 Gametangia Development in the Moss Physcomitrella patens	p. 167
7.1 Introduction	p. 168
7.2 Development of the gametangia	p. 169
7.3 Development of the gametangia after fertilization is accompanied by growth of the sporophyte	p. 171
7.4 Gene-trap lines with GUS expression in the gametangia	p. 171
7.5 Future prospects	p. 173
8 Chloroplasts	p. 182
8.1 Chloroplasts of Physcomitrella patens	p. 183
8.2 Plastid DNA	p. 185
8.3 Transcription of plastid genes by two plastid RNA polymerases PEP and NEP	p. 189
8.4 Rhythmic expression of the plastid Psbd gene	p. 194
8.5 Post-transcriptional regulation in plastids	p. 196
8.6 Plastid transformation	p. 198
8.7 Chloroplast import	p. 199
8.8 Plastid division	p. 200
8.9 Chloroplast movement	p. 202
9 Carbon and Energy Metabolism	p. 211
9.1 Introduction	p. 211
9.2 Carbon and energy allocation	p. 213
9.3 Sucrose metabolism and transport	p. 217
9.4 Hexose metabolism and transport	p. 221
9.5 Energy homeostasis and Snf1-related kinases	p. 227
9.6 Conclusions	p. 239
9.7 Technical note on database searches and tree construction	p. 240
10 Hormonal Regulation of Development by Auxin and Cytokinin in Moss	p. 246
10.1 Major plant hormone routes are established in bryophytes	p. 247
10.2 Auxin	p. 249
10.3 Cytokinin	p. 256
10.4 Auxin and cytokinin interaction	p. 269
10.5 Other growth regulating substances	p. 270
11 The Role of Abscisic Acid in Stress Tolerance	p. 282
11.1 Introduction	p. 283
11.2 Tolerance of P. patens to abiotic stresses and the effects of ABA	p. 286
11.3 Physiological and morphological changes during the establishment of tolerance	p. 287
11.4 Expression of stress-related genes	p. 288
11.5 Global responses to stress at the transcription level	p. 291
11.6 The ABA-signalling pathway	p. 292
11.7 Conclusions	p. 293
12 Pathogenesis in Mosses	p. 298
12.1 Introduction	p. 299
12.2 Recent advances in molecular plant pathology	p. 300
12.3 Experimental advantages of P. patens	p. 304
12.4 Developing a P. patens pathosystem	p. 308
12.5 Responses of P. patens to infection	p. 318
12.6 Selecting P. patens genes for functional studies of disease	p. 321
12.7 Future directions and opportunities	p. 323
Index	p. 339

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