Contribution of NAC Transcription Factors to Plant Adaptation to Land

Abstract

From Drips to Tubes In the evolutionary transition from aquatic to terrestrial habitats, plants acquired internal systems to transport water and provide structural support. Xu et al. (p. 1505 , published online 20 March) studied a family of genes and the cells they control to better understand the innovations required to adapt to dry land. In Arabidopsis , specific transcription factors regulate development of xylem—the plant tissue that transports water. The moss Physcomitrella patens has similar genes, which regulate development of hydroids and stereids, cells specialized in water transport and structural support. The similarity in the genes and their functions suggests the evolutionary origins of land-plant vascular systems.