Chapter 29
Coevolution of Bryophytes and their
Associated Microorganisms
Guillermo Reboledo and Inés Ponce de León
Abstract Plants colonized terrestrial habitats approximately 450 million years ago.
This was one of the most important steps in the evolution of life on earth and the
foundation of ecosystems. Fungal beneficial associations with plants have probably
facilitated the conquest of land. Bryophytes (no-vascular plants: mosses, liverworts,
and hornworts), and traqueophytes (vascular plants), are descendants of these early
plants that evolved on land. Extant bryophytes, together with comparative analysis
with traqueophytes, represent therefore excellent model organisms to reveal ancient
mechanisms related to plant–microorganism interactions. In this chapter, we will
present some of the current knowledge on bryophyte–microorganism interactions,
including adaptation mechanisms that developed during coevolution of mosses and
liverworts with microorganisms.
29.1 Introduction
Plants interact constantly with different microorganisms present in their environment, which influences plant development, health, and nutrient acquisition. For the
host plant, these interactions can range from beneficial (mutualism) to pathogenic.
Beneficial associations provide the plant a better access and uptake of nutrients and
water from the soil, in exchange for providing the microbe with photosynthetic
carbon sources. In contrast, colonization of plants by pathogenic microorganisms
causes damage and often impairs plant growth and reproduction. These biotic
interactions have coevolved during time through natural selection of genetic traits
that increased fitness and helped to avoid disease in the plant, and we have been able
to identify key traits associated with symbiotic and pathogenic microbial lifestyles.
But our curiosity also results in asking several questions, three of those being: When
were land plant–microorganism associations established during evolution? How did
these different types of associations evolve? and, What adaptation mechanisms did
G. Reboledo · I. Ponce de León (*)
Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Montevideo, Uruguay
e-mail: greboledo@iibce.edu.uy; iponce@iibce.edu.uy
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
C. J. Hurst (ed.), Microbes: The Foundation Stone of the Biosphere, Advances in
Environmental Microbiology 8, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63512-1_29
627
Coevolution of Bryophytes and their
Associated Microorganisms
Guillermo Reboledo and Inés Ponce de León
Abstract Plants colonized terrestrial habitats approximately 450 million years ago.
This was one of the most important steps in the evolution of life on earth and the
foundation of ecosystems. Fungal beneficial associations with plants have probably
facilitated the conquest of land. Bryophytes (no-vascular plants: mosses, liverworts,
and hornworts), and traqueophytes (vascular plants), are descendants of these early
plants that evolved on land. Extant bryophytes, together with comparative analysis
with traqueophytes, represent therefore excellent model organisms to reveal ancient
mechanisms related to plant–microorganism interactions. In this chapter, we will
present some of the current knowledge on bryophyte–microorganism interactions,
including adaptation mechanisms that developed during coevolution of mosses and
liverworts with microorganisms.
29.1 Introduction
Plants interact constantly with different microorganisms present in their environment, which influences plant development, health, and nutrient acquisition. For the
host plant, these interactions can range from beneficial (mutualism) to pathogenic.
Beneficial associations provide the plant a better access and uptake of nutrients and
water from the soil, in exchange for providing the microbe with photosynthetic
carbon sources. In contrast, colonization of plants by pathogenic microorganisms
causes damage and often impairs plant growth and reproduction. These biotic
interactions have coevolved during time through natural selection of genetic traits
that increased fitness and helped to avoid disease in the plant, and we have been able
to identify key traits associated with symbiotic and pathogenic microbial lifestyles.
But our curiosity also results in asking several questions, three of those being: When
were land plant–microorganism associations established during evolution? How did
these different types of associations evolve? and, What adaptation mechanisms did
G. Reboledo · I. Ponce de León (*)
Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Montevideo, Uruguay
e-mail: greboledo@iibce.edu.uy; iponce@iibce.edu.uy
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
C. J. Hurst (ed.), Microbes: The Foundation Stone of the Biosphere, Advances in
Environmental Microbiology 8, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63512-1_29
627