Takakia microbiome

Structural and metagenomic analyses of an early-diverging land plant were conducted to better understand symbiosis aspects of the evolutionary transition from streptophyte algae to the first embryophytes. Features common to later-diverging streptophyte algae and the phylogenetically pivotal moss Takakia lepidozioides were found to include bacterial taxa and genes associated with N-fixation, and morphological specializations that amplify host ability to maintain microbial communities within surface mucilage. Symbiosis features distinguishing streptophyte algae from T. lepidozioides included structural and molecular evidence for mycorrhiza-like fungi, including new types of glomaleans.