Transformation ofRiccia fluitans, an Amphibious Liverwort Dynamically Responding to Environmental Changes

Abstract

The colonization of land by streptophyte algae, ancestors of embryophyte plants, was a fundamental event in the history of life on earth. Bryophytes are early diversifying land plants that mark the transition from freshwater to terrestrial ecosystems. The amphibious liverwortRiccia fluitanscan thrive in aquatic and terrestrial environments and thus represents an ideal organism to investigate this major transition. Therefore, we aimed to establish a transformation protocol forR. fluitansto make it amenable for genetic analyses. AnAgrobacteriumtransformation procedure usingR. fluitanscallus tissue allows to generate stably transformed plants within 10 weeks. Furthermore, for comprehensive studies spanning all life stages, we demonstrate that the switch from vegetative to reproductive development can be induced by both flooding and poor nutrient availability. Interestingly, a singleR. fluitansplant can consecutively adapt to different growth environments and forms distinctive and reversible features of the thallus, photosynthetically active tissue that is thus functionally similar to leaves of vascular plants. The morphological plasticity affecting vegetative growth, air pore formation, and rhizoid development realized by one genotype in response to two different environments makesR. fluitansideal to study the adaptive molecular mechanisms enabling the colonialization of land by aquatic plants.