Sylvain Schmitt, Patrick Heuret, Valérie Troispoux, Mélanie Beraud, Jocelyn Cazal, Émilie Chancerel, Charlotte Cravero, Erwan Guichoux, Olivier Lepais, João Loureiro, William Marande, Olivier Martin-Ducup, Gregoire Vincent, Jérôme Chave, Christophe Plomion, Thibault Leroy, Myriam Heuertz, Niklas Tysklind
Somatic mutations potentially play a role in plant evolution, but common expectations pertaining to plant somatic mutations remain insufficiently tested. Unlike in most animals, the plant germline is assumed to be set aside late in development, leading to the expectation that plants accumulate somatic mutations along growth. Therefore, several predictions were made on the fate of somatic mutations: mutations have generally low frequency in plant tissues; mutations at high frequency have a higher chance of intergenerational transmission; branching topology of the tree dictates mutation distribution; and exposure to UV (ultraviolet) radiation increases mutagenesis...
March 5, 2024: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America