Nature Communications (Jul 2021)

The Welwitschia genome reveals a unique biology underpinning extreme longevity in deserts

  • Tao Wan,
  • Zhiming Liu,
  • Ilia J. Leitch,
  • Haiping Xin,
  • Gillian Maggs-Kölling,
  • Yanbing Gong,
  • Zhen Li,
  • Eugene Marais,
  • Yiying Liao,
  • Can Dai,
  • Fan Liu,
  • Qijia Wu,
  • Chi Song,
  • Yadong Zhou,
  • Weichang Huang,
  • Kai Jiang,
  • Qi Wang,
  • Yong Yang,
  • Zhixiang Zhong,
  • Ming Yang,
  • Xue Yan,
  • Guangwan Hu,
  • Chen Hou,
  • Yingjuan Su,
  • Shixiu Feng,
  • Ji Yang,
  • Jijun Yan,
  • Jinfang Chu,
  • Fan Chen,
  • Jinhua Ran,
  • Xiaoquan Wang,
  • Yves Van de Peer,
  • Andrew R. Leitch,
  • Qingfeng Wang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24528-4
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 1
pp. 1 – 15

Abstract

Read online

Welwitschia mirabilis is a unique plant that only has two leaves, but it can survive in hostile conditions of the African desert. Here, the authors report its chromosome-level genome assembly and discuss how gene function and regulation have given rise to its unique morphology and environmental adaptions.