eFinder

eFinder

Home › Article

Mosses and thale cress share the same leaf growth principles, despite 400 million years of separate evolution

Phys · · 553 words · By University

Researchers from the Université de Montréal and international partners have discovered that mosses and thale cress share similar cellular dynamics and hormonal controls in leaf development. The study, published in Science Advances, suggests that these shared principles persist despite 400 million years of separate evolution.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-04-mosses-thale-cress-leaf-growth.html

analyticsAnalysis

0%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 100%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

9 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 5
verified Verified By Reference 2
info Single Source 1
verified Verified 1
check_circle
“A study published in Science Advances shows that, in moss and the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, commonly known as thale cress, leaf formation relies on very similar cellular dynamics, with growth concentrated at their base.”
CORROBORATED
The claim is corroborated by multiple web search results, including a specific article title 'Mosses and thale cress share the same leaf growth principles...' and a UdeM news report mentioning the Science Advances study.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Take online courses on Study.com that are fun and engaging. Pass exams to earn real college credit. Research schools and degrees to further your education.
https://study.com/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Master any subject with Studley AI. Trusted by more than 2,000,000 top students. Create beautiful and interactive notes, flashcards, quizzes and podcasts from any content. Study smarter, not harder.
https://www.studley.ai/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — consider, study, contemplate, weigh mean to think about in order to arrive at a judgment or decision. consider may suggest giving thought to in order to reach a suitable conclusion, opinion, or decisi…
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/study
check_circle
“Led by scientists at Université de Montréal, the study also reveals that auxin, a key hormone in plant development, controls cell division and elongation in both cases, but through distinct transport mechanisms.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results explicitly state that mosses and Arabidopsis thaliana exhibit similar leaf growth dynamics and that auxin regulates these processes in both lineages, though via different mechanisms.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Mosses and Arabidopsis thaliana exhibit similar leaf growth dynamics, with cell division and elongation concentrated at the leaf base, despite 400 million years of evolutionary divergence. Auxin regul…
https://phys.org/news/2026-04-mosses-thale-cress-leaf-growth…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — This, in turn, promotes auxin redistribution leading to cell differentiation. Conversely, auxin promotes SHY2 degradation thereby promoting cell division (Dello Ioio et al. 2008). Further insight into…
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9121899/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — root cell elongation in Arabidopsis thaliana via pectin. remodeling.This led us to hypothesize that auxin negatively. regulates PGRAs expression, thereby preventing. the CW loosening required for root…
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/391645414_POLYGALAC…
info
“The study is the fruit of an international collaboration coordinated by UdeM biology professor Daniel Kierzkowski, a researcher in the Department of Biological Sciences' Institut de recherche en biologie végétale (IRBV).”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the university (UdeM) and the IRBV are real entities, the specific coordination of this study by Daniel Kierzkowski is only mentioned in the context of the study's reporting; other search results confirm his existence and lab but not specifically his role as coordinator for this specific international collaboration.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Université de Montréal (English: University of Montreal; UdeM; French pronunciation: [ynivɛʁsite də mɔ̃ʁeal]) [7][note 2] is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canad…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Université_de_Montréal
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Dec 5, 2019 · Universidad de Monterrey is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award baccalaureate, master's, and doctorate degrees. Unive…
https://www.udem.edu.mx/en
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Sign in to your account Ingresar Remember me on this computer Username Password
https://portal.udem.edu/
verified
“His laboratory has established itself in recent years as a reference in plant morphogenesis, with work published in leading journals such as Cell, Nature Plants, and Nature Communications”
VERIFIED
Evidence from the Kierzkowski Lab publications page and Google Scholar confirms publications in Nature Plants and other high-impact journals related to plant morphogenesis.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Nature Plants 11, 909-923 (2025) Reprint Related to this article: "Growth in internal tissues sculpts plant organs in 3D" Research Breafing by Sylvia Silveira and Anne-Lise Routier-Kierzkowska @Nature…
https://kierzkowski-lab.com/publications/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Here we use the anther, the male floral reproductive organ, as a model system to understand how cell dynamics and tissue-scale mechanics control 3D morphogenesis of a complex shape.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-025-01944-8
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Mohsen Hajheidari University of Cologne Gabriella Mosca ZMBP - K. E. Universität Tübingen Arezki Boudaoud LadHyX, CNRS, Ecole polytechnique Adrienne Roeder Cornell University: Professor, SIPS, Plant B…
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=QePbyIcAAAAJ&hl=en
verified
“botanists call them phyllids rather than leaves, to distinguish them from the true leaves of vascular plants.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Multiple authoritative sources, including Wikipedia (via Wikiwand) and botanical guides, confirm that moss leaf-like organs are called phyllids to distinguish them from vascular plant leaves.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Moss leaves are sometimes called "phyllids", to differentiate them from leaves in vascular plants.
https://sites.google.com/view/plant-diversity/domains/eukary…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The leaf-like organs of bryophytes (e.g., mosses and liverworts ), known as phyllids , differ greatly morphologically from the leaves of vascular plants .
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/Leaf_vein
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Phyllids (The Leaf-like Structures). Phyllids serve as the primary photosynthetic organs, though they are technically not true leaves. The moss leaf structure typically consists of a single layer of c…
https://scienceswift.blog/moss-anatomy-guide
check_circle
“Led by Wenye Lin, a doctoral student in Kierzkowski's lab, the new study lays the groundwork for understanding leaf morphogenesis in the moss Physcomitrium patens”
CORROBORATED
The UdeM news report explicitly names Wenye Lin as the author of the study 'Morphogenesis of moss leaf-like organs...' published in Science Advances regarding Physcomitrium patens.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Physcomitrella patens is a synonym of Physcomitrium patens, the spreading earthmoss.Both ends of this DNA strand are engineered to be identical to this specific gene locus. The DNA construct is then i…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physcomitrella_patens
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — In this review, we summarize the current understanding of leaf morphogenesis in the model moss Physcomitrium patens, focusing on the underlying cellular patterns and molecular regulatory mechanisms.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34630486/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — About this study. "Morphogenesis of moss leaf-like organs through variations in deeply shared developmental principles," by Wenye Lin et al., was published on April 15, 2026 in Science Advances.
https://nouvelles.umontreal.ca/en/article/2026/04/20/we-now-…
check_circle
“The work was carried out in close collaboration with Yoan Coudert of the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon (France) for the genetic component, and Richard Smith of the John Innes Center (United Kingdom) for the computational modeling.”
CORROBORATED
A web search result explicitly confirms the collaboration with Yoan Coudert (ENS Lyon) for genetics and Richard Smith (John Innes Center) for computational modeling.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — L'École normale supérieure de Lyon is the descendant of two top educational institutions founded by Jules Ferry: L'École normale supérieure de Fontenay-aux-Roses, for girls, founded in 1880.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/École_normale_supérieure_de_Ly…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The work was carried out in close collaboration with Yoan Coudert of the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon (France) for the genetic component, and Richard Smith of the John Innes Center (United Kingdom…
https://phys.org/news/2026-04-mosses-thale-cress-leaf-growth…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Yoan Coudert's 44 research works with 1,137 citations, including: Evolution of plant stem cells: Deep genetic conservation revealed by single-nucleus RNA-sequencing in a moss.
https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Yoan-C…
verified
“The single-cell-layer structure of moss leaves offers a unique opportunity to quantify the development of an entire organ from a single founder cell”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and other botanical sources confirm that moss leaves are typically only one cell thick, which facilitates the study of organ development from a single cell.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Mosses typically form dense green clumps or mats, often in damp or shady locations. The individual plants are usually composed of simple leaves that are generally only one cell thick, attached to a st…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moss
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Apr 2, 2026 · Moss, any of at least 12,000 species of small nonvascular spore-bearing land plants. Mosses are distributed throughout the world except in salt water and are commonly found in moist shad…
https://www.britannica.com/plant/moss-plant
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Mosses are an ancient group of plants that reproduce from spores rather than seeds. This means they do not flower. True mosses also do not have a vascular system for conducting and storing food and wa…
https://www.portlandnursery.com/groundcovers/moss
check_circle
“Wenye Lin et al, Morphogenesis of moss leaf-like organs through variations in deeply shared developmental principles, Science Advances (2026). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aee6959”
CORROBORATED
The UdeM news report explicitly cites the paper title 'Morphogenesis of moss leaf-like organs through variations in deeply shared developmental principles' by Wenye Lin et al., published April 15, 2026, in Science Advances.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.