Phylogenomic insights into plant terrestrialization: from streptophyte algae to the rise of land plants

Abstract

Abstract The conquest of land by plants stands as a landmark event in the evolutionary history of Earth. Recent advances in phylogenomics, particularly the rapid accumulation of omics data on streptophyte algae and early-diverging land plants (including bryophytes, lycophytes and ferns), have opened new avenues for revisiting this pivotal evolutionary event. In this study, we discuss recent progress in streptophyte phylogenomics and reveal how high-quality genome assemblies have transformed our understanding of plant terrestrialization. We further review advances in streptophyte phylogenetics, showing that improved taxon sampling and phylogenomic approaches could clarify the evolutionary trajectory to land plants. We examine the ongoing debates regarding the origin time of land plants, and argue that discrepancies among time estimates fundamentally stem from divergent interpretations of fossil calibrations. These insights establish a unified framework for understanding molecular innovations, phylogeny, evolutionary timescale, and trait diversification into plant terrestrialization.