1. 　Strains and life cycle

Mitsuyasu Hasebe

Physcomitrella patens (Hedw.) Bruch & Schimp. subsp. patens is widely distributed in Europe and North America, and other three subspecies were described (Tan 1979). The strain used in all over the world is originated from a single spore of a strain collected by Harold Whitehouse at Gransden Wood Huntingdonshire, Englnad in 1962 (Ashton and Cove 1977).

　　　　　 As the whole genome shot gun proposal to DOE Joint Genome Program was approved, a new regular strain originated from a single spore of the Gransden Wood Huntingdonshire strain cultivated in University of Leeds was established and named "Gransden2004" at the MOSS2004 meeting (Annual international meeting on mosses, especially Physcomitrella patens) held at Freiburg, Germany.　 Gransden2004 strain is available from Andy Cumming and Ceila Knight in University of Leeds, Ralf Reski in Freiburg University, Ralph Quatrano in Washington University, and Mitsuyasu Hasebe in National Institute for Basic Biology.

Ashton, N.W., and Cove, D.J. (1977). The isolation and preliminary characterization of auxotrophic and analogue resistant mutants of the moss, Physcomitrella patens. Mol. Gen. Genet. 154, 87-95.

Tan, B.C. (1979) A new classification for the genus Physcomitrella B.S.G. J. Hattori Bot. Lab. 46: 327-336.

Life Cycle of Physcomitrella patens

Spore germination, protonemata, and gametophores

Cove, D.J. (1992) Regulation of development in the moss, Physcomitrella patens. Pp. 180-193. In Development the molecular genetic approach. Russo, V.E.A., Brody, S., Cove, D., and Ottolenghi, S. (Eds.). Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

Juvenile and adult leaves and rhizoids in gametophores

Sakakibara, K., Nishiyama, T., Sumikawa, N., Kofuji, R., Murata, T. and Hasebe, M. 2003. Involvement of auxin and a homeodomain-leucine zipper I gene in rhizoid development of the moss Physcomitrella patens. Development 130: 4835-4846.

Archegonia, antheridia, fertilization, and sporophyte development

Tanahashi, T., Sumikawa, N., Kato, M., and Hasebe, M. 2005. Diversification of gene function: homologs of the floral regulator FLO/LFY control the first zygotic cell division in the moss Physcomitrella patens. Development 132: 1727-1736.

Development of archegonia, antheridia, and sporophyte of Physcomitrium cyathicarpum, which is very similar to P. patens.

Lal, M. and Bhandari, N.N. (1968) The development of sex organs and sporophyte in Physcomitrium cyathicarpum Mitt. The Bryologist 71: 11-20.