Sequencing Funariaceae: First Insights from Seven Draft Genomes of Physcomitrella's Closest Relatives

As part of the collaborative research centre CRC/TRR 141 “Biological Design and Integrative Structures” within the realm of biomimetic research, our project aims at identifying and characterizing the molecular driving forces of macroevolution to inform digital architectural design by providing biological concepts and data for the implementation in novel exploratory design tools. As a phylogenetic framework for these investigations we are focussing on the Funariaceae as they exhibit profound morphological diversity, which presumably has been shaped by secondary reduction of complex sporophytic structures. To gain insights into all levels of genome evolution, our framework includes inter- as well as intra-specific data represented by the genomes of seven different species as well as the genomic variation in populations of individual moss species. Complementing the established “flagship genome” of Physcomitrella patens Gransden, we assembled de novo the genomes of eight additional P. patens ecotypes as well as twelve isolates from the International Moss Stock Center covering a total of six different Funariaceae species. In an accompanying population genomics approach, we are employing RADseq and subsequent SNP-based-genotyping to characterize variation inside and among natural populations of Funariid mosses.