Genomic studies in Linum shed light on the evolution of the distyly supergene and the molecular basis of convergent floral evolution. Zervakis, P., Postel, Z., Losvik, A., Fracassetti, M., Solér, L., Proux-Wéra, E., Bunikis, I., Churcher, A., & Slotte, T. New Phytologist, 247(6):2964–2981, 2025. _eprint: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/nph.70392![Genomic studies in Linum shed light on the evolution of the distyly supergene and the molecular basis of convergent floral evolution [link]](https://bibbase.org/img/filetypes/link.svg "link")
Paper doi abstract bibtex Distyly, an example of convergent evolution, is governed by a supergene, the S-locus, in several species. Recent studies highlight similar genomic architectures of independently evolved S-loci, but its mode of origin and whether similar regulatory pathways underlie the convergent evolution of distyly remains unclear. We examined the evolution of supergenes and mechanisms underlying distyly in Linum species that diverged c. 33 million years ago (Ma). Using haplotype-resolved genomes and population genomics, we identified and characterized the S-loci of Linum perenne (distylous) and Linum grandiflorum (style length dimorphic), and compared them to that of Linum tenue (distylous). We then tested for a conserved hormonal mechanism regulating style length polymorphism in Linum. The S-locus supergene was consistently hemizygous in short-styled individuals across all three species, although it showed variation in size, gene content, repeat elements and extent of recombination suppression. Two S-linked candidate genes, TSS1 (style length) and WDR-44 (anther height/pollen self-incompatibility), were conserved. Consistent with a brassinosteroid-dependent role of TSS1, epibrassinolide treatment revealed a conserved, morph-specific effect on style length. S-locus structural polymorphism, candidate distyly genes and mechanisms regulating style length remain conserved \textgreater 30 Ma in Linum. In combination with findings from other systems, our results suggest that the brassinosteroid pathway frequently contributes to style length polymorphism.
@article{zervakis_genomic_2025,
title = {Genomic studies in {Linum} shed light on the evolution of the distyly supergene and the molecular basis of convergent floral evolution},
volume = {247},
copyright = {© 2025 The Author(s). New Phytologist © 2025 New Phytologist Foundation.},
issn = {1469-8137},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/nph.70392},
doi = {10.1111/nph.70392},
abstract = {Distyly, an example of convergent evolution, is governed by a supergene, the S-locus, in several species. Recent studies highlight similar genomic architectures of independently evolved S-loci, but its mode of origin and whether similar regulatory pathways underlie the convergent evolution of distyly remains unclear. We examined the evolution of supergenes and mechanisms underlying distyly in Linum species that diverged c. 33 million years ago (Ma). Using haplotype-resolved genomes and population genomics, we identified and characterized the S-loci of Linum perenne (distylous) and Linum grandiflorum (style length dimorphic), and compared them to that of Linum tenue (distylous). We then tested for a conserved hormonal mechanism regulating style length polymorphism in Linum. The S-locus supergene was consistently hemizygous in short-styled individuals across all three species, although it showed variation in size, gene content, repeat elements and extent of recombination suppression. Two S-linked candidate genes, TSS1 (style length) and WDR-44 (anther height/pollen self-incompatibility), were conserved. Consistent with a brassinosteroid-dependent role of TSS1, epibrassinolide treatment revealed a conserved, morph-specific effect on style length. S-locus structural polymorphism, candidate distyly genes and mechanisms regulating style length remain conserved {\textgreater} 30 Ma in Linum. In combination with findings from other systems, our results suggest that the brassinosteroid pathway frequently contributes to style length polymorphism.},
language = {en},
number = {6},
urldate = {2025-08-29},
journal = {New Phytologist},
author = {Zervakis, Panagiotis-Ioannis and Postel, Zoé and Losvik, Aleksandra and Fracassetti, Marco and Solér, Lucile and Proux-Wéra, Estelle and Bunikis, Ignas and Churcher, Allison and Slotte, Tanja},
year = {2025},
note = {\_eprint: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/nph.70392},
keywords = {balancing selection, brassinosteroid pathway, floral evolution, functional constraint, hemizygosity, heterostyly, mating system, structural variation},
pages = {2964--2981},
}
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Recent studies highlight similar genomic architectures of independently evolved S-loci, but its mode of origin and whether similar regulatory pathways underlie the convergent evolution of distyly remains unclear. We examined the evolution of supergenes and mechanisms underlying distyly in Linum species that diverged c. 33 million years ago (Ma). Using haplotype-resolved genomes and population genomics, we identified and characterized the S-loci of Linum perenne (distylous) and Linum grandiflorum (style length dimorphic), and compared them to that of Linum tenue (distylous). We then tested for a conserved hormonal mechanism regulating style length polymorphism in Linum. The S-locus supergene was consistently hemizygous in short-styled individuals across all three species, although it showed variation in size, gene content, repeat elements and extent of recombination suppression. Two S-linked candidate genes, TSS1 (style length) and WDR-44 (anther height/pollen self-incompatibility), were conserved. Consistent with a brassinosteroid-dependent role of TSS1, epibrassinolide treatment revealed a conserved, morph-specific effect on style length. S-locus structural polymorphism, candidate distyly genes and mechanisms regulating style length remain conserved \\textgreater 30 Ma in Linum. 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