Oldest extant plant has adapted to extremes a

- A comprehensive study led by scientists from Freiburg and Beijing has characterized the adaptations of the moss Takakia to high altitudes and documented its population decline.
- The moss Takakia is exposed to extreme conditions such as frost and high UV radiation in the Himalayas. The current study identifies the adaptations that protects it from these extreme environmental influences, and reconstructs its evolution.
- Takakia is the oldest living genus of land plants. Comparison with fossils shows that its appearance has remained unchanged for at least 165 million years. As part of the study, the genome of Takakia lepidozioides was completely sequenced for the first time.
- Over a 10-year period, the researchers documented the decline of Takakia populations on the Tibetan Plateau, as well as a significant increase in average temperatures and retreat of a nearby glacier.
- The research team comprises 61 scientists from 20 institutes and six countries. It was led by Prof. Dr. Ralf Reski from the University of Freiburg, Germany, and Prof. Dr. Yikun He from the Capital Normal University in Beijing, China.
- The study was recently published in the scientific journal Cell.

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