Reconstructing development of the earliest seed integuments raises a new hypothesis for the evolution of ancestral seed‐bearing structures

What is it about?

Evolution of plant seeds was a world-changing event but how plants reprogrammed themselves genetically to do this is unknown. Fossils demonstrate that the seed coat evolved from an open, lobed structure, but understanding how this happened has not been possible as no seeds of this type survive. We reconstruct development in the integument of fossil Genomosperma seeds, and show its lobes behaved similarly to modern floral organs, suggesting they may have arisen as part of the first reproductive shoot.

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