Evolution of in the angiosperms: sequence, splicing, and expression in a clade of early transitional mycoheterotrophic orchids.

The plastid-targeted transcription factor () has been implicated in chloroplast biogenesis, plastid genome stability, and fungal defense response, which together represent characteristics of interest for the study of autotrophic losses across the angiosperms. While gene loss in the plastid and nuclear genomes has been well studied in mycoheterotrophic plants, the evolution of the molecular mechanisms impacting genome stability is completely unknown. Here, we characterize the evolution of in four early transitional mycoheterotrophic orchid species in the genus by synthesizing the results of phylogenetic, transcriptomic, and comparative genomic analyses with genomic sequences sampled from 21 orders of angiosperms.