利用温室算法（一种利用微共时和迭代比对来绘制进化过程中中枢神经系统基因关联的算法），该研究组从284个植物物种中发现了约230万个中枢神经系统，其中包括3000多个早期被子植物，这些植物物种跨越了3亿年的多样化。古老的CNSs在发育调节因子附近富集，而在HOMEOBOX基因附近突变的CNSs产生了强表型。追踪中枢神经系统的进化揭示了关键原理：中枢神经系统的间距变化，但顺序是守恒的；基因组重排形成新的中枢神经系统-基因关联；古代的中枢神经系统在类群中优先保留，但经常在群体中丢失或进化成特定谱系的中枢神经系统。
据了解，发育基因功能通常在较长时间内保守，但顺式调控序列的保守性很难确定。序列的快速更替、古多倍体、结构变异和有限的系统基因组取样阻碍了保守的非编码序列（CNS）的发现。
附：英文原文
Title: A deep-time landscape of plant cis-regulatory sequence evolution
Author: Kirk R. Amundson, Anat Hendelman, Danielle Ciren, Hailong Yang, Amber E. de Neve, Shai Tal, Adar Sulema, David Jackson, Madelaine E. Bartlett, Zachary B. Lippman, Idan Efroni
Issue&Volume: 2026-03-12
Abstract: Developmental gene function is often conserved over deep time, but cis-regulatory sequence conservation is difficult to identify. Rapid sequence turnover, paleopolyploidy, structural variation, and limited phylogenomic sampling have impeded conserved non-coding sequence (CNS) discovery. Using Conservatory, an algorithm that leverages microsynteny and iterative alignments to map CNS-gene associations over evolution, we uncovered ~2.3 million CNSs, including over 3,000 predating angiosperms, from 284 plant species spanning 300 million years of diversification. Ancient CNSs were enriched near developmental regulators, and mutating CNSs near HOMEOBOX genes produced strong phenotypes. Tracing CNS evolution uncovered key principles: CNS spacing varies, but order is conserved; genomic rearrangements form new CNS-gene associations; and ancient CNSs are preferentially retained among paralogs, but are often lost as cohorts or evolve into lineage-specific CNSs.
DOI: adt8983
Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adt8983