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ECB-ART-53856
Plant Commun 2025 Apr 16;:101342. doi: 10.1016/j.xplc.2025.101342.
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The genome of giant waterlilies provides insights into the origin of angiosperms, leaf gigantism, and stamen function innovation.

Wen X , Liang Y , Shan H , Chang X , Song X , Shen S , Fu Y , Chen D , Chen F , Li Y , Guan Q , Gao Q , Wang Q , Li Y , Wang Z , Kong H , Liu H , Gao X , Zhou X , Thorogood C , Zhang L .


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As some of the earliest evolving flowering plants, waterlilies can offer unique insights into angiosperm evolution. Giant Amazonian waterlilies (genus Victoria) are of particular interest: they produce the world's largest floating leaves as well as gigantic flowers that entrap pollinating beetles. Here, we report chromosomal-level genomes of Victoria cruziana and three related waterlilies, Euryale ferox, Nymphaea mexicana, and Brasenia schreberi. We identified an ancient whole genome duplication (WGD) event specific to the family Nymphaeaceae which is not observed in the genome of B. schreberi (family Cabombaceae). We reveal significant gene duplication and loss events throughout the evolution of angiosperms, with notable implications for flower development and the biosynthesis of floral volatile organic compound (FVOC) in waterlilies. Importantly, we report a unique division of labor in stamen function of V. cruziana linked to beetle attraction by FVOCs, which is related to the ultra-high-expression of VicSABATHa together with Vicchitinase, possibly linked to protection from damage by trapped beetles. Overexpression of VicSABATHa in tobacco leaves reveals a capacity to produce volatile fatty acids, confirming its role in their catalytic synthesis. Together, these findings reveal novel insights into the evolution and adaptations of waterlilies, and flowering plants more broadly.

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