Over a century ago, the gametophytic calyptra was predicted to be covered by a cuticle that protects the sporophyte apex from desiccation. Budke et al. examine the moss Funaria hygrometrica using electron microscopy techniques and find that its calyptra is covered by a comparatively thick, multi-layered cuticle with cuticular pegs. The calyptra and its associated cuticle represent a unique form of maternal care that may have been essential for the evolution of the moss sporophyte.
The waxy cuticles that coat plant surfaces have been relatively well studied in vascular plant taxa, but it is unclear how similar they may be across distant lineages. Busta et al. present comprehensive analyses of the...
Funaria hygrometrica calyptra may represent the earliest occurrence of maternal protection via structural provisioning of a cuticle in green plants.
Photograph by Ron Oldfield, Macquarie University, See The image shows sporophytes and calyptras of Funaria hygrometrica, a water moss (photograph by Ron Oldfield, Macquarie University). The calyptra is a gametophytic...
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