

The 'impossible' moss species Takakia lepidozioides: Quentin Cronk


"One of the crucial samples we wanted to include was a parasitic conifer shrub, Parasitaxus, which lives by feeding off fungi and another conifer," says UBC botanist Sean Graham, who coordinated collection of 300 species for the One Thousand Plant Transcriptomes Initiative (1KP). "Instead of using sunlight to fix energy through photosynthesis, it behaves like a plant vampire."

It was a particularly challenging sample to collect, says Graham. "Local colleague Adrien Wulff collected it from the field in New Caledonia and we set up an international supply chain to bring our frozen sample from the South Pacific, through the US, and on to Shenzhen, China, where the plant transcriptomes were sequenced. Our vampire plant was a very well-seasoned traveller!"

Many of key plant species belong to moss families and were found closer to home, including the UBC campus. But collecting British Columbia’s so-called 'impossible moss' (Takakia lepidozioides) involved a boat trip and some wading up Jervis Inlet, to reach the southern-most population of this BC moss.

"It seems a bit mad to do an expedition to get this one moss, but it was a key plant to include. Takakia is a kind of living fossil that blends features with other ancient branches of plant life," says Graham. "Our study confirms that the impossible moss defines one of the two earliest branches of moss evolution."


"In the tree of life, everything is interrelated," said Gane Ka-Shu Wong, lead investigator and professor in the University of Alberta’s Department of Biological Sciences. "And if we want to understand how the tree of life works, we need to examine the relationships between species. That’s where genetic sequencing comes in."


"UBC Botanical Garden has fantastic collections of wild plants from around the world, including species from the from southern hemisphere," says Graham. "This study underscores the importance of maintaining strong research collections around the globe, not only for scientific purposes, but as a way to conserve biodiversity."






Our study confirms that the 'impossible' moss defines one of the two earliest branches of moss evolution.

Chris Balma
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