A fossil record of land plant origins from charophyte algae

In a report entitled, A Fossil Record of Land Plant Origins from Charophyte Algae, published in the journal Science, Paul Strother and coauthor Clinton Foster (Australian National University) describe fossil spores of Lower Ordovician age, ~480 million years ago, which help to align the fossil plant record with molecular clock dating.

This discovery supports an evo-devo model of land plant origins that recognizes the importance of genomic assembly during the algal-plant transition to land. For more on this story see Clinton Foster's article in The Conversation, or the Science Perspective written by Patricia Gensel at UNC. Or, see this BC press release written by Ed Hayward.