How did land plants evolve from green algae?

Land plants, or embryophytes, emerged deep within freshwater green algae, specifically as a sister group to the Zygnematophyceae within the charophytes. Together, green algae and land plants form the monophyletic clade Viridiplantae. This evolutionary transition allowed photosynthetic life to expand successfully from aquatic environments onto land.

What we know

• Land plants (Embryophytes) emerged deep within the charophytes as a sister group of the Zygnematophyceae. [2]
• The completed clade that includes both green algae and embryophytes is monophyletic and referred to as Viridiplantae or kingdom Plantae. [2, 5]
• Genomic analyses have rendered former groupings like chlorophyte algae and streptophyte algae paraphyletic because land plants arose from within them. [5]
• Viridiplantae members share unique traits such as having chloroplasts with both chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b while lacking phycobiliproteins. [5]

Where to go next

• whenWhat are the key innovations in plant evolution?
• the bigger pictureHow are green algae classified taxonomically?
• compared withWhat are glaucophytes and how do they relate to green algae?
• how it workedHow do green algae form symbiotic relationships like lichens?
• how we knowWhat defines the broader clade Viridiplantae?
• an unexpected connectionHow do some animals and microorganisms use green algae to photosynthesize?Certain dinoflagellates, euglenids, ciliates, and flatworms incorporate green algae internally to conduct photosynthesis on their behalf.

Sources

• [1]green algae (Wikidata Q271844) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Green algae · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Timeline of plant evolution · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Glaucophyte · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Viridiplantae · CC BY-SA 4.0