Exaptation of ancestral cell-identity networks enables C4 photosynthesis – Nature

Nature, Published online: 20 November 2024; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08204-3

Single-nucleus RNA-sequencing and chromatin-accessibility analyses in rice (a C3 plant) and sorghum (a C4 plant) provide insight into how C4 photosynthesis evolved in bundle-sheath cells, revealing that the acquisition of ancestral cis-elements was key.