Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41866516›Full record

ArticleGenome biology2026

A kingdom-wide full-length RNA atlas reveals the evolutionary landscapes of plant poly(A) tails.

Yang Chen, Wenqin Lu, Hai He, Lihao Zheng, Xuehua Pan, Ting Sun, Fengjiao Bu, Yuhan Fang, Yufei Sun, Yanping Long and 8 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Genome biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

18 authors.

Yang Chen *College of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
Wenqin Lu *Department of Biology, School of Life Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
Hai He *College of Food and Bioengineering, Fujian Polytechnic Normal University, Fuqing, China.
Lihao ZhengDepartment of Biology, School of Life Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
Xuehua PanDepartment of Biology, School of Life Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
Ting SunCollege of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
Fengjiao BuCollege of Horticulture, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China.
Yuhan FangState Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou, Guangzhou, 510650, China.
Yufei SunSchool of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen, 518107, China.
Yanping LongDepartment of Biology, School of Life Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
Meina WangThe Orchid Conservation & Research Center of Shenzhen and the National Orchid Conservation Center of China, Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Orchid Conservation and Utilization, Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration for Orchid Conservation and Utilization, Shenzhen, 518114, China.
Shengdan WuState Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China.
Lin LiuCollege of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
Jinbu JiaCollege of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China.
Yuannian JiaoState Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China.
Zhangli HuCollege of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
Yu ZhangSchool of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen, 518107, China. zhangy2526@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
Jixian ZhaiDepartment of Biology, School of Life Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China. zhaijx@sustech.edu.cn.

Funding

Shenzhen Science and Technology Program JCYJ20250604144520027
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPoly(A) tails play crucial roles in regulating mRNA degradation and translation, yet their evolutionary dynamics remain largely unexplored.

resultsHere, we generate a comprehensive full-length RNA atlas of poly(A) tail based on 130 million nanopore long-read transcripts spanning major lineages from algae to angiosperms. We find lineage-specific tail-length profiles: most land plants display peaks at approximately 20 and 45 nt, whereas green algae show a distinct peak at approximately 40 nt. Unexpectedly, poly(A)-less histone mRNAs are detected in several plant lineages, but are independently lost multiple times and replaced by polyadenylated transcripts in Selaginella and all angiosperms. Across all species, terminal uridylation typically targets poly(A) tails shorter than 25 nt. Poly(A) tail lengths of whole genome duplication derived gene pairs diverge over time, yet certain genes maintain relatively conserved distributions across species, which underscores poly(A) length regulation as an important post-transcriptional regulatory layer.

conclusionsOur study provides the first comprehensive poly(A) tail dataset spanning all major lineages of plant evolution, uncovering lineage-specific poly(A) tail length distributions. Notably, we reveal the presence of poly(A)-less transcripts in several plant clades, which is overlooked in previous transcriptomic studies. This atlas offers a valuable resource for understanding the evolutionary and regulatory complexity of mRNA 3' end formation across the plant kingdom.

Indexed as

Evolution, MolecularPlantsPoly ARNA, MessengerRNA, PlantMagnoliopsidaPhylogenyPolyadenylationPoly ARNA, MessengerRNA, PlantHistonePlant evolutionPoly(A) lengthPoly(A) tail

Identifiers

PMID41866516
PMCPMC13130582

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.