Scientists from the University of Leeds and colleagues have sequenced the genome for the moss Physcomitrella patens — the first non-flowering or “lower” plant to be sequenced.

The ability of mosses to survive severe dehydration and then regrow when watered could be used in crops grown in drought-stricken areas of the developing world. Now that they have sequenced the moss’s DNA, scientists will be able to identify which genes control these survival tactics and adapt crops to do the same.