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Non-radioactive in situ Hybridization Protocol Applicable for Norway Spruce and a Range of Plant Species

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Published on: April 17, 2009

Evolution and development of inflorescence architectures.

Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz¹, Yvette Erasmus, Brendan Lane

¹Department of Computer Science, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W. Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada.

Science (New York, N.Y.)

|May 26, 2007

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Evolutionary constraints on plant diversity are shaped by how selection and development interact to control flower-bearing structures. A single model explains the limited diversity of inflorescences, revealing rare evolutionary transitions.

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary biology
Developmental biology
Plant science

Background:

Biological diversity is constrained by evolutionary processes.
Inflorescences, the flower-bearing structures in plants, exhibit a limited range of forms in nature.
Understanding the interplay between selection and development is crucial for explaining evolutionary patterns.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the constraints on biological diversity by analyzing the interaction between selection and development in inflorescence evolution.
To identify a developmental model that explains the observed diversity of inflorescence types.
To predict and validate associations between inflorescence architecture, climate, and life history traits.

Main Methods:

Analysis of selection and development in controlling inflorescence evolution.
Development of a single developmental model to account for inflorescence diversity.
Validation of model predictions using molecular genetic studies and empirical data linking architecture, climate, and life history.

Main Results:

A single developmental model successfully explains the restricted range of natural inflorescence types.
The model accurately predicts associations between inflorescence architecture, climate, and life history traits.
Evolutionary paths between different architectures are constrained by genetic and environmental factors, making certain transitions rare.

Conclusions:

Developmental constraints, interacting with selection, significantly limit the evolution of inflorescence diversity.
The identified model provides a unifying framework for understanding inflorescence evolution across plant taxa.
Genetic and environmental factors explain the rarity of specific evolutionary transitions between plant architectures.