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  1. Home
  3. Exploring The Evolutionary Dynamics Of Myrmecophytism: Perspectives From The Southeast Asian Macaranga Ant-plant Symbiosis.
  1. Home
  3. Exploring The Evolutionary Dynamics Of Myrmecophytism: Perspectives From The Southeast Asian Macaranga Ant-plant Symbiosis.

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Exploring the evolutionary dynamics of myrmecophytism: Perspectives from the Southeast Asian Macaranga ant-plant

Nadi M Dixit1, Daniela Guicking1

  • 1Department of Botany, Institute of Biology, University of Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Strasse 40, 34132 Kassel, Germany.

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
|February 11, 2024

View abstract on PubMed

Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Myrmecophytic plants, which host ants for defense, show this trait is easily lost and doesn't necessarily boost diversification. Topography may drive plant evolution more than ant symbiosis.

Keywords:
Degree of specialisationDiversificationDomatiaEvolutionary patternsMacarangaMyrmecophytism

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Botany

Background:

  • Myrmecophytic plants engage in symbiosis with ants for protection, a strategy common in tropical habitats.
  • The influence of this ant-plant symbiosis on the evolutionary trajectory of host plant lineages remains under-explored due to limited empirical data.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the evolutionary dynamics of myrmecophytism in the species-rich Macaranga genus.
  • To determine if the acquisition of ant symbiosis (myrmecophytism) has influenced diversification rates within Macaranga.

Main Methods:

  • Construction of a comprehensive, dated phylogeny for myrmecophytic Macaranga using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS).
  • Application of parametric biogeography and ancestral state reconstruction to trace the evolutionary history of myrmecophytism.
  • Utilisation of diversification rate analyses to assess the impact of myrmecophytism on speciation.

    • Main Results:

    • Myrmecophytism in Macaranga is evolutionarily labile, characterized by frequent losses.
    • A single origin of myrmecophytism in Macaranga is estimated to have occurred approximately 18 million years ago on Borneo, followed by multiple independent losses.
    • Diversification rate analyses did not provide strong support for myrmecophytism enhancing diversification; topographical features on Borneo appear to be more significant drivers of clade divergence.

    Conclusions:

    • While the development of domatia (structures housing ants) represents a key innovation enabling novel ecological exploitation, it does not invariably lead to increased diversification rates.
    • Overly specialized myrmecophytism might represent an evolutionary dead end for some plant lineages.
    • Geographical and topographical factors may play a more substantial role in driving plant diversification than ant symbiosis in this system.