Convergent evolutionary patterns of heterostyly across angiosperms support the pollination-precision hypothesis
Abstract Since the insights by Charles Darwin, heterostyly, a floral polymorphism with morphs bearing stigmas and anthers at reciprocal heights, has become a model system for the study of natural selection. Based on his archetypal heterostylous flower, including regular symmetry, few stamens and a t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45118-0 |
| _version_ | 1797274118532366336 |
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| author | Violeta Simón-Porcar Marcial Escudero Rocío Santos-Gally Hervé Sauquet Jürg Schönenberger Steven D. Johnson Juan Arroyo |
| author_facet | Violeta Simón-Porcar Marcial Escudero Rocío Santos-Gally Hervé Sauquet Jürg Schönenberger Steven D. Johnson Juan Arroyo |
| author_sort | Violeta Simón-Porcar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Since the insights by Charles Darwin, heterostyly, a floral polymorphism with morphs bearing stigmas and anthers at reciprocal heights, has become a model system for the study of natural selection. Based on his archetypal heterostylous flower, including regular symmetry, few stamens and a tube, Darwin hypothesised that heterostyly evolved to promote outcrossing through efficient pollen transfer between morphs involving different areas of a pollinator’s body, thus proposing his seminal pollination-precision hypothesis. Here we update the number of heterostylous and other style-length polymorphic taxa to 247 genera belonging to 34 families, notably expanding known cases by 20%. Using phylogenetic and comparative analyses across the angiosperms, we show numerous independent origins of style-length polymorphism associated with actinomorphic, tubular flowers with a low number of sex organs, stamens fused to the corolla, and pollination by long-tongued insects. These associations provide support for the Darwinian pollination-precision hypothesis as a basis for convergent evolution of heterostyly across angiosperms. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:53:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b001c1139bb24a2eac52726f591fdaad |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:53:47Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-b001c1139bb24a2eac52726f591fdaad2024-03-05T19:34:21ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232024-02-0115111210.1038/s41467-024-45118-0Convergent evolutionary patterns of heterostyly across angiosperms support the pollination-precision hypothesisVioleta Simón-Porcar0Marcial Escudero1Rocío Santos-Gally2Hervé Sauquet3Jürg Schönenberger4Steven D. Johnson5Juan Arroyo6Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de SevillaDepartamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de SevillaConahcyt-Instituto de Ecología, UNAMNational Herbarium of New South Wales, Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain TrustDepartment of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of ViennaSchool of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-NatalDepartamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de SevillaAbstract Since the insights by Charles Darwin, heterostyly, a floral polymorphism with morphs bearing stigmas and anthers at reciprocal heights, has become a model system for the study of natural selection. Based on his archetypal heterostylous flower, including regular symmetry, few stamens and a tube, Darwin hypothesised that heterostyly evolved to promote outcrossing through efficient pollen transfer between morphs involving different areas of a pollinator’s body, thus proposing his seminal pollination-precision hypothesis. Here we update the number of heterostylous and other style-length polymorphic taxa to 247 genera belonging to 34 families, notably expanding known cases by 20%. Using phylogenetic and comparative analyses across the angiosperms, we show numerous independent origins of style-length polymorphism associated with actinomorphic, tubular flowers with a low number of sex organs, stamens fused to the corolla, and pollination by long-tongued insects. These associations provide support for the Darwinian pollination-precision hypothesis as a basis for convergent evolution of heterostyly across angiosperms.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45118-0 |
| spellingShingle | Violeta Simón-Porcar Marcial Escudero Rocío Santos-Gally Hervé Sauquet Jürg Schönenberger Steven D. Johnson Juan Arroyo Convergent evolutionary patterns of heterostyly across angiosperms support the pollination-precision hypothesis Nature Communications |
| title | Convergent evolutionary patterns of heterostyly across angiosperms support the pollination-precision hypothesis |
| title_full | Convergent evolutionary patterns of heterostyly across angiosperms support the pollination-precision hypothesis |
| title_fullStr | Convergent evolutionary patterns of heterostyly across angiosperms support the pollination-precision hypothesis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Convergent evolutionary patterns of heterostyly across angiosperms support the pollination-precision hypothesis |
| title_short | Convergent evolutionary patterns of heterostyly across angiosperms support the pollination-precision hypothesis |
| title_sort | convergent evolutionary patterns of heterostyly across angiosperms support the pollination precision hypothesis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45118-0 |
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