Evaluating the adaptive evolutionary convergence of carnivorous plant taxa through functional genomics
Carnivorous plants are striking examples of evolutionary convergence, displaying complex and often highly similar adaptations despite lack of shared ancestry. Using available carnivorous plant genomes along with non-carnivorous reference taxa, this study examines the convergence of functional overre...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PeerJ Inc.
2018-01-01
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| Series: | PeerJ |
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/4322.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797419957812723712 |
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| author | Gregory L. Wheeler Bryan C. Carstens |
| author_facet | Gregory L. Wheeler Bryan C. Carstens |
| author_sort | Gregory L. Wheeler |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Carnivorous plants are striking examples of evolutionary convergence, displaying complex and often highly similar adaptations despite lack of shared ancestry. Using available carnivorous plant genomes along with non-carnivorous reference taxa, this study examines the convergence of functional overrepresentation of genes previously implicated in plant carnivory. Gene Ontology (GO) coding was used to quantitatively score functional representation in these taxa, in terms of proportion of carnivory-associated functions relative to all functional sequence. Statistical analysis revealed that, in carnivorous plants as a group, only two of the 24 functions tested showed a signal of substantial overrepresentation. However, when the four carnivorous taxa were analyzed individually, 11 functions were found to be significant in at least one taxon. Though carnivorous plants collectively may show overrepresentation in functions from the predicted set, the specific functions that are overrepresented vary substantially from taxon to taxon. While it is possible that some functions serve a similar practical purpose such that one taxon does not need to utilize both to achieve the same result, it appears that there are multiple approaches for the evolution of carnivorous function in plant genomes. Our approach could be applied to tests of functional convergence in other systems provided on the availability of genomes and annotation data for a group. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:54:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f943cb1376744fcf9cfc94fa3fb4b5bc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:54:41Z |
| publishDate | 2018-01-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-f943cb1376744fcf9cfc94fa3fb4b5bc2023-12-03T10:08:05ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592018-01-016e432210.7717/peerj.4322Evaluating the adaptive evolutionary convergence of carnivorous plant taxa through functional genomicsGregory L. Wheeler0Bryan C. Carstens1Department of Evolution, Ecology, & Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States of AmericaDepartment of Evolution, Ecology, & Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States of AmericaCarnivorous plants are striking examples of evolutionary convergence, displaying complex and often highly similar adaptations despite lack of shared ancestry. Using available carnivorous plant genomes along with non-carnivorous reference taxa, this study examines the convergence of functional overrepresentation of genes previously implicated in plant carnivory. Gene Ontology (GO) coding was used to quantitatively score functional representation in these taxa, in terms of proportion of carnivory-associated functions relative to all functional sequence. Statistical analysis revealed that, in carnivorous plants as a group, only two of the 24 functions tested showed a signal of substantial overrepresentation. However, when the four carnivorous taxa were analyzed individually, 11 functions were found to be significant in at least one taxon. Though carnivorous plants collectively may show overrepresentation in functions from the predicted set, the specific functions that are overrepresented vary substantially from taxon to taxon. While it is possible that some functions serve a similar practical purpose such that one taxon does not need to utilize both to achieve the same result, it appears that there are multiple approaches for the evolution of carnivorous function in plant genomes. Our approach could be applied to tests of functional convergence in other systems provided on the availability of genomes and annotation data for a group.https://peerj.com/articles/4322.pdfCarnivorous plantsGene OntologyFunctional genomicsConvergent evolution |
| spellingShingle | Gregory L. Wheeler Bryan C. Carstens Evaluating the adaptive evolutionary convergence of carnivorous plant taxa through functional genomics PeerJ Carnivorous plants Gene Ontology Functional genomics Convergent evolution |
| title | Evaluating the adaptive evolutionary convergence of carnivorous plant taxa through functional genomics |
| title_full | Evaluating the adaptive evolutionary convergence of carnivorous plant taxa through functional genomics |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating the adaptive evolutionary convergence of carnivorous plant taxa through functional genomics |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating the adaptive evolutionary convergence of carnivorous plant taxa through functional genomics |
| title_short | Evaluating the adaptive evolutionary convergence of carnivorous plant taxa through functional genomics |
| title_sort | evaluating the adaptive evolutionary convergence of carnivorous plant taxa through functional genomics |
| topic | Carnivorous plants Gene Ontology Functional genomics Convergent evolution |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/4322.pdf |
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