Convergence between the microcosms of Southeast Asian and North American pitcher plants
The ‘pitchers’ of carnivorous pitcher plants are exquisite examples of convergent evolution. An open question is whether the living communities housed in pitchers also converge in structure or function. Using samples from more than 330 field-collected pitchers of eight species of Southeast Asian Nep...
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| Format: | Article |
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eLife Sciences Publications
2018
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| _version_ | 1796961602335932416 |
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| author | Bittleston, Leonora S. Wolock, Charles J. Yahya, Bakhtiar Effendi Chan, Xin Yue Chan, Kok Gan Pierce, Naomi E. Pringle, Anne |
| author_facet | Bittleston, Leonora S. Wolock, Charles J. Yahya, Bakhtiar Effendi Chan, Xin Yue Chan, Kok Gan Pierce, Naomi E. Pringle, Anne |
| author_sort | Bittleston, Leonora S. |
| collection | UM |
| description | The ‘pitchers’ of carnivorous pitcher plants are exquisite examples of convergent evolution. An open question is whether the living communities housed in pitchers also converge in structure or function. Using samples from more than 330 field-collected pitchers of eight species of Southeast Asian Nepenthes and six species of North American Sarracenia, we demonstrate that the pitcher microcosms, or miniature ecosystems with complex communities, are strikingly similar. Compared to communities from surrounding habitats, pitcher communities house fewer species. While communities associated with the two genera contain different microbial organisms and arthropods, the species are predominantly from the same phylogenetic clades. Microbiomes from both genera are enriched in degradation pathways and have high abundances of key degradation enzymes. Moreover, in a manipulative field experiment, Nepenthes pitchers placed in a North American bog assembled Sarracenia-like communities. An understanding of the convergent interactions in pitcher microcosms facilitates identification of selective pressures shaping the communities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T05:56:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | um.eprints-22303 |
| institution | Universiti Malaya |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T05:56:34Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | um.eprints-223032019-09-11T09:11:45Z http://eprints.um.edu.my/22303/ Convergence between the microcosms of Southeast Asian and North American pitcher plants Bittleston, Leonora S. Wolock, Charles J. Yahya, Bakhtiar Effendi Chan, Xin Yue Chan, Kok Gan Pierce, Naomi E. Pringle, Anne Q Science (General) QH Natural history The ‘pitchers’ of carnivorous pitcher plants are exquisite examples of convergent evolution. An open question is whether the living communities housed in pitchers also converge in structure or function. Using samples from more than 330 field-collected pitchers of eight species of Southeast Asian Nepenthes and six species of North American Sarracenia, we demonstrate that the pitcher microcosms, or miniature ecosystems with complex communities, are strikingly similar. Compared to communities from surrounding habitats, pitcher communities house fewer species. While communities associated with the two genera contain different microbial organisms and arthropods, the species are predominantly from the same phylogenetic clades. Microbiomes from both genera are enriched in degradation pathways and have high abundances of key degradation enzymes. Moreover, in a manipulative field experiment, Nepenthes pitchers placed in a North American bog assembled Sarracenia-like communities. An understanding of the convergent interactions in pitcher microcosms facilitates identification of selective pressures shaping the communities. eLife Sciences Publications 2018 Article PeerReviewed Bittleston, Leonora S. and Wolock, Charles J. and Yahya, Bakhtiar Effendi and Chan, Xin Yue and Chan, Kok Gan and Pierce, Naomi E. and Pringle, Anne (2018) Convergence between the microcosms of Southeast Asian and North American pitcher plants. eLife, 7. e36741. ISSN 2050-084X, DOI https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.36741.001 <https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.36741.001>. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.36741.001 doi:10.7554/eLife.36741.001 |
| spellingShingle | Q Science (General) QH Natural history Bittleston, Leonora S. Wolock, Charles J. Yahya, Bakhtiar Effendi Chan, Xin Yue Chan, Kok Gan Pierce, Naomi E. Pringle, Anne Convergence between the microcosms of Southeast Asian and North American pitcher plants |
| title | Convergence between the microcosms of Southeast Asian and North American pitcher plants |
| title_full | Convergence between the microcosms of Southeast Asian and North American pitcher plants |
| title_fullStr | Convergence between the microcosms of Southeast Asian and North American pitcher plants |
| title_full_unstemmed | Convergence between the microcosms of Southeast Asian and North American pitcher plants |
| title_short | Convergence between the microcosms of Southeast Asian and North American pitcher plants |
| title_sort | convergence between the microcosms of southeast asian and north american pitcher plants |
| topic | Q Science (General) QH Natural history |
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