BIBLIOS

Document type
Journal articles

Document subtype
Full paper

Title
Plant growth forms dictate adaptations to the local climate

Participants in the publication
dos Santos P (Author)
cE3c
cE3c
cE3c
Brilhante M (Author)
Messerschmid TFE (Author)
Serrano HC (Author)
Dep. Biologia Vegetal
cE3c
Kadereit G (Author)
Branquinho C (Author)
Dep. Biologia Vegetal
cE3c
de Vos JM (Author)

Summary
Adaptive radiation is a significant driver of biodiversity. Primarily studied in animal systems, mechanisms that trigger adaptive radiations remain poorly understood in plants. A frequently claimed indicator of adaptive radiation in plants is growth form diversity when tied to the occupation of different habitats. However, it remains obscure whether morphological adaptations manifest as growth form diversity per se or as its constituent traits. We use the classic Aeonium radiation from the Canary Islands to ask whether adaptation across climatic space is structured by growth form evolution. Using morphological sampling with site-associated climate in a phylogenetic context, we find that growth forms dictate adaptations to the local environment. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the response of specific traits to analogous environments is antagonistic when growth forms are different. This finding suggests for the first time that growth forms represent particular ecological functions, allowing the co-occurrence of closely related species, being a product of divergent selection during evolution in sympatry.


Where published
Frontiers in Plant Science

Publication Identifiers
ISSN - 1664-462X

Document Identifiers
DOI - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.1023595

Rankings
Google Metrics (2020) -
SCOPUS (2020) -
CITESCORE (2020 onward) (2020) -
FCUL CC Recognition (2020) -

Notes
dos Santos P, Brilhante M, Messerschmid TFE, Serrano HC, Kadereit G, Branquinho C and de Vos JM (2022) Plant growth forms dictate adaptations to the local climate.
Front. Plant Sci. 13:1023595. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1023595