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Suggested Citation:"Part V TRENDS AND PATTERNS IN PLANT EVOLUTION." National Academy of Sciences. 2000. Variation and Evolution in Plants and Microorganisms: Toward a New Synthesis 50 Years After Stebbins. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9766.
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Page 253
Suggested Citation:"Part V TRENDS AND PATTERNS IN PLANT EVOLUTION." National Academy of Sciences. 2000. Variation and Evolution in Plants and Microorganisms: Toward a New Synthesis 50 Years After Stebbins. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9766.
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Page 254

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Part V TRENDS AND PATTERNS IN PLANT EVOLUTION T he study of angiosperm fossils has experienced a “paradigm shift” during the last three decades. In 1950, when Variation and Evolution in Plants was published, angiosperm paleobotany consisted of matching fossils, mostly leaves, to extant genera, contributing but little towards understanding patterns and rates of plant evolution. Angio- sperms from the Cretaceous and early Tertiary are now known that have become extinct or are only distantly related to living genera. The evolu- tionary biology of angiosperms is nowadays largely addressed on the basis of detailed character-based analyses that follow cladistic method- ologies. According to David Dilcher (”Toward a New Synthesis: Major Evolutionary Trends in the Angiosperm Fossil Record,” Chapter 14), three basic radiation nodes have been identified: the closed carpel and radially symmetrical flower, the bilateral flower, and fleshy fruits with nutritious nuts and seeds. The genetic systems of the angiosperms promoted their evolution towards outcrossing reproduction, with the strongest selection directed towards flowers, fruits, and seeds. There is a variety of reproductive systems among the 250,000 known species of vascular plants. Evolutionary explanations of this variety have in the past been based on population-level differences. Thus, selfing or asexual plants are said to be more highly adapted to immediate circum- stances but less able to adapt to changing environments than sexual outcrossers. Kent E. Holsinger argues in “Reproductive Systems and Evo- lution in Vascular Plants” (Chapter 15) that for understanding the origin and persistence of particular reproductive styles we must relate them to 253

254 / Nina Fedoroff differences expressed among individuals within populations. Holsinger points out that selfers have fewer genotypes within populations, but greater genetic diversity among populations, than sexual outcrossers. Selfers and asexuals may thereby be less able to respond adaptively to changing environments; they also accumulate deletion mutations more rapidly. Sexual outcrossers suffer from a cost of outcrossing and may be impacted by circumstances that handicap the union of gametes produced by different individuals. These costs of outcrossing and reduced repro- ductive assurance lead to an over-representation of selfers and asexuals in newly-formed progeny, which may displace sexual outcrossers unless these enjoy compensating advantages in survival and reproduction. The damage wrought by invasive species costs $122 billion per year in the United States. Successful plant and animal invasions impact eco- logically and demographically the endemic flora and fauna and may have considerable evolutionary import. Norman C. Ellstrand and Kristina A. Schierenbeck (“Hybridization as a Stimulus for the Evolution of Invasive- ness in Plants?” Chapter 16) note that invasions typically involve long lag eriods before they become successful, and require multiple introductions. Their explanation is that hybridization between the invaders and resident populations is a stimulus often required for successful invasion. Hybrid progenies may enjoy genetic advantages over their progenitors. Ellstrand and Schierenbeck show that, as predicted by their model, invasiveness can evolve. Stebbins devoted two chapters (nearly 100 pages) to polyploidy. Pamela S. Solits and Douglas E. Soltis (“The Role of Genetic and Genomic Attributes in the Success of Polyploids,” Chapter 17) set forth the genetic attributes that account for the great success of polyploid plants: about 50% of all angiosperm species and nearly 95% of all ferns. Polyploids maintain higher levels of genetic variation and heterozygosity, and ex- hibit lesser inbreeding depression, than diploids. These may be the case because most polyploid species have arisen more than once, from geneti- cally different diploid parents, in addition to the presence of more than two homologues. Genome rearrangement seems to be a common attribute of polyploids; and many plant species may be ancient polyploids (see the case of maize in ref. 24). Soltis and Soltis conclude that the advances of the last 50 years notwithstanding, there remains much to be known about polyploid plant species, including their general mode of formation.

Next: 14 Toward a New Synthesis: Major Evolutionary Trends in the Angiosperm Fossil Record »
Variation and Evolution in Plants and Microorganisms: Toward a New Synthesis 50 Years After Stebbins Get This Book
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"The present book is intended as a progress report on [the] synthetic approach to evolution as it applies to the plant kingdom." With this simple statement, G. Ledyard Stebbins formulated the objectives of Variation and Evolution in Plants, published in 1950, setting forth for plants what became known as the "synthetic theory of evolution" or "the modern synthesis." The pervading conceit of the book was the molding of Darwin's evolution by natural selection within the framework of rapidly advancing genetic knowledge.

At the time, Variation and Evolution in Plants significantly extended the scope of the science of plants. Plants, with their unique genetic, physiological, and evolutionary features, had all but been left completely out of the synthesis until that point. Fifty years later, the National Academy of Sciences convened a colloquium to update the advances made by Stebbins.

This collection of 17 papers marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Stebbins' classic. Organized into five sections, the book covers: early evolution and the origin of cells, virus and bacterial models, protoctist models, population variation, and trends and patterns in plant evolution.

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