TY - JOUR
T1 - Convergence in carnivorous pitcher plants reveals a mechanism for composite trait evolution
AU - Chomicki, Guillaume
AU - Burin, Gustavo
AU - Busta, Lucas
AU - Gozdzik, Jedrzej
AU - Jetter, Reinhard
AU - Mortimer, Beth
AU - Bauer, Ulrike
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved.
PY - 2024/1/1
Y1 - 2024/1/1
N2 - Composite traits involve multiple components that, only when combined, gain a new synergistic function. Thus, how they evolve remains a puzzle. We combined field experiments, microscopy, chemical analyses, and laser Doppler vibrometry with comparative phylogenetic analyses to show that two carnivorous Nepenthes pitcher plant species independently evolved similar adaptations in three distinct traits to acquire a new, composite trapping mechanism. Comparative analyses suggest that this new trait arose convergently through “spontaneous coincidence” of the required trait combination, rather than directional selection in the component traits. Our results indicate a plausible mechanism for composite trait evolution and highlight the importance of stochastic phenotypic variation as a facilitator of evolutionary novelty.
AB - Composite traits involve multiple components that, only when combined, gain a new synergistic function. Thus, how they evolve remains a puzzle. We combined field experiments, microscopy, chemical analyses, and laser Doppler vibrometry with comparative phylogenetic analyses to show that two carnivorous Nepenthes pitcher plant species independently evolved similar adaptations in three distinct traits to acquire a new, composite trapping mechanism. Comparative analyses suggest that this new trait arose convergently through “spontaneous coincidence” of the required trait combination, rather than directional selection in the component traits. Our results indicate a plausible mechanism for composite trait evolution and highlight the importance of stochastic phenotypic variation as a facilitator of evolutionary novelty.
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U2 - 10.1126/science.ade0529
DO - 10.1126/science.ade0529
M3 - Article
C2 - 38175904
AN - SCOPUS:85181627264
SN - 0036-8075
VL - 383
SP - 108
EP - 113
JO - Science
JF - Science
IS - 6678
ER -