Bee-pollination promotes rapid divergent evolution in plants growing in different soils.

ABSTRACT: Divergent evolution leads to variation among populations and thus promotes diversification. In plants, adaptation to different soils, pollinator guilds, and herbivores is thought to be a key ecological driver of adaptive divergence, but few studies have investigated this process experimentally. Here we use experimental evolution with fast cycling Brassica rapa plants to study the impact of soil, pollination, herbivory, and their interactions on divergent evolution in various traits during eight generations of selection. We found significant evolutionary changes in plant phenotypes caused by all three factors and their interactions. In the richer soil type, plants showed higher evolutionary rates, especially with bumblebee-pollination, which led to the evolution of increased attractiveness

SUBMITTER: Dorey T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10973342 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature