Macroevolutionary patterns of defense and pollination in Dalechampia vines: adaptation, exaptation, and evolutionary novelty.

ABSTRACT: We conducted phylogenetically informed comparative analyses of 81 taxa of Dalechampia (Euphorbiaceae) vines and shrubs to assess the roles of historical contingency and trait interaction in the evolution of plant-defense and pollinator-attraction systems. We asked whether defenses can originate by exaptation from preexisting pollinator attractants, or vice versa, whether plant defenses show escalation, and if so, whether by enhancing one line of defense or by adding new lines of defense. Two major patterns emerged: (i) correlated evolution of several complementary lines of defense of flowers, seeds, and leaves, and (ii) 5 to 6 losses of the resin reward, followed by redeployment of resin for defense of male flowers in 3 to 4 lineages, apparently in response to herbivore-mediated selection

SUBMITTER: Armbruster WS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2775306 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature