Phylogeny and the inference of evolutionary trajectories.

ABSTRACT: Most important organismal adaptations are not actually single traits, but complex trait syndromes that are evolutionarily integrated into a single emergent phenotype. Two alternative photosynthetic pathways, C4 photosynthesis and crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM), are primary plant adaptations of this sort, each requiring multiple biochemical and anatomical modifications. Phylogenetic methods are a promising approach for teasing apart the order of character acquisition during the evolution of complex traits, and the phylogenetic placement of intermediate phenotypes as sister taxa to fully optimized syndromes has been taken as good evidence of an 'ordered' evolutionary trajectory. But how much power does the phylogenetic approach have to detect ordered evolution? This study simulated order

SUBMITTER: Hancock L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4085962 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature