Convergence between the microcosms of Southeast Asian and North American pitcher plants.

ABSTRACT: The 'pitchers' of carnivorous pitcher plants are exquisite examples of convergent evolution. An open question is whether the living communities housed in pitchers also converge in structure or function. Using samples from more than 330 field-collected pitchers of eight species of Southeast Asian Nepenthes and six species of North American Sarracenia, we demonstrate that the pitcher microcosms, or miniature ecosystems with complex communities, are strikingly similar. Compared to communities from surrounding habitats, pitcher communities house fewer species. While communities associated with the two genera contain different microbial organisms and arthropods, the species are predominantly from the same phylogenetic clades. Microbiomes from both genera are enriched in degradatio

SUBMITTER: Bittleston LS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6130972 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature