Modularity increases rate of floral evolution and adaptive success for functionally specialized pollination systems.

ABSTRACT: Angiosperm flowers have diversified in adaptation to pollinators, but are also shaped by developmental and genetic histories. The relative importance of these factors in structuring floral diversity remains unknown. We assess the effects of development, function and evolutionary history by testing competing hypotheses on floral modularity and shape evolution in Merianieae (Melastomataceae). Merianieae are characterized by different pollinator selection regimes and a developmental constraint: tubular anthers adapted to specialized buzz-pollination. Our analyses of tomography-based 3-dimensional flower models show that pollinators selected for functional modules across developmental units and that patterns of floral modularity changed during pollinator shifts. Further, we show that modularit

SUBMITTER: Dellinger AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6895197 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature