Heterochrony and repurposing in the evolution of gymnosperm seed dispersal units.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Plant dispersal units, or diaspores, allow the colonization of new environments expanding geographic range and promoting gene flow. Two broad categories of diaspores found in seed plants are dry and fleshy, associated with abiotic and biotic dispersal agents, respectively. Anatomy and developmental genetics of fleshy angiosperm fruits is advanced in contrast to the knowledge gap for analogous fleshy structures in gymnosperm diaspores. Improved understanding of the structural basis of modified accessory organs that aid in seed dispersal will enable future work on the underlying genetics, contributing to hypotheses on the origin of angiosperm fruits. To generate a structural framework for the development and evolution of gymnosperm fleshy diaspores, we studied the anatomy

SUBMITTER: San Martin JAB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8851845 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature