Evolution of phenotypic disparity in the plant kingdom

James W. Clark; Alexander J. Hetherington; Jennifer L. Morris; Silvia Pressel; Jeffrey G. Duckett; Mark N. Puttick; Harald Schneider; Paul Kenrick; Charles H. Wellman; Philip C.J. Donoghue

doi:10.1038/s41477-023-01513-x

Evolution of phenotypic disparity in the plant kingdom

James W. Clark, Alexander J. Hetherington, Jennifer L. Morris, Silvia Pressel, Jeffrey G. Duckett, Mark N. Puttick, Harald Schneider, Paul Kenrick, Charles H. Wellman, Philip C.J. Donoghue

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

7 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

The plant kingdom exhibits diverse bodyplans, from single-celled algae to complex multicellular land plants, but it is unclear how this phenotypic disparity was achieved. Here we show that the living divisions comprise discrete clusters within morphospace, separated largely by reproductive innovations, the extinction of evolutionary intermediates and lineage-specific evolution. Phenotypic complexity correlates not with disparity but with ploidy history, reflecting the role of genome duplication in plant macroevolution. Overall, the plant kingdom exhibits a pattern of episodically increasing disparity throughout its evolutionary history that mirrors the evolutionary floras and reflects ecological expansion facilitated by reproductive innovations. This pattern also parallels that seen in the animal and fungal kingdoms, suggesting a general pattern for the evolution of multicellular bodyplans.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1618-1626
Number of pages	9
Journal	Nature Plants
Volume	9
Issue number	10
Early online date	4 Sept 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-023-01513-x
Publication status	Published - Oct 2023

Bibliographical note

We thank D. Edwards for discussion. This research was funded by Standard Grant no. NE/N002067/1 from the Natural Environment Research Council (to P.C.J.D., H.S., S.P., C.H.W. and P.K.), Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship grant nos RF-2022-167 and RPG-2020-199 (to P.C.J.D.), John Templeton Foundation grant nos JTF 62574 and JTF 62220 (to P.C.J.D.; the opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation), Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation grant no. GBMF9741 (to P.C.J.D.), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council grant no. BB/T012773/1 (to P.C.J.D.) and UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship grant no. MR/T018585/1 (to A.J.H.).

The data used in our analyses are publicly available from the Bristol Research Data Facility: https://doi.org/10.5523/bris.1j3vex0yas0rz2ku42prh7evx9.

Funding

We thank D. Edwards for discussion. This research was funded by Standard Grant no. NE/N002067/1 from the Natural Environment Research Council (to P.C.J.D., H.S., S.P., C.H.W. and P.K.), Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship grant nos RF-2022-167 and RPG-2020-199 (to P.C.J.D.), John Templeton Foundation grant nos JTF 62574 and JTF 62220 (to P.C.J.D.; the opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation), Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation grant no. GBMF9741 (to P.C.J.D.), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council grant no. BB/T012773/1 (to P.C.J.D.) and UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship grant no. MR/T018585/1 (to A.J.H.).

Funders	Funder number
UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship	MR/T018585/1
John Templeton Foundation	JTF 62574, JTF 62220
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation	GBMF9741
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council	BB/T012773/1
Natural Environment Research Council
Leverhulme Trust	RPG-2020-199, RF-2022-167

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Plant Science

Access to Document

10.1038/s41477-023-01513-xLicence: CC BY

Cite this

@article{bccd2a974f8940a08d9d28bf3114582d,

title = "Evolution of phenotypic disparity in the plant kingdom",

abstract = "The plant kingdom exhibits diverse bodyplans, from single-celled algae to complex multicellular land plants, but it is unclear how this phenotypic disparity was achieved. Here we show that the living divisions comprise discrete clusters within morphospace, separated largely by reproductive innovations, the extinction of evolutionary intermediates and lineage-specific evolution. Phenotypic complexity correlates not with disparity but with ploidy history, reflecting the role of genome duplication in plant macroevolution. Overall, the plant kingdom exhibits a pattern of episodically increasing disparity throughout its evolutionary history that mirrors the evolutionary floras and reflects ecological expansion facilitated by reproductive innovations. This pattern also parallels that seen in the animal and fungal kingdoms, suggesting a general pattern for the evolution of multicellular bodyplans.",

author = "Clark, {James W.} and Hetherington, {Alexander J.} and Morris, {Jennifer L.} and Silvia Pressel and Duckett, {Jeffrey G.} and Puttick, {Mark N.} and Harald Schneider and Paul Kenrick and Wellman, {Charles H.} and Donoghue, {Philip C.J.}",

note = "We thank D. Edwards for discussion. This research was funded by Standard Grant no. NE/N002067/1 from the Natural Environment Research Council (to P.C.J.D., H.S., S.P., C.H.W. and P.K.), Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship grant nos RF-2022-167 and RPG-2020-199 (to P.C.J.D.), John Templeton Foundation grant nos JTF 62574 and JTF 62220 (to P.C.J.D.; the opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation), Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation grant no. GBMF9741 (to P.C.J.D.), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council grant no. BB/T012773/1 (to P.C.J.D.) and UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship grant no. MR/T018585/1 (to A.J.H.). The data used in our analyses are publicly available from the Bristol Research Data Facility: https://doi.org/10.5523/bris.1j3vex0yas0rz2ku42prh7evx9.",

year = "2023",

month = oct,

doi = "10.1038/s41477-023-01513-x",

language = "English",

volume = "9",

pages = "1618--1626",

journal = "Nature Plants",

issn = "2055-026X",

publisher = "Nature Research",

number = "10",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Evolution of phenotypic disparity in the plant kingdom

AU - Clark, James W.

AU - Hetherington, Alexander J.

AU - Morris, Jennifer L.

AU - Pressel, Silvia

AU - Duckett, Jeffrey G.

AU - Puttick, Mark N.

AU - Schneider, Harald

AU - Kenrick, Paul

AU - Wellman, Charles H.

AU - Donoghue, Philip C.J.

N1 - We thank D. Edwards for discussion. This research was funded by Standard Grant no. NE/N002067/1 from the Natural Environment Research Council (to P.C.J.D., H.S., S.P., C.H.W. and P.K.), Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship grant nos RF-2022-167 and RPG-2020-199 (to P.C.J.D.), John Templeton Foundation grant nos JTF 62574 and JTF 62220 (to P.C.J.D.; the opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation), Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation grant no. GBMF9741 (to P.C.J.D.), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council grant no. BB/T012773/1 (to P.C.J.D.) and UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship grant no. MR/T018585/1 (to A.J.H.). The data used in our analyses are publicly available from the Bristol Research Data Facility: https://doi.org/10.5523/bris.1j3vex0yas0rz2ku42prh7evx9.

PY - 2023/10

Y1 - 2023/10

N2 - The plant kingdom exhibits diverse bodyplans, from single-celled algae to complex multicellular land plants, but it is unclear how this phenotypic disparity was achieved. Here we show that the living divisions comprise discrete clusters within morphospace, separated largely by reproductive innovations, the extinction of evolutionary intermediates and lineage-specific evolution. Phenotypic complexity correlates not with disparity but with ploidy history, reflecting the role of genome duplication in plant macroevolution. Overall, the plant kingdom exhibits a pattern of episodically increasing disparity throughout its evolutionary history that mirrors the evolutionary floras and reflects ecological expansion facilitated by reproductive innovations. This pattern also parallels that seen in the animal and fungal kingdoms, suggesting a general pattern for the evolution of multicellular bodyplans.

AB - The plant kingdom exhibits diverse bodyplans, from single-celled algae to complex multicellular land plants, but it is unclear how this phenotypic disparity was achieved. Here we show that the living divisions comprise discrete clusters within morphospace, separated largely by reproductive innovations, the extinction of evolutionary intermediates and lineage-specific evolution. Phenotypic complexity correlates not with disparity but with ploidy history, reflecting the role of genome duplication in plant macroevolution. Overall, the plant kingdom exhibits a pattern of episodically increasing disparity throughout its evolutionary history that mirrors the evolutionary floras and reflects ecological expansion facilitated by reproductive innovations. This pattern also parallels that seen in the animal and fungal kingdoms, suggesting a general pattern for the evolution of multicellular bodyplans.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85169806036&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1038/s41477-023-01513-x

DO - 10.1038/s41477-023-01513-x

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85169806036

SN - 2055-026X

VL - 9

SP - 1618

EP - 1626

JO - Nature Plants

JF - Nature Plants

IS - 10

ER -

Evolution of phenotypic disparity in the plant kingdom

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this