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Floral zygomorphy, the recurring evolution of a successful trait
Author(s) -
Cubas Pilar
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/bies.20119
Subject(s) - biology , antirrhinum majus , phylogenetic tree , botany , adaptation (eye) , trait , evolutionary biology , clade , phylogenetics , pollination , gene , genetics , neuroscience , computer science , programming language , pollen
The flowers of the primitive angiosperm plants were radially symmetrical ( actinomorphic ). Flowers with bilateral symmetry ( zygomorphic ) evolved in several clades independently as an adaptation to specialized methods of pollination and played an important role in the diversification of flowering plants. In the model species Antirrhinum majus (snapdragon), the related genes CYCLOIDEA ( CYC ) and DICHOTOMA ( DICH ) are key in the development of this trait. This raises the question of whether they played a role in the evolution of floral bilateral symmetry. To address this, the evolution of CYC in relation to the evolution of zygomorphy is being investigated. Phylogenetic and functional analyses of CYC‐like genes are being carried out in groups either closely related to Antirhinum or in families where zygomorphy evolved as an independent event. In addition, the origin of zygomorphy is being studied by comparing the function of CYC ‐like genes in species with zygomorphic flowers with their function in species with radially symmetrical flowers. BioEssays 26:1175–1184, 2004. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.