Open AccessPlant genomes: Markers of evolutionary history and drivers of evolutionary change
Author(s) -
Soltis Pamela S.,
Soltis Douglas E.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plants, people, planet
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2572-2611
DOI - 10.1002/ppp3.10159
Subject(s) - biology , evolutionary biology , genome , phylogenetics , plant evolution , adaptation (eye) , evolutionary ecology , lineage (genetic) , phylogenetic tree , ecology , genetics , gene , neuroscience , host (biology)
Plant genomes hold the key to understanding the evolutionary history of plants, a lineage that goes back nearly a billion years and contains nearly half a million living species. This history—or phylogeny—is both a record of life now past and a powerful predictive tool for both basic and applied plant science. Coupled phylogenetic and genomic studies can reveal the processes by which new species arise and go extinct, and phylogenies can guide our efforts to improve crop plants, discover new medicines, and develop effective conservation strategies.