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Looking back to look forward: protein–protein interactions and the evolution of development
Author(s) -
Bartlett Madelaine
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/nph.16179
Subject(s) - extant taxon , treasure , diversity (politics) , biology , evolutionary biology , functional diversity , ecology , geography , sociology , archaeology , anthropology
Summary The evolutionary modification of development was fundamental in generating extant plant diversity. Similarly, the modification of development is a path forward to engineering the plants of the future, provided we know enough about what to modify. Understanding how extant diversity was generated will reveal productive pathways forward for modifying development. Here, I discuss four examples of developmental pathways that have been remodeled by changes to protein–protein interactions. These are cases where changes to developmental pathways have been paralleled by recent changes, selected for or engineered by humans. Extant plant diversity represents a vast treasure trove of molecular solutions to ecological problems. Mining this treasure trove will allow for the intentional modification of plant development for solving future problems.