Tracing the Evolutionary History of Flowering Plants: Insights from the Vast DNA Tree of Life

Saturday - May 11 2024, 15:48 UTC - 6 months ago

Scientists have created a vast DNA tree of life for over 9,500 flowering plant species, including extinct species. Collaborating scientists from 48 countries sequenced plant material from 163 herbaria, and over 800 species had their DNA sequenced for the first time. The results largely support plastid-based classification of angiosperms, except for the Asteraceae family, which has a new evolutionary tree showing non-monophyly. This resource provides valuable information for future research and highlights the benefits of open science.

The tree of life is a powerful tool that allows us to understand how different organisms are related to each other. For plants, this tree is rooted in the study of DNA sequences, which act as a molecular fossil record. Recent advancements in DNA sequencing technology have allowed scientists to create a vast DNA tree of life for flowering plants.This breakthrough would not have been possible without the collaboration of scientists from 48 countries, who worked together to sequence plant material from 163 herbaria .

These collections contain nearly 400 million plant specimens, and now, with the help of DNA sequencing, we can delve into the genetic makeup of these plants.Included in the vast DNA tree are over 9,500 species of flowering plants, representing a wide range of diversity. This includes extinct species, such as the Guadalupe Island olive, which has not been seen alive since 1875. However, this is not an isolated case - 511 of the species sequenced for this study are already threatened with extinction .

One of the key advantages of this approach is its ability to sequence old and damaged DNA. This is particularly important for studying plant material from herbaria collections, which can now be studied genetically. Even a sandwort specimen collected nearly 200 years ago was successfully sequenced for this study.In addition to the species collected from herbaria, over 800 species had their DNA sequenced for the first time as part of this study .

This sequencing was crucial in filling in knowledge gaps and providing new insights into the evolutionary history of flowering plants.The results of this study largely support the phylogenetic classification of angiosperms, which is based on plastid DNA. However, there are some exceptions, most notably the non-monophyly of the Asteraceae family, which includes sunflowers and their relatives. This new evolutionary tree created for the Asteraceae family sheds new light on their relationships and challenges our previous understanding .

Overall, the vast DNA tree of life for flowering plants provides a wealth of information for future research. It also highlights the value of open science, as publicly available data for over 1,900 species was used in this study. With this new resource, we can continue to uncover the mysteries of our plant family tree and gain a deeper understanding of the origins of modern plant life.