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Rates of molecular evolution in tree ferns are associated with body size, environmental temperature, and biological productivity.

Authors :
Barrera-Redondo J
Ramírez-Barahona S
Eguiarte LE
Source :
Evolution; international journal of organic evolution [Evolution] 2018 May; Vol. 72 (5), pp. 1050-1062. Date of Electronic Publication: 2018 Apr 25.
Publication Year :
2018

Abstract

Variation in rates of molecular evolution (heterotachy) is a common phenomenon among plants. Although multiple theoretical models have been proposed, fundamental questions remain regarding the combined effects of ecological and morphological traits on rate heterogeneity. Here, we used tree ferns to explore the correlation between rates of molecular evolution in chloroplast DNA sequences and several morphological and environmental factors within a Bayesian framework. We revealed direct and indirect effects of body size, biological productivity, and temperature on substitution rates, where smaller tree ferns living in warmer and less productive environments tend to have faster rates of molecular evolution. In addition, we found that variation in the ratio of nonsynonymous to synonymous substitution rates (dN/dS) in the chloroplast rbcL gene was significantly correlated with ecological and morphological variables. Heterotachy in tree ferns may be influenced by effective population size associated with variation in body size and productivity. Macroevolutionary hypotheses should go beyond explaining heterotachy in terms of mutation rates and instead, should integrate population-level factors to better understand the processes affecting the tempo of evolution at the molecular level.<br /> (© 2018 The Author(s). Evolution © 2018 The Society for the Study of Evolution.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1558-5646
Volume :
72
Issue :
5
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Evolution; international journal of organic evolution
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
29604055
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.13475