New sunflower family tree reveals multiple origins of flower symmetry
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The sunflower family tree has revealed that flower symmetry evolved multiple times independently, a process called convergent evolution, among the members of this large plant family, according to a new analysis. The research team, led by a Penn State biologist, resolved more of the finer branches of the family tree, providing insight into how the sunflower family—which includes asters, daisies and food crops like lettuce and artichoke—evolved.
A paper describing the analysis and findings, which researchers said may help identify useful traits to selectively breed plants with more desirable characteristics, appears in the journal Plant Communication.
"Convergent evolution describes the independent evolution of what appears to be the same trait in different species, like wings in birds and bats," said Hong Ma, Huck Chair in Plant Reproductive Development and Evolution, professor of biology in the Eberly College of Science at Penn State and the leader of the research team. "This can make it difficult to determine how closely related two species are by comparing their traits, so having a detailed family tree based on DNA sequence is crucial to understanding how and when these traits evolved."
