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FLORAL MORPHOLOGY REGULATION. "One point that requires particular attention is the question of how the range of floral organ morphology is generated downstream of the otherwise highly conserved ABCE program. Current data highlight the importance of gene duplication as a source of variation in aspects of the floral program, while shifts in gene expression appear to be a major factor in morphological evolution." https://lnkd.in/dVXk7jP View in LinkedIn

FLORAL TRANSITIONS. "The evolution of zygomorphic flowers from actinomorphic ancestors has clearly occurred many times independently across the angiosperms." https://lnkd.in/dVXk7jP View in LinkedIn

AMOEBA'S ENDOSYMBIONT GENES. "Many of these genes encode proteins that function in photosynthesis, and presequences that target their import into the cyanelle have been identified. Hence the posited gene-transfer events that accompanied mitochondrial and chloroplast domestication are apparently being recapitulated in Paulinella." https://lnkd.in/ebVhXPf View in LinkedIn

PARALOGS AND MORPHOLOGY. "The presence of gene paralogs may seem to correlate with novel aspects of morphology, but since paralogs can be retained as a result of either functional conservation (via subfunctionalization) or innovation (neofunctionalization), such correlation is a poor proxy for direct functional studies." https://lnkd.in/dVXk7jP View in LinkedIn

CYANOBACTERIUM ENGULFMENT. "During the 60 million years since the estimated onset of this conversion, the genome of the endosymbiont has undergone an estimated 75% reduction in size, and roughly 1% of the amoeba’s nuclear genes are of endosymbiont origin." https://lnkd.in/ebVhXPf View in LinkedIn

MORPHOLOGY AND GENE DUPLICATION. "Within this context of shifting gene expression patterns, there is also evidence for a multitude of independent gene duplication events. It can be quite difficult, however, to determine what significance such events have had for morphological evolution." https://lnkd.in/dVXk7jP View in LinkedIn

ENGULFMENT MODEL. "The analysis of an ongoing domestication process—the conversion of a Synechococcus cyanobacterium into a “cyanelle” (protochloroplast) in the testate amoeba Paulinella chromatophora (Rhizaria)—is providing fascinating insights into what is entailed." http://cshperspectives.cshlp.org/content/6/3/a016154.full View in LinkedIn

ROLE OF B HOMOLOGS. "Analyses of B homolog expression in such flowers have not revealed the persistent gene expression that is normally associated with a role in organ identity. Overall, these studies suggest that homeotic shifts may have occurred over the course of evolution, but there are also instances in which truly novel forms of petaloidy have evolved without the input of the B-class genes." https://lnkd.in/dVXk7jP View in LinkedIn

SO ENDS this meander down floral structure. Taking quantified traits from a large number of floral species as well as their pollinators, and tracking them through evolutionary time has proved to be a powerful tool in understanding flowers. In this way, one can cover millions of years of evolution across species in a single snapshot. And as fitness is the sum of survival and reproductive success, a fitness landscape plot can be derived. This exemplar is being applied to other systems with interesting results. View in LinkedIn

SEPAL TO PETAL TRANSITION. "The sepals generally play a protective role and are photosynthetic, while the petals function in pollinator attraction and are bright and showy. Evolutionary transitions between these two types are quite common, and in some instances the perianth may even lose the appearance of petaloidy altogether." https://lnkd.in/dVXk7jP View in LinkedIn