Abstract Detail

Evolution, Ecology, Development, And Genomics Of Carnivorous Plants

Fleischmann, Andreas [1].

Evolution of carnivory in angiosperms and diversification of trap types.

Carnivory has evolved at least ten times in flowering plants, resulting in 19 carnivorous plant genera containing at least 800 species. Five basic trap types are found among carnivorous plants (pitfall traps, adhesive flypaper ["sticky"] traps, snap traps, eel traps, and suction traps), several of which have evolved in parallel in only distantly related groups (convergent evolution). On the other hand, some trap types - especially fast motile traps such as suction traps or snap traps - resulted from modification of passive flypaper-type traps within the same evolutionary lineage (homology). The botanical orders Lamiales (mint allies) and Nepenthales (often also referred to as 'non-core Caryophyllales') are of special interest regarding mechanisms of trap evolution, as within these two groups, different trap types have evolved from a common carnivorous ancestor. In Lamiales, eel-traps (in Genlisea) and active suction traps (in Utricularia) have evolved from sticky traps, like found in the common sister of both genera, Pinguicula. In Nepenthales, we observe a huge diversity of traps: pitcher traps in Nepenthes, snap-traps in Dionaea and Aldrovanda, passive flypaper traps in Drosophyllum and Triphyophyllum and motile flypaper traps in the majority of Drosera species - all of these can be dated back to a single common ancestor with passive, sticky traps. Within Nepenthales, we even observe loss of carnivory (in the two sisters of Triphyophyllum in Dioncophyllaceae, and in the entire family of Ancistrocladaceae; but also partial loss of carnivory in some species of Drosera). One would expect the evolution of carnivory to thrive diversification rates, however this is not the case. Most early-branching carnivorous lineages are species-poor (often monotypic), and those genera which are species-rich today (> 100 species: Drosera, Utricularia, Pinguicula, Nepenthes) already had their carnivorous nature long before they diversified - here it was rather modification of a given trap type in adaptation to different habitat niches (or prey spectra), but also geographic radiation, which led to the present species diversity.

1 - Botanische Staatssammlung München and GeoBio Centre-LMU, Menzinger Strasse 67, Munich, D-80638, Germany

Keywords:
Evolution
carnivory
trap types
diversification
phylogeny.

Presentation Type: Symposium Presentation
Session: SY1, Evolution, ecology, development, and genomics of carnivorous plants
Location: 107/Mayo Civic Center
Date: Monday, July 23rd, 2018
Time: 8:15 AM
Number: SY1002
Abstract ID:596
Candidate for Awards:None