A new paper from our working group has just been published in New Phytologist journal. In this study we examine the role of phenotypic plasticity in the evolutionary processes of convergence and divergence, and we have done this by focusing on the Brassicaceae plant family. For this, in addition to the work we are developing with our Moricandia study system, we have added an enormous revision work on the characterization of floral traits and pollination systems in the Brassicaceae family. Our knowledge of this important plant family is now much better!
Si quieres saber un poco más sobre plasticidad fenotípica y polinización, este vídeo te interesa…
Cuando en el año 2008 comenzamos a elaborar vídeos de animación para transferir al conjunto de la sociedad la información publicada en los artículos científicos que escribíamos, uno de los objetivos era trasladar esta información de manera rápida y comprensible a un público no familiarizado con nuestro trabajo de investigación. La realidad nos ha puesto en nuestro sitio y … resulta que no somos capaces de hacer el trabajo de divulgación científica en paralelo al de investigación. Han tenido que pasar unos meses desde la publicación de nuestro estudio sobre plasticidad fenotípica y nicho de polinizadores*, pero… ahora, por fin, podemos mostraros el vídeo que hemos preparado para tratar de incrementar la difusión social de este estudio. Poned pantalla grande, dadle volumen y … disfrutadlo cómo lo hemos hecho los autores con el trabajo realizado.
En este vídeo mostramos qué es la plasticidad fenotípica y cómo la plasticidad individual dentro de las flores de Moricandia arvensis (Brassicaceae) permite a esta especie de planta modificar su nicho de polinización.
*Este vídeo muestra los resultados del estudio: Gómez JM, Perfectti F, Armas C, Narbona E, González-Megías A, Navarro L, DeSoto L, Torices R (2020). Within-individual phenotypic plasticity in flowers fosters pollination niche shift. Nature Communications 11: 4019 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17875-1
Si estás interesado en leerlo, no dudes en solicitárnoslo
Phenotypic plasticity, climate change and pollinators
A drastic change in floral phenotype causes the same plants to attract different pollinators and reproduce in harsh climates
Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of a genotype to produce different phenotypes in response to changes in the environment. This is an essential property of living beings but its role in adaptation and acclimatization to environmental changes is not yet fully known.
A Moricandia arvensis plant with its «typical» spring flower phenotype (Photo by F. Perfectti).
As part of a truly multidisciplinary team of researchers from the Experimental Station of Arid Zones (CSIC) and the Universities of Granada, Vigo, Pablo Olavide and Rey Juan Carlos, we have just published an article in the top-ranking journal Nature Communications demonstrating experimentally, both in natural conditions and in the laboratory, the phenotypic plasticity of the flowers of a plant species living in semi-arid environments.
A comparison of the different flower phenotypes this plant produces in spring (left) or harsh summer (right) conditions (Photo by F. Perfectti).
In spring, this species – the crucifer Moricandia arvensis – produces large, lilac-colored, UV-reflecting flowers in the shape of a cross. These flowers attract mainly large, long-tongued bees as pollinators. However, unlike most coexisting species, M. arvensis maintains flowering during the dry, hot summer of the western Mediterranean. This is due to its plasticity in key vegetative traits, including photosynthetic traits, that adjust its metabolism to these extreme temperatures and water deficit conditions. The summer’s high temperatures and longer light hours trigger changes in the expression of more than 625 genes in the flower that lead to these plants to produce different radical flowers. Whereas in spring flowers were large and cross-shaped, in summer they are small and rounded; whereas they were lilac and reflected UV, in summer they are white and absorb UV. These summer flowers attract a different set of pollinators composed of more generalist species. This change in the pollinator set (the pollination niche) allows this plant to reproduce successfully under the challenging summer conditions. Phenotypic plasticity for flower, vegetative, and photosynthetic traits seems to allow M. arvensis to cope with anthropogenic disturbances and climate change.
The phenotypic plasticity exhibited by individuals of the Moricandia arvensis plant promotes the production of large, lilac-colored, cross-shaped flowers that reflect UV and attract mainly large long-tongued bees in spring and smaller, rounded white flowers, which absorb UV, in summer, when environmental conditions are difficult for many organisms to survive. These «summer» flowers are visited by generalist pollinators and this allows the plant to continue to reproduce when environmental conditions are harsh.
Gómez JM, Perfectti F, Armas C, Narbona E, González-Megías A, Navarro L, DeSoto L, Torices R (2020). Within-individual phenotypic plasticity in flowers fosters pollination niche shift. Nature Communications 11:4019https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17875-1
Nuestra investigación sobre el movimiento de los estambres en Erysimum incanum, publicada en la revista The American Naturalist, está teniendo gran repercusión en los medios. De hecho está clasificado como en el 5% superior de todas las investigaciones analizadas por Altmetric.
Abdelaziz M, Bakkali M, Gómez JM, Olivieri E, Perfectti F. Anther rubbing, a new mechanism that actively promotes selfing in plants. The American Naturalist 193: 140 – 147
El programa ConCiencia de Canal Sur también se ha interesado y ha realizado un reportaje sobre nuestro trabajo. Pulse sobre la imagen para visualizarlo:
El clip de video también se puede ver en este enlace.
Además, periódicos como El País, Ideal, La Vanguardia, El Confidencial, 20 minutos y un largo etcétera se han hecho eco de esta publicación, así como revistas científicas de la importancia de Science.
Is it possible obtain the sequence of a chloroplast genome from a RNA-Seq? Yes, it is. In this paper, we use a software pipeline to produce quality chloroplast genomes from RNA and compare it with genomic DNA-derived cp genomes. Read more
Our paper on anther rubbing is now in press in The American Naturalist. It is expected to appear in the January 2019 issue. In this paper we describe a novel mechanism promoting self-fertilization in the Brassicaceae species Erysimum incanum. Read more
Two Evoflor’s members (José María Gómez and Rubén Torices) in collaboration with John Pannell from University of Lausanne have recently published a paper in Nature Communications showing that the self-incompatible monocarpic Moricandia moricandioides can adjust its flowering behaviour to the surrounding intraspecific social environment. Read more
We present in this paper a molecular phylogeny of the genus Moricandia (Brassicaceae). We have found that a Spanish population previously ascribed to Rytidocarpus moricandioides is indeed a Moricandia species, and we propose to name it as M. rytidocarpoides sp. nov. In addition, M. foleyi appeared outside the Moricandia lineage but within the genus Eruca. Therefore, M. foleyi should be excluded from the genus Moricandia and be ascribed to the genus Eruca. Read more
A core interest in studies of mutualistic interactions is the ‘effectiveness’ of mutualists in providing benefits to their partners. In plant-animal mutualisms it is widely accepted that the total effect of a mutualist on its partner is estimated as (1) a ‘quantity’ component multiplied by (2) a ‘quality’ component, although the meanings of ‘effectiveness,’ ‘quantity,’ and ‘quality’ and which terms are applied to these metrics vary greatly across studies. In addition, a similar quantity × quality = total effect approach has not been applied to other types of mutualisms, although it could be informative. Lastly, when a total effect approach has been applied, it has invariably been from a phytocentric perspective, focussing on the effects of animal mutualists on their plant partner. This lack of a common framework of ‘effectiveness’ of mutualistic interactions limits generalisation and the development of a broader understanding of the ecology and evolution of mutualisms. Read more
