Linked Life Data

19324795

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/19324795

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1663
pubmed:dateCreated
2009-4-8
pubmed:abstractText
Grasses using the C(4) photosynthetic pathway dominate grasslands and savannahs of warm regions, and account for half of the species in this ecologically and economically important plant family. The C(4) pathway increases the potential for high rates of photosynthesis, particularly at high irradiance, and raises water-use efficiency compared with the C(3) type. It is therefore classically viewed as an adaptation to open, arid conditions. Here, we test this adaptive hypothesis using the comparative method, analysing habitat data for 117 genera of grasses, representing 15 C(4) lineages. The evidence from our three complementary analyses is consistent with the hypothesis that evolutionary selection for C(4) photosynthesis requires open environments, but we find an equal likelihood of C(4) evolutionary origins in mesic, arid and saline habitats. However, once the pathway has arisen, evolutionary transitions into arid habitats occur at higher rates in C(4) than C(3) clades. Extant C(4) genera therefore occupy a wider range of drier habitats than their C(3) counterparts because the C(4) pathway represents a pre-adaptation to arid conditions. Our analyses warn against evolutionary inferences based solely upon the high occurrence of extant C(4) species in dry habitats, and provide a novel interpretation of this classic ecological association.
pubmed:commentsCorrections
http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19324795-10553904, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19324795-12647172, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19324795-14734327, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19324795-15961630, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19324795-17017073, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19324795-17614282, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19324795-18160293, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19324795-18201200, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19324795-18302920, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19324795-18707460, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/19324795-18974099
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
May
pubmed:issn
0962-8452
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
22
pubmed:volume
276
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
1753-60
pubmed:dateRevised
2010-9-23
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2009
pubmed:articleTitle
Ecological selection pressures for C4 photosynthesis in the grasses.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK. c.p.osborne@sheffield.ac.uk
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Comparative Study, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't