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C 4 photosynthesis provided an immediate demographic advantage to populations of the grass Alloteropsis semialata
C photosynthesis is a key innovation in land plant evolution, but its immediate effects on population demography are unclear. We explore the early impact of the C trait on the trajectories of C and non-C populations of the grass Alloteropsis semialata. We combine niche models projected into paleocli...
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Published in: | The New phytologist 2024-04, Vol.242 (2), p.774-785 |
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Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | C
photosynthesis is a key innovation in land plant evolution, but its immediate effects on population demography are unclear. We explore the early impact of the C
trait on the trajectories of C
and non-C
populations of the grass Alloteropsis semialata. We combine niche models projected into paleoclimate layers for the last 5 million years with demographic models based on genomic data. The initial split between C
and non-C
populations was followed by a larger expansion of the ancestral C
population, and further diversification led to the unparalleled expansion of descendant C
populations. Overall, C
populations spread over three continents and achieved the highest population growth, in agreement with a broader climatic niche that rendered a large potential range over time. The C
populations that remained in the region of origin, however, experienced lower population growth, rather consistent with local geographic constraints. Moreover, the posterior transfer of some C
-related characters to non-C
counterparts might have facilitated the recent expansion of non-C
populations in the region of origin. Altogether, our findings support that C
photosynthesis provided an immediate demographic advantage to A. semialata populations, but its effect might be masked by geographic contingencies. |
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ISSN: | 0028-646X 1469-8137 |
DOI: | 10.1111/nph.19606 |