About the origin (and fate) of plants that never bloom

Plants that are reproduced solely by self-adoption stem from a population with extremely low diversity. Not only does the Kobe University study of the Kobe University of Kobe to possible evolutionary strategies, but also gives the weight of Darwin’s doubt that this strategy could be the path to extinction.

Charles Darwin once noted: “It is difficult to exaggerate to say that nature, in the mostizable way, tells us that it is bothering to be constantly self -fertilized.” Yet, Botanist Kobe Saet Konji Botanist knows about several islands in Japan in which orchids are reproduced without never opening their flowers.

He says, “I was long fascinated by Darwin’s skepticism of plants that completely rely on self-administration. When I found these non-blooded orchid orchids, I felt that this was the perfect opportunity to revise this question directly. The apparent defiance of evolutionary terms made me self-illuminated, to let him be letting go, to let would allow the environment to be allowed to allow only the environment to

On the northern islands of Ryuky, Kurošima, Takehima and Yakushima, there are the only wild population of plants that are known to be reproduced exclusively by self-administration.

“Our group spent more than ten years working with local plants lovers, monitoring more than a hundred individual plants on several islands, so with certainty we can say that these orchids never open their flowers in their own flowers natural habitats“Suetsgu explains.

He and his team decided to submit that population Genetic analysis This can detect minutes of difference even between closely related individuals, which allowed them to monitor the flow and gene kinship.

In the magazine Proceedings of the Royal Society BA team leading the University of Kobe reports That extreme genetic uniformity between plants in each type proves that they are truly purely self-adorning.

In addition, they also found that two species were created by types of insects that already have a very low degree of genetic variation in this geographical region. The variation is in fact so low that, although pollen can be translated from one plant to another, it is almost identical to self -rendering.

It just worsened another observation made by Suetsguug: Cross-Objecting relatives on these islands rely fruit flies with limited flight ability. The animals in this way only pollinate, if they interfere with plants, flowers of the same plant or those that live very close, even further reducing the benefit of insect pollination.

Suetsug explains, “Darwin’s statement was motivated by the idea that purely self -admissible vine would accumulate harmful mutations and eventually faced evolutionary blind uncle. However, our discoveries show that the relative species with open flowers of the right genetic payment for the competition could be marginal,” evolved fruit.

As it turned out, Darwin’s skepticism may not have been unfounded. The second result of the Kobe University study is that even with conservative assessments of this type of self-administration, they are up to 2,000 years old. Considering that there are no other known examples of purely self-exposing plants in the wild, such species could be effected.

“The fact that these orchids really never surpass the intriguing questions about their long -term sustainability, especially under pressure like habitat fragmentation and Climate change“Suetsgu says.

Still, he is proud of the findings of his team, saying, “Every new data point, each new species described, brings me closer to capturing the entire spectrum of evolutionary capabilities.”