Identifying Key Features in the Origin and Early Diversification of Angiosperms

Recent advances in molecular phylogenetics and a series of important palaeobotanical discoveries have revolutionized our understanding of angiosperm diversification. Yet, the origin and early evolution of their most characteristic feature, the flower, remains poorly understood. In particular, the structure of the ancestral flower of all living angiosperms is still uncertain. Here we report model-based reconstructions for ancestral flowers at the deepest nodes in the phylogeny of angiosperms, using the largest data set of floral traits ever assembled. We reconstruct the ancestral angiosperm flower as bisexual and radially symmetric, with more than two whorls of three separate perianth organs each (undifferentiated tepals), more than two whorls of three separate stamens each, and more than five spirally arranged separate carpels. Although uncertainty remains for some of the characters, our reconstruction allows us to propose a new plausible scenario for the early diversification of flowers, leading to new testable hypotheses for future research on angiosperms.

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The ancestral flower of angiosperms and its early diversification

Sauquet

et al. 2017

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Ultrastructure of stomatal development in early-divergent angiosperms reveals contrasting patterning and pre-patterning

Rudall

Knowles

2013

Annals of Botany

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Homeosis and delayed floral meristem termination could account for abnormal flowers in cultivars ofDelphiniumandAquilegia(Ranunculaceae)

Espinosa

Damerval

Guilloux

et al. 2020

Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society

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Floral mutants display various deviant phenotypes and, as such, they are appropriate material with which to address the origin and the building of morphological variation. To identify the pivotal developmental stages at which floral variation may originate and to infer the putative associated genetic causes, we studied abnormal flowers in nine cultivars of Aquilegia and Delphinium of Ranunculaceae, a family displaying a high range of floral diversity. Wild-type flowers of the two genera are pentamerous and spurred, but they differ in their overall symmetry (actinomorphy vs. zygomorphy). Floral morphology of their cultivars at different developmental stages up to anthesis was observed, and the putative identity of the perianth organs and vascularization was inferred. Our results show that in the floral mutants in both genera, phyllotaxis was generally conserved, whereas floral organization, vascularization and symmetry were modified. Most of the morphological and anatomical deviations impacted the perianth, including organ number, identity and (spur) elaboration, and also led to the formation of mosaic organs. We hypothesized that the phenotypes of floral mutants in Aquilegia and Delphinium result from genetic alterations affecting frontiers between sets of organs of different identity, homeosis and length of floral meristem activity.

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Identifying Key Features in the Origin and Early Diversification of Angiosperms

Cited by 3 publications

References 135 publications

The ancestral flower of angiosperms and its early diversification

The ancestral flower of angiosperms and its early diversification

Ultrastructure of stomatal development in early-divergent angiosperms reveals contrasting patterning and pre-patterning

Homeosis and delayed floral meristem termination could account for abnormal flowers in cultivars ofDelphiniumandAquilegia(Ranunculaceae)

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