Mycorrhizas drive the evolution of plant adaptation to drought

26Citations
Citations of this article
96Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

Plant adaptation to drought facilitates major ecological transitions, and will likely play a vital role under looming climate change. Mycorrhizas, i.e. strategic associations between plant roots and soil-borne symbiotic fungi, can exert strong influence on the tolerance to drought of extant plants. Here, I show how mycorrhizal strategy and drought adaptation have been shaping one another throughout the course of plant evolution. To characterize the evolutions of both plant characters, I applied a phylogenetic comparative method using data of 1,638 extant species globally distributed. The detected correlated evolution unveiled gains and losses of drought tolerance occurring at faster rates in lineages with ecto- or ericoid mycorrhizas, which were on average about 15 and 300 times faster than in lineages with the arbuscular mycorrhizal and naked root (non-mycorrhizal alone or with facultatively arbuscular mycorrhizal) strategy, respectively. My study suggests that mycorrhizas can play a key facilitator role in the evolutionary processes of plant adaptation to critical changes in water availability across global climates.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Cosme, M. (2023). Mycorrhizas drive the evolution of plant adaptation to drought. Communications Biology, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-04722-4

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free