The present world has over 500,000 plant species, which have all evolved from a common ancestor. The question that still has to be answered is how this leap in biodiversity actually happened? Using genetic data from over 1,147 plant species, a group of researchers and scientists, created the most detailed and comprehensive evolutionary tree of plant species to date. Plant species go back about one billion years ago, with Algae being the first multi-celled organism to perform photosynthesis. Knowing how this process came to be is important and technology has played a critical role in this study, as described by a professor at MLU "today we have the tools to look back and see what happened at that time." The team started off this project by collecting 1,147 plant species to to analyze the genome-wide gene expression pattern, where they would use the data to reconstruct the evolutionary growth and emergence of plant species. This research has shown that previous concepts of thought that the greatest genetic expression occurs during the transition of flowering plants seems inaccurate. However, "The transition from aquatic to terrestrial plants was the starting point for all further genetic development," which required more genetic variation. Researchers concluded that they found an increased amount of genetic diversity during this time period, which led them to believe that this genetic material was able drive the evolutionary process and generate biodiversity.
This relates to our course because the processes and events in the growth of genetic variation and biodiversity are important to the future of Earth. Genetic variation is critical to a progressing future, since it allows the use of more vaccines to fight bacteria that are resistant to many common vaccines in use today. Also, an increase in biodiversity helps preserve and protect many species, resources and ecosystems, which helps the Earth adapt to human activities and challenges. Biodiversity even allows for economic growth, poverty reduction, and decreased levels of carbon. All in all, this study has provided necessary information for the advancement of genetic variation and biodiversity for future life on Earth.
By studying the process of plant evolution and deeper understanding of the species genetic variation patterns, I believe that this study was very useful in using past events to help fill in the pieces of missing information that can be used in future processes of increasing genetic variation and biodiversity. By knowing this information allows for people to do their best in protecting vital species to help better preserve their ecosystem. This study should make people think more about their lifestyles and how they can better the environment for future use. However, I believe the group should have used a wider range of plant species in their study to obtain a more reliable and accurate answer. Finally, I believe that this study offers new and intuitive insights on the evolution of plant processes that affect the world around us.
(Plant Evolution can be traced back about one billion years ago)
Picture Link: https://www.sciencedaily.com/images/2019/10/191023132249_1_540x360.jpg
this was a very interesting topic and i enjoyed how it related to class
ReplyDelete