Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA.
New Phytol. 2024 Jan;241(1):59-64. doi: 10.1111/nph.19335. Epub 2023 Oct 18.
The evolutionary switch to hummingbird pollination exemplifies complex adaptation, requiring evolutionary change in multiple component traits. Despite this complexity, diverse lineages have converged on hummingbird-adapted flowers on a relatively short evolutionary timescale. Here, I review how features of the genetic basis of adaptation contribute to this remarkable evolutionary lability. Large-effect substitutions, large mutational targets for adaptation, adaptive introgression, and concentrated architecture all contribute to the origin and maintenance of hummingbird-adapted flowers. The genetic features of adaptation are likely shaped by the ecological and geographic context of the switch to hummingbird pollination, with implications for future evolutionary trajectories.
向蜂鸟传粉的进化转变是复杂适应的典范，需要在多个组成特征上发生进化变化。尽管如此复杂，但在相对较短的进化时间尺度上，不同的谱系已经汇聚到适应蜂鸟的花朵上。在这里，我回顾了适应遗传基础的特征如何促成这种显著的进化灵活性。大效应替代、适应的大突变靶标、适应性渐渗和集中的结构都有助于蜂鸟适应花朵的起源和维持。适应的遗传特征可能受到向蜂鸟传粉转变的生态和地理背景的影响，这对未来的进化轨迹有影响。
