Darwinian mystery may have been solved

May 11, 2006

U.S. scientists may have solved Charles Darwin's "abominable mystery" of flowering plants' rapid evolution after they appeared 140 million years ago.

The researchers from the Floral Genome Project at Penn State University, with an international team of collaborators, developed new statistical methods to analyze incomplete DNA sequences from 13 strategically selected plant species.

The scientists say they uncovered a previously hidden "paleopolyploidy" event -- an ancient whole-genome duplication that preceded the appearance of the ancestral flowering plant.

"We found a concentration of duplicated genes that suggests a whole-genome duplication event in the earliest flowering plants," said Claude dePamphilis, associate professor of biology and senior author of the paper. "A polyploidy event early in the history of flowering plants could explain their sudden evolution."

The research is presented in the June issue of Genome Research.

Rate this story - 3 /5 (13 votes)

rank
1
2
3
4
5

view popular

Other News

Scientists visualize how bacteria talk to one another

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

1hour ago | not rated yet | 0

Using imaging mass spectrometry, researchers at the University of California, San Diego have developed tools that will enable scientists to visualize how different cell populations of cells communicate. Their ...

W. Africa's last giraffes make surprising comeback

Biology / Ecology

9 hours ago | not rated yet | 0

(AP) -- A crisp African dawn is breaking overhead, and Zibo Mounkaila is on the back of a pickup truck bounding across a sparse landscape of rocky orange soil.

China sends panda expert to Taiwan to aid breeding

Biology / Plants & Animals

9 hours ago | not rated yet | 0

(AP) -- Nothing like a little time apart to rekindle the affections that could lead to a baby panda.

Laser etching safe alternative for labeling grapefruit

Biology / Other

Nov 03, 2009 | 4.4 / 5 (14) | 8

Laser labeling of fruit and vegetables is a new, patented technology in which a low-energy carbon dioxide laser beam is used to label, or "etch" information on produce, thereby eliminating the need for common ...