The ancestral flower of angiosperms and its early diversification

Hervé Sauquet (), Maria von Balthazar, Susana Magallón, James A. Doyle, Peter K. Endress, Emily J. Bailes, Erica Barroso de Morais, Kester Bull-Hereñu, Laetitia Carrive, Marion Chartier, Guillaume Chomicki, Mario Coiro, Raphaël Cornette, Juliana H. L. El Ottra, Cyril Epicoco, Charles S. P. Foster, Florian Jabbour, Agathe Haevermans, Thomas Haevermans, Rebeca Hernández, Stefan A. Little, Stefan Löfstrand, Javier A. Luna, Julien Massoni, Sophie Nadot, Susanne Pamperl, Charlotte Prieu, Elisabeth Reyes, Patrícia dos Santos, Kristel M. Schoonderwoerd, Susanne Sontag, Anaëlle Soulebeau, Yannick Staedler, Georg F. Tschan, Amy Wing-Sze Leung and Jürg Schönenberger ()
Additional contact information
Hervé Sauquet: Laboratoire Écologie, Systématique, Évolution, Université Paris-Sud
Maria von Balthazar: University of Vienna
Susana Magallón: Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán
James A. Doyle: University of California
Peter K. Endress: University of Zurich
Emily J. Bailes: School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London
Erica Barroso de Morais: University of Zurich
Kester Bull-Hereñu: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Laetitia Carrive: Laboratoire Écologie, Systématique, Évolution, Université Paris-Sud
Marion Chartier: University of Vienna
Guillaume Chomicki: Systematic Botany and Mycology, University of Munich LMU
Mario Coiro: University of Zurich
Raphaël Cornette: Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle
Juliana H. L. El Ottra: Laboratório de Sistemática Vegetal, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão
Cyril Epicoco: Laboratoire Écologie, Systématique, Évolution, Université Paris-Sud
Charles S. P. Foster: School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney
Florian Jabbour: Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle
Agathe Haevermans: Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle
Thomas Haevermans: Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle
Rebeca Hernández: Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán
Stefan A. Little: Laboratoire Écologie, Systématique, Évolution, Université Paris-Sud
Stefan Löfstrand: University of Vienna
Javier A. Luna: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Julien Massoni: Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zurich
Sophie Nadot: Laboratoire Écologie, Systématique, Évolution, Université Paris-Sud
Susanne Pamperl: University of Vienna
Charlotte Prieu: Laboratoire Écologie, Systématique, Évolution, Université Paris-Sud
Elisabeth Reyes: Laboratoire Écologie, Systématique, Évolution, Université Paris-Sud
Patrícia dos Santos: Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa
Kristel M. Schoonderwoerd: Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University
Susanne Sontag: University of Vienna
Anaëlle Soulebeau: Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle
Yannick Staedler: University of Vienna
Georg F. Tschan: University of Gothenburg
Amy Wing-Sze Leung: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong
Jürg Schönenberger: University of Vienna

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract 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.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms16047

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