ArticleAnnals of botany2020
Environmental pressures on stomatal size may drive plant genome size evolution: evidence from a natural experiment with Cape geophytes.
Article in Annals of botany, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Divergent trajectories of genome architecture and chromosome evolution in ferns and angiosperms.The New phytologist · 2026Article
- Variable but Inheritable: Colchicine-Induced Polyploidy inPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Article
- Plastid and nuclear phylogenomics of Cyphostemma (Vitaceae) provide new insights into genome size evolution across sub-Saharan Africa.Journal of integrative plant biology · 2026Article
- Small Genome Size Ensures Adaptive Flexibility for an Alpine Ginger.Genome biology and evolution · 2025Article
- Exploring the complexity of genome size reduction in angiosperms.Plant molecular biology · 2024Review
- Genome size variation and evolution during invasive range expansion in an introduced plant.Evolutionary applications · 2024Article
- Does the evolution of micromorphology accompany chromosomal changes on dysploid and polyploid levels in the Barnardia japonica complex (Hyacinthaceae)?BMC plant biology · 2023Article
- Diverse mangroves deviate from other angiosperms in their genome size, leaf cell size and cell packing density relationships.Annals of botany · 2023Article
- Are chromosome number and genome size associated with habit and environmental niche variables? Insights from the Neotropical orchids.Annals of botany · 2022Article
- Phenotypic diploidization in plant functional traits uncovered by synthetic neopolyploids in Dianthus broteri.Journal of experimental botany · 2021Article
- Polyploidy and high environmental tolerance increase the invasive success of plants.Journal of plant research · 2021Article
- Chromosome-scale reference genome ofApplications in plant sciencesArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsThe idea that genome (size) evolution in eukaryotes could be driven by environmental factors is still vigorously debated. In extant plants, genome size correlates positively with stomatal size, leading to the idea that conditions enabling the existence of large stomata in fossil plants also supported growth of their genome size. We test this inductive assumption in drought-adapted, prostrate-leaved Cape (South Africa) geophytes where, compared with their upright-leaved geophytic ancestors, stomata develop in a favourably humid microclimate formed underneath their leaves.
methodsStomatal parameters (leaf cuticle imprints) and genome size (flow cytometry) were measured in 16 closely related geophytic species pairs from seven plant families. In each pair, representing a different genus, we contrasted a prostrate-leaved species with its upright-leaved phylogenetic relative, the latter whose stomata are exposed to the ambient arid climate. KEY
resultsExcept for one, all prostrate-leaves species had larger stomata, and in 13 of 16 pairs they also had larger genomes than their upright-leaved relatives. Stomatal density and theoretical maximum conductance were less in prostrate-leaved species with small guard cells (<1 pL) but showed no systematic difference in species pairs with larger guard cells (>1 pL). Giant stomata were observed in the prostrate-leaved Satyrium bicorne (89-137 µm long), despite its relatively small genome (2C = 9 Gbp).
conclusionsOur results imply that climate, through selection on stomatal size, might be able to drive genome size evolution in plants. The data support the idea that plants from 'greenhouse' geological periods with large stomata might have generally had larger genome sizes when compared with extant plants, though this might not have been solely due to higher atmospheric CO2 in these periods but could also have been due to humid conditions prevailing at fossil deposit sites.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.