ArticleCurrent biology : CB2023
Multiple gene co-options underlie the rapid evolution of sexually deceptive flowers in Gorteria diffusa.
Article in Current biology : CB, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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17 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- The genomic origins and evolutionary path to a key innovation in the world's most venomous snakes.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- FePlant, cell & environment · 2026Article
- From deception to mutualism: a continuum in Gastrodia brood-site pollination.Journal of experimental botany · 2026Article
- The genomic origins and evolutionary path to a key innovation in the world's most venomous snakes.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Genome Assemblies of the Daisy Gorteria diffusa Elucidate the Molecular-Genomic Basis of Pollination by Sexual Deception.Genome biology and evolution · 2026Article
- Repurposing Cell Cycle Oscillators for Multiciliated Cell Differentiation.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- Evolution of petal patterning: blooming floral diversity at the microscale.The New phytologist · 2025Review
- Plants, Pollinators and Pheromones: Promises and Lies of Semiochemicals.Plant, cell & environment · 2025Review
- The road less taken: Dihydroflavonol 4-reductase inactivation and delphinidin anthocyanin loss underpins a natural intraspecific flower colour variation.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- Quantifying Transcriptome Turnover on Phylogenies by Modeling Gene Expression as a Binary Trait.Molecular biology and evolution · 2025Article
- Evolution and development of complex floral displays.Development (Cambridge, England) · 2024Review
- Genome of the early spider-orchid Ophrys sphegodes provides insights into sexual deception and pollinator adaptation.Nature communications · 2024Article
- A distinct foliar pigmentation pattern formed by activator-repressor gradients upstream of an anthocyanin-activating R2R3-MYB.Cell reports · 2024Article
- Catch me if you can: free-living mice show a highly flexible dodging behaviour suggestive of intentional tactical deception.Royal Society open science · 2024Article
- Defining petal cell identity layer-by-layer.The Plant cell · 2024Article
- Visual-, Olfactory-, and Nectar-Taste-Based Flower Aposematism.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Evolution: The art of deceptive pollination.Current biology : CB · 2023Article
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9 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Gene co-option, the redeployment of an existing gene in an unrelated developmental context, is an important mechanism underlying the evolution of morphological novelty. In most cases described to date, novel traits emerged by co-option of a single gene or genetic network. Here, we show that the integration of multiple co-opted genetic elements facilitated the rapid evolution of complex petal spots that mimic female bee-fly pollinators in the sexually deceptive South African daisy Gorteria diffusa. First, co-option of iron homeostasis genes altered petal spot pigmentation, producing a color similar to that of female pollinators. Second, co-option of the root hair gene GdEXPA7 enabled the formation of enlarged papillate petal epidermal cells, eliciting copulation responses from male flies. Third, co-option of the miR156-GdSPL1 transcription factor module altered petal spot placement, resulting in better mimicry of female flies resting on the flower. The three genetic elements were likely co-opted sequentially, and strength of sexual deception in different G. diffusa floral forms strongly correlates with the presence of the three corresponding morphological alterations. Our findings suggest that gene co-options can combine in a modular fashion, enabling rapid evolution of novel complex traits.
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