Fire-Proneness as a Prerequisite for the Evolution of Fire-Adapted Traits
Fire as a major evolutionary force has been disputed because it is considered to lack supporting evidence. If a trait has evolved in response to selection by fire then the environment of the plant must have been fire-prone before the appearance of that trait. Using outcomes of trait assignments appl...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Elsevier
2017
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| Online Access: | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP130103029 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/18644 |
| _version_ | 1848749803866947584 |
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| author | Lamont, Byron He, Tianhua |
| author_facet | Lamont, Byron He, Tianhua |
| author_sort | Lamont, Byron |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Fire as a major evolutionary force has been disputed because it is considered to lack supporting evidence. If a trait has evolved in response to selection by fire then the environment of the plant must have been fire-prone before the appearance of that trait. Using outcomes of trait assignments applied to molecular phylogenies for fire-stimulated flowering, seed-release, and germination, in this Opinion article we show that fire-proneness precedes, or rarely coincides with, the evolution of these fire-adapted traits. In addition, fire remains central to understanding germination promoted by smoke among species occurring in non-fire-prone environments because of the historical association of their clade with fire. Fire-mimicking selection and associated exaptations have no place in understanding the evolution of fire-adapted traits because we find no support for any reversal in the fire-trait sequence through time. Ancestral trait reconstruction using accurately dated molecular phylogenies is revolutionizing our understanding of fire-directed evolution among plants.Ancestral fire-prone lineages may also be identified on molecular phylogenies using fossil charcoal and reconstruction techniques.Ascertaining whether or not the onset of exposure to fire preceded the advent of putatively fire-adapted traits enables the identification of unique adaptations to fire.Fire-mimicking (multi-agent) selection and associated exaptations are alternative explanations of apparent fire-adapted traits that require selection via drought or non-unique components of fire to precede selection by fire.Smoke-stimulated germination among plants in non-fire-prone habitats may not be an anomaly if it can be shown that they possess a dormant gene mechanism inherited from a fire-prone past. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:26:45Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-18644 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:26:45Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-186442022-10-12T02:07:44Z Fire-Proneness as a Prerequisite for the Evolution of Fire-Adapted Traits Lamont, Byron He, Tianhua Fire as a major evolutionary force has been disputed because it is considered to lack supporting evidence. If a trait has evolved in response to selection by fire then the environment of the plant must have been fire-prone before the appearance of that trait. Using outcomes of trait assignments applied to molecular phylogenies for fire-stimulated flowering, seed-release, and germination, in this Opinion article we show that fire-proneness precedes, or rarely coincides with, the evolution of these fire-adapted traits. In addition, fire remains central to understanding germination promoted by smoke among species occurring in non-fire-prone environments because of the historical association of their clade with fire. Fire-mimicking selection and associated exaptations have no place in understanding the evolution of fire-adapted traits because we find no support for any reversal in the fire-trait sequence through time. Ancestral trait reconstruction using accurately dated molecular phylogenies is revolutionizing our understanding of fire-directed evolution among plants.Ancestral fire-prone lineages may also be identified on molecular phylogenies using fossil charcoal and reconstruction techniques.Ascertaining whether or not the onset of exposure to fire preceded the advent of putatively fire-adapted traits enables the identification of unique adaptations to fire.Fire-mimicking (multi-agent) selection and associated exaptations are alternative explanations of apparent fire-adapted traits that require selection via drought or non-unique components of fire to precede selection by fire.Smoke-stimulated germination among plants in non-fire-prone habitats may not be an anomaly if it can be shown that they possess a dormant gene mechanism inherited from a fire-prone past. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/18644 10.1016/j.tplants.2016.11.004 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP130103029 Elsevier fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Lamont, Byron He, Tianhua Fire-Proneness as a Prerequisite for the Evolution of Fire-Adapted Traits |
| title | Fire-Proneness as a Prerequisite for the Evolution of Fire-Adapted Traits |
| title_full | Fire-Proneness as a Prerequisite for the Evolution of Fire-Adapted Traits |
| title_fullStr | Fire-Proneness as a Prerequisite for the Evolution of Fire-Adapted Traits |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fire-Proneness as a Prerequisite for the Evolution of Fire-Adapted Traits |
| title_short | Fire-Proneness as a Prerequisite for the Evolution of Fire-Adapted Traits |
| title_sort | fire-proneness as a prerequisite for the evolution of fire-adapted traits |
| url | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP130103029 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/18644 |