Light and temperature signals are the most important environmental cues regulating plant growth and development. Plants have evolved various strategies to prepare for, and adapt to environmental changes. Plants integr...Light and temperature signals are the most important environmental cues regulating plant growth and development. Plants have evolved various strategies to prepare for, and adapt to environmental changes. Plants integrate environmental cues with endogenous signals to regulate various physiological processes, including flowering time. There are at least five distinct pathways controlling flowering in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana: the photoperiod pathway, the vernalization/thermosensory pathway, the autonomous floral initiation, the gibberellins pathway, and the age pathway. The photoperiod and temperature/vernalization pathways mainly perceive external signals from the environment, while the autonomous and age pathways transmit endogenous cues within plants. In many plant species, floral transition is precisely controlled by light signals(photoperiod) and temperature to optimize seed production in specific environments. The molecular mechanisms by which light and temperature control flowering responses have been revealed using forward and reverse genetic approaches. Here we focus on the recent advances in research on flowering responses to light and temperature.展开更多
Colorful visual signals are important systems for investigating the effects of signaling environ ments and receiver physiology on signal evolution as predicted by the sensory drive hypothesis. Support for the sensory ...Colorful visual signals are important systems for investigating the effects of signaling environ ments and receiver physiology on signal evolution as predicted by the sensory drive hypothesis. Support for the sensory drive hypothesis on color signal evolution is mostly based on document ing correlations between the properties of signals and habitat conditions under which the signals are given （i.e., a correlational approach） and less commonly on the use of mathematical models that integrate representations of visual environments, signal properties, and sensory systems （i.e., a functional approach）. Here, we used an experimental approach in the field to evaluate signal efficacy of colorful lizard throat fans called dewlaps that show geographic variation in the lizard Anolis cristatellus. We used a remote controlled apparatus to display ＂fake dewlaps＂ to wild lizards to test for adaptive divergence in dewlap brightness （i.e., perceived intensity） among populations in situ. We found evidence of local adaptation in dewlap brightness consistent with the sensory drive hypothesis. Specifically, dewlaps that had the brightness characteristics of local lizards were more likely to be detected than those with the brightness characteristics of nonlocal lizards. Our findings indicate that simplified mathematical representations of visual environments may allow robust estimates of relative detectability or conspicuousness in natural habitats. We have shown the feasibility of evaluating color signal efficacy experimentally under natural conditions and dem onstrate the potential advantages of presenting isolated components of signals to an intended re ceiver to measure their contribution to signal function.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(3132200631270285)the Hundred Talents Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
文摘Light and temperature signals are the most important environmental cues regulating plant growth and development. Plants have evolved various strategies to prepare for, and adapt to environmental changes. Plants integrate environmental cues with endogenous signals to regulate various physiological processes, including flowering time. There are at least five distinct pathways controlling flowering in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana: the photoperiod pathway, the vernalization/thermosensory pathway, the autonomous floral initiation, the gibberellins pathway, and the age pathway. The photoperiod and temperature/vernalization pathways mainly perceive external signals from the environment, while the autonomous and age pathways transmit endogenous cues within plants. In many plant species, floral transition is precisely controlled by light signals(photoperiod) and temperature to optimize seed production in specific environments. The molecular mechanisms by which light and temperature control flowering responses have been revealed using forward and reverse genetic approaches. Here we focus on the recent advances in research on flowering responses to light and temperature.
文摘Colorful visual signals are important systems for investigating the effects of signaling environ ments and receiver physiology on signal evolution as predicted by the sensory drive hypothesis. Support for the sensory drive hypothesis on color signal evolution is mostly based on document ing correlations between the properties of signals and habitat conditions under which the signals are given （i.e., a correlational approach） and less commonly on the use of mathematical models that integrate representations of visual environments, signal properties, and sensory systems （i.e., a functional approach）. Here, we used an experimental approach in the field to evaluate signal efficacy of colorful lizard throat fans called dewlaps that show geographic variation in the lizard Anolis cristatellus. We used a remote controlled apparatus to display ＂fake dewlaps＂ to wild lizards to test for adaptive divergence in dewlap brightness （i.e., perceived intensity） among populations in situ. We found evidence of local adaptation in dewlap brightness consistent with the sensory drive hypothesis. Specifically, dewlaps that had the brightness characteristics of local lizards were more likely to be detected than those with the brightness characteristics of nonlocal lizards. Our findings indicate that simplified mathematical representations of visual environments may allow robust estimates of relative detectability or conspicuousness in natural habitats. We have shown the feasibility of evaluating color signal efficacy experimentally under natural conditions and dem onstrate the potential advantages of presenting isolated components of signals to an intended re ceiver to measure their contribution to signal function.
