“Spontaneous coincidence”, a new evolutionary mechanism discovered in carnivorous plants

2024-01-04 21:00:00

DECRYPTION – Scientists have shown that their complex “catapult” systems emerged all at once.

An evolutionary mechanism that had never been observed, “spontaneous coincidence”, is described in an article published this Thursday in the journal Science. It was demonstrated in two species of carnivorous plants from the humid forests of Southeast Asia and the Seychelles, which have acquired the ability to capture their prey by propelling them into a pouch filled with liquid.

The authors of the study show that this function did not appear over successive transformations, in stages, as is generally the case, but almost overnight. Beyond this specific case, « these results constitute an example of how certain complex functions of life can appear in completely unexpected ways », comments Kathryn Elmer, professor at the University of Glasgow, in an article analyzing the study.

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