A new study has discovered that both ferns and flowering plants evolved nectaries simultaneously around 135 million years ago, suggesting a parallel evolution in their mutualistic relationships with ants, which has significant implications for understanding plant evolution and interspecies interactions. Credit: University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Researchers discovered that ferns, like flowering plants, evolved nectaries to attract ant bodyguards around 135 million years ago. This evolutionary adaptation occurred as ferns moved from the forest floor to tree canopies, demonstrating parallel evolutionary paths with flowering plants.
Collaborations between different research fields can result in surprising breakthroughs and discoveries. Similarly, collaborations between
Research Findings on Ferns
Jacob Suissa, assistant professor in the UT Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, worked with colleagues at Cornell University, including fern expert Fay-Wei li and ant expert Corrie Moreau, to investigate how this phenomenon developed over the millennia. They recently published findings in DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48646-x
The study was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation.