View in EDS

Trait evolution drives speciation through complex interactions between genome size, adaptation and allometry.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Trait evolution drives speciation through complex interactions between genome size, adaptation and allometry.
Authors: Bhadra, Sreetama1,2,3 (AUTHOR) sreetama.bhadra@gmail.com, Leitch, Ilia J.4 (AUTHOR) I.Leitch@kew.org, Bellot, Sidonie4 (AUTHOR) s.bellot@kew.org, Baker, William J.4,5 (AUTHOR) W.Baker@kew.org, Onstein, Renske E.1,2,6,7 (AUTHOR) onsteinre@gmail.com
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 7/1/2026, Vol. 293 Issue 2074, p1-12. 12p.
Subjects: Genome size, Allometry, Palms, Biological adaptation, Phenotypic plasticity, Structural equation modeling, Genetic speciation, Phylogeny
Abstract: Speciation shapes biodiversity, yet why some lineages diversify faster than others remains unclear. Theory predicts that traits promote ecological speciation through adaptation, but their evolvability ('trait flexibility') may be impacted by allometric and genomic constraints. Here we test this by integrating phylogenetic, trait and genome size data for palms (Arecaceae)—a large pantropical family (>2500 species) with 167-fold variation in certain traits (e.g. fruit size) and 60-fold genome size variation. Using structural equation modelling, we test three hypotheses: trait evolution promotes speciation (H1: trait flexibility hypothesis), and speciation and trait evolution rates are constrained by allometry (H2: allometric constraint hypothesis) and genome size (H3: large genome constraint hypothesis). We detected seven major speciation rate shifts during approximately 110-million-years of palm evolution. Tip-derived speciation rates increased with faster evolution in leaf size and plant height, supporting H1, whereas correlated evolution between all traits indirectly influenced speciation, supporting H2. Large genomes were associated with decreased plant height and stem diameter evolution rates supporting H3, but the genome size-speciation association was sensitive to phylogenetic autocorrelation. Our findings illustrate how the interplay between genome size, allometry and trait evolvability affect speciation, emphasizing the importance of holistic approaches for uncovering general mechanisms driving speciation throughout the Tree of Life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences is the property of Royal Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
Header DbId: egs
DbLabel: Engineering Source
An: 194976128
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Trait evolution drives speciation through complex interactions between genome size, adaptation and allometry.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Bhadra%2C+Sreetama%22">Bhadra, Sreetama</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> sreetama.bhadra@gmail.com</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Leitch%2C+Ilia+J%2E%22">Leitch, Ilia J.</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> I.Leitch@kew.org</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Bellot%2C+Sidonie%22">Bellot, Sidonie</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> s.bellot@kew.org</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Baker%2C+William+J%2E%22">Baker, William J.</searchLink><relatesTo>4,5</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> W.Baker@kew.org</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Onstein%2C+Renske+E%2E%22">Onstein, Renske E.</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2,6,7</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> onsteinre@gmail.com</i>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Proceedings+of+the+Royal+Society+B%3A+Biological+Sciences%22">Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences</searchLink>. 7/1/2026, Vol. 293 Issue 2074, p1-12. 12p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subjects
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Genome+size%22">Genome size</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Allometry%22">Allometry</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Palms%22">Palms</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Biological+adaptation%22">Biological adaptation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Phenotypic+plasticity%22">Phenotypic plasticity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Structural+equation+modeling%22">Structural equation modeling</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Genetic+speciation%22">Genetic speciation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Phylogeny%22">Phylogeny</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Speciation shapes biodiversity, yet why some lineages diversify faster than others remains unclear. Theory predicts that traits promote ecological speciation through adaptation, but their evolvability ('trait flexibility') may be impacted by allometric and genomic constraints. Here we test this by integrating phylogenetic, trait and genome size data for palms (Arecaceae)—a large pantropical family (>2500 species) with 167-fold variation in certain traits (e.g. fruit size) and 60-fold genome size variation. Using structural equation modelling, we test three hypotheses: trait evolution promotes speciation (H1: trait flexibility hypothesis), and speciation and trait evolution rates are constrained by allometry (H2: allometric constraint hypothesis) and genome size (H3: large genome constraint hypothesis). We detected seven major speciation rate shifts during approximately 110-million-years of palm evolution. Tip-derived speciation rates increased with faster evolution in leaf size and plant height, supporting H1, whereas correlated evolution between all traits indirectly influenced speciation, supporting H2. Large genomes were associated with decreased plant height and stem diameter evolution rates supporting H3, but the genome size-speciation association was sensitive to phylogenetic autocorrelation. Our findings illustrate how the interplay between genome size, allometry and trait evolvability affect speciation, emphasizing the importance of holistic approaches for uncovering general mechanisms driving speciation throughout the Tree of Life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences is the property of Royal Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=egs&AN=194976128
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1098/rspb.2025.3116
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 12
        StartPage: 1
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Genome size
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Allometry
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Palms
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Biological adaptation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Phenotypic plasticity
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Structural equation modeling
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Genetic speciation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Phylogeny
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Trait evolution drives speciation through complex interactions between genome size, adaptation and allometry.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Bhadra, Sreetama
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Leitch, Ilia J.
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Bellot, Sidonie
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Baker, William J.
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Onstein, Renske E.
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 07
              Text: 7/1/2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 09628452
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 293
            – Type: issue
              Value: 2074
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
              Type: main
ResultId 1