Publications [#230148] of Mark D. Rausher

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Papers Published

  1. Rausher, MD, The evolution of flavonoids and their genes, in The Science of Flavonoids, edited by E. Grotewold (January, 2006), pp. 175-211, Springer New York [doi] .
    (last updated on 2024/04/18)

    Abstract:
    Flavonoids constitute a diverse array of plant secondary compounds that perform a wide variety of physiological and ecological functions (Figure 7.1). The role of anthocyanin pigments as visual signals in angiosperms for attracting pollinators and fruit dispersal agents is well known, but these functions were acquired late in the evolutionary diversification of flavonoids. Less well-known and probably more ancient functions of flavonoids include protection against the detrimental effects of UV radiation; mediation of interactions between pollen and stigma; defense against bacteria, pathogenic fungi, and herbivores; mediation of interactions between plants and mutualistic mycorhizzal fungi; and regulators of hormonal activity. Because recent, thorough reviews of these functions are available elsewhere (Koes et al., 1994; Shirley, 1996), they will not be discussed in detail here. Instead, I focus on the evolutionary processes by which these functions arose and continue to evolve. As other chapters in this volume make clear, the flavonoid pathway has served as a model system for understanding gene regulation in plants. In a similar way, flavonoid pathway genes, both structural and regulatory, have served as a model system for understanding a variety of evolutionary processes, including the role of gene duplication in facilitating the evolution of novel characters, the causes of evolutionary rate variation among genes, and the relative importance of structural and regulatory genes in evolution of ecologically important characters. In this chapter, I review how examination of patterns of change in flavonoid genes has contributed to our understanding of these and other evolutionary issues, beginning with an examination of our understanding of the historical evolution of the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway.