Project Detail

Evolution of nocturnal anthesis in the rapidly evolving family Zingiberaceae

Name:	Evolution of nocturnal anthesis in the rapidly evolving family Zingiberaceae
Researchers:	Záveská Eliška (researcher)
Provider:
Number:	GJ20-12579Y
Realization from:	2020
Realization to:	2023
Summary:	Among various pollination systems, nocturnal blooming provides a particularly interesting opportunity to study plant speciation because it is associated with unique floral traits and reduces the chance for a derived population to cross with diurnally blooming ancestral populations. We focus on the investigation of the morphologically and ecologically diverse, rapidly evolved plant family Zingiberaceae in which transitions from diurnal to nocturnal flowering appear to have occurred in parallel in at least four genera (Curcuma, Kaempferia, Alpinia, Hedychium). At first, we explore the range of Zingiberaceae flowers to describe morphology and parameters of the night flowers to identify common morphological characters of night flowers. Secondly, using genome-wide phylogeny reconstruction we test if the transition from day to night flowering happened independently, and if the underlying traits represent convergent responses to similar selective pressures.