The Monitor Daily

Thursday, January 21, 2021
Log in

As a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, this site may earn from qualifying purchases. We may also earn commissions on purchases from other retail websites.

  • Home
  • Politics & National News
  • Business News
  • Tech & Science
  • Health & Lifestyle
  • About us
    • Contact US
    • Privacy Policy GDPR
    • Terms of Use
  • Latest News
    • Stormy Planet
    • US Surgeon Performs Face Transplant
    • 2017 MTV VMAs Nominations Are In And Voting Is Now Open
    • Bright House: Free McAfee AntiVirus and Adult Controls
    • Antarctic Yeti Crab Gets Formal Scientific Name
    • Spiders Take Over Australian Town
    • Interesting Facts About the Apollo 11 Mission
    • Social Smoking or The New Landmark of Elegance Among Young Women
    • Rare Weasel Returns To Washington State

Pages

  • About The Monitor Daily
  • Contact US
  • Our Team
  • Privacy Policy GDPR
  • Terms of Use

Recent Posts

  • Precisely what is Administration Buyback? Feb 12, 2020
  • Precisely what is Administration Buyback? Feb 12, 2020
  • Where by do Registered requests get kept Dec 1, 2019
  • Find a Star of the event on the Submit Purchase New bride List May 19, 2019
  • Locate Really enjoy On the internet Apr 30, 2019
  • Get Love On the net Apr 12, 2019
  • NYC Man Snaps Photo of the Victim After Sucker-Punching Him in Broad Daylight Jun 29, 2018

Plants Evolve and Leave Behind Useless Defenses, Claims New Study (Study)

By Leave a Comment

dogbane flowers on dogbane plant

A new study claims that plants evolve new defense mechanism as the old ones become obsolete.

 

A new study hypothesized that during a plant’s evolution, this would stop using defensive measures that have become obsolete. Instead, plants will adapt and develop new methods. Ones based on the predation by herbivorous insects that are not affected by the plant’s previous defensive mechanisms.

This is according to the latest research conducted at the Academy of Natural Sciences, Drexel University. The study examined a specific chemical named pyrrolizidine alkaloids.
During research, it was noted that plants which generated pyrrolizidine alkaloids ceased producing it when confronted with a species of butterfly that was not affected by the chemical.

Useless Defenses Stop as Plants Evolve

 

Tatyana Livshultz is the lead author of the study analyzing the cessation of the useless defenses. During research, the scientists reviewed the activities of dogbane and milkweed plants. These are both members of the Apocynaceae species.
It was discovered that as the plants learned that the pyrrolizidine alkaloids did not dissuade Danainae or milkweed butterflies, they ceased generating this chemical.
Still, it was noted that not all milkweeds stopped producing the alkaloids. Livshultz hypothesized that this may be due to the fact that the milkweeds in other regions are affected more by other local insects. Ones that live in those regions and that are still dissuaded by the toxic alkaloids.
This study supports the idea that as plants evolve, they stop wasting time and energy on creating defenses that are no longer successful in deterring predators.
“Co-evolution explains how interactions between species can drive the origin of novelty and diversity,” states the study lead. 
Livshultz’s team will continue its research. The implications of this new study may extend beyond the plant world and into the lives of humans as well.
The theories of co-evolution and defense de-escalation examined in Livshultz’s work, while popular, require additional study and evidentiary support. Studying this phenomenon is important, as it can have practical uses in multiple fields such as agriculture, environmental protection, and pharmaceuticals.
Current research results were released in a paper in the journal New Phytologist. 
Image Source: Wikimedia

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Filed Under: Nature

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 34 other subscribers

Operation Paperclip

Remembering Georg von Tiesenhausen, Last Member of Von Braun’s Rocket Team

By Leave a Comment

giant ground sloths on white background

It Seems that Giant Sloths Once Roamed Earth, and Humans Used to Hunt Them? (Study)

By Leave a Comment

sn 2001ig supernova explosion and images of its stars

A Star Escaped a Supernova Explosion, and NASA Snapped its Picture

By Leave a Comment

ngc 6420 galaxy resembling a giant butterfly

Hubble Spots Giant Butterfly Formed by a Black Hole and Stellar Winds (Study)

By Leave a Comment

infrared image of a dog

Space Technology Could Help Protect Earth’s Endangered Species

By Leave a Comment

snake slithering on a beige background

Kirigami Skin Is Helping a Soft Robot Slither Like a Snake (Study)

By Leave a Comment

woolly mammoth

Ice Age Tracks Reveal How Young Mammoths Cared for Adult Ones (Study)

By Leave a Comment

High Priestess tomb.

Archaeologists Discovered 4400-Years-Old High Priestess Tomb Near Cairo

By Leave a Comment

dwarf galaxies

Dwarf Galaxies Challenge the Entire Dark Matter Cosmology (Study)

By Leave a Comment

NASA Scientists and Food Experiments

NASA Scientists to Test if Astronauts Could Eat Their Own Poo

By Leave a Comment

KFC Smoky Wings Box Can Turn into Awesome Drone

By Leave a Comment

Tesla Model S

Tesla Model S Involved in Autopilot Malfunction Accident

By Leave a Comment

Duke Nukem.

John Cena Cold Feature in Duke Nukem Movie

By Leave a Comment

Battlefield One

Battlefield One Apocalypse DLC to Land in February

By Leave a Comment

Related Articles

  • road salt in a car being distributed on the streets by workers

    Road Salt Threatens Lake Ecosystems, Study Reveals (Study)

  • bluebird perched on a branch

    Could Industrial Noise Pollution Be Stressing Birds?

  • Sumatran rhino with its four-days-old baby

    The Sumatran Rhino Has Been Endangered for One Million Years (Study)

  • Bear walking near a lake

    Scientists Crack the Yeti Legend, Revealing the Creatures Are Actually Bears

  • Colorful coral in a reef

    Researchers Restore Coral Populations By Breeding Larvae Outside of Their Natural Environment

  • Humpback dolphin swimming at the surface

    Male Humpback Dolphins Use Wingmen and Gifts to Convince Females to Mate (Study)

  • Frog sitting in a terrarium

    The App Which Tell Frog Croaks Apart Might Save the Creatures from Extinction

  • Orangutan sitting in a tree

    Newly Discovered Frizzy Orangutans in Indonesia Are Already in Danger of Extinction (Study)

  • record low levels of ice

    Experts Unsure What Caused The Record Low Levels Of Antarctic Sea Ice

  • jellyfish in focus with a man with a mask looking at it

    Jellyfish Sleep at Night Even If They Don’t Have a Brain

Categories

  • Business News
  • Entertainment
  • Featured
  • Health & Lifestyle
  • Nature
  • Politics & National
  • Sports
  • Tech & Science
  • US
  • World

Copyright © 2021 TheMonitorDaily.com

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Sitemap · Contact

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more.