The evolution of plants; a natural force for well-being

 The evolution of plants; a natural force for well-being

Botanical research published in the scientific journal Nature Ecology and Evolution shows how the diversity of benefits that plants provide to humans is the result of evolutionary processes that encompass the entire plant Tree of Life.

The history of human civilizations could not be understood without the plants that have contributed to our well-being so much. Besides many other benefits, we have used them for healing, clothing, feeding, and warming ourselves, building and decorating our homes, and even to convey our feelings. As with everything related to biodiversity, these plant services are nothing more than the result of evolution. For example, the pressure exerted by herbivorous insects on plants has driven the evolution of chemical defences, molecules that form the basis of many insecticides. Other species accumulate reserves that we humans use for our own food, and many of them have extraordinarily eye-catching and fragrant flowers that attract pollinators and gardeners alike. One could say that biological evolution is in effect a force for human good. 

The close relationship between the evolutionary history of plants and their benefits to humans has inspired research led by Dr Molina-Venegas from the University of Alcalá (Spain), which suggests that humans have scoured the entirety of the evolutionary tree of plants (i.e. their entire evolutionary history) in search of the botanical benefits that underpin our well-being.

The authors of the study compiled from the latest edition of Mabberley’s Plant-book (Cambridge University Press, 2017) an extensive database of global plant uses, according to 28 categories related to human and livestock nutrition, fuels, materials, medicines, poisons, social and environmental uses. This analysis enabled the authors to conclude that, in general, selecting plants that have widely different evolutionary histories captures a greater number and diversity of benefits than does a strategy based on random sampling or one limited to prospecting solely close relatives. This can be explained by the fact that plant attributes that benefit humans have evolved throughout the plant Tree of Life.

Although the theoretical foundations of such research were formalized in the early 1990s, recent studies have demonstrated that the empirical evidence supporting the theory was still tenuous, and so even questioned its reliability. In supporting the theory, the work led by Dr Molina-Venegas contributes to filling a gap of knowledge that has fueled intense scientific debate in recent years. The conclusion is now clear: taking into account the evolutionary history of species when setting conservation priorities could be the key to ensuring the maximum beneficial potential of biodiversity for the future of humanity.

Brief biographical sketch of the author:

Rafael graduated in biology at the University of Seville, where he completed his PhD on the evolutionary history of plants in the Baetic-Rifan biodiversity hotspot (Andalusia and Northern Morocco). After postdoctoral studies at the University of Alcalá, he moved to the Institute of Plant Science at the University of Bern (Switzerland), where he investigated the relationship between humans and plant benefits from an evolutionary perspective. In 2019, he returned to the University of Alcalá where he is currently leading his own research project, aimed at exploring connections between plant evolutionary history and human well-being.

For correspondence:contact formulary at https://rafmolven.wixsite.com/rafmolven/contact-me