The evolution of chemodiversity in plants—From verbal to quantitative models

• Published in: Ecology letters Vol. 27; no. 2; pp. e14365 - n/a
• Main Authors: Thon, Frans M., Müller, Caroline, Wittmann, Meike J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.02.2024
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Biological activity; Biological evolution; chemodiversity; Computer Simulation; Economic importance; Evolution; Genetic diversity; Humans; Ingredients; mathematical model; Mathematical models; Metabolites; phytochemical diversity; Plants - genetics; secondary metabolites; simulation; Species diversity; mathematical model; phytochemical diversity; secondary metabolites; simulation; chemodiversity
• ISSN: 1461-023X; 1461-0248
• DOI: 10.1111/ele.14365

Plants harbour a great chemodiversity, that is diversity of specialised metabolites (SMs), at different scales. For instance, individuals can produce a large number of SMs, and populations can differ in their metabolite composition. Given the ecological and economic importance of plant chemodiversity, it is important to understand how it arises and is maintained over evolutionary time. For other dimensions of biodiversity, that is species diversity and genetic diversity, quantitative models play an important role in addressing such questions. Here, we provide a synthesis of existing hypotheses and quantitative models, that is mathematical models and computer simulations, for the evolution of plant chemodiversity. We describe each model's ingredients, that is the biological processes that shape chemodiversity, the scales it considers and whether it has been formalized as a quantitative model. Although we identify several quantitative models, not all are dynamic and many influential models have remained verbal. To fill these gaps, we outline our vision for the future of chemodiversity modelling. We identify quantitative models used for genetic variation that may be adapted for chemodiversity, and we present a flexible framework for the creation of individual‐based models that address different scales of chemodiversity and combine different ingredients that bring this chemodiversity about. Plants harbour a great chemodiversity, that is diversity of specialised metabolites (SMs), at different scales, which is of great economic and ecological importance. Here, we provide a synthesis of existing hypotheses and quantitative models, that is mathematical models and computer simulations, for the evolution of plant chemodiversity. We identify quantitative models used for genetic variation that may be adapted for chemodiversity, and we present a flexible framework for the creation of individual‐based models that address different scales of chemodiversity and combine different ingredients that bring this chemodiversity about.