Two decades of resurrection studies: What have we learned about contemporary evolution of plant species?
8 affiliations
- 1Genetics Department University of Georgia Athens GA USA
- 2Genetics Department, University of Georgia, Athens, USA
- 3Department of Plant and Microbial Biology North Carolina State University Raleigh NC USA
- 4Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
- 5Department of Biological Sciences Fordham University Bronx NY USA
- 6Department of Biological Sciences, Fordham University, Bronx, New York, USA
- 7Odum School of Ecology University of Georgia Athens GA USA
- 8Department of Biology, Institute of Plant Ecology and Evolution, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
Abstract
PREMISE: Global climate change has altered the eco-evolutionary trajectories of plant species, leading to observed shifts in phenotypes, such as earlier flowering. However, disentangling the contributions of plasticity and adaptation to trait changes remains challenging. The resurrection approach is a powerful method to study genetic and plastic responses by contrasting ancestral and descendant lineages from the same populations under common conditions. METHODS: We compiled a database of resurrection studies to examine plant evolutionary responses to global change using a meta-analysis (46 studies) and quantitative and qualitative review (61 studies). Studies varied widely in the number of focal populations and intervening years separating generations, yet most involved annual plant species in North America and Europe. RESULTS: We found evidence for rapid, contemporary evolution in over half of the cases. Moreover, evolution was often adaptive. As hypothesized, annuals showed greater magnitudes of evolutionary change than perennials. Across studies, annual descendants evolved earlier phenology and more resource-acquisitive leaf traits relative to ancestors. Under drought stress, annual and perennial species both evolved earlier phenology. Furthermore, in response to drought, annuals evolved increased plasticity in phenological and physiological traits but reduced plasticity in leaf traits, whereas perennials showed no evidence for evolution in plasticity. CONCLUSIONS: Our study reveals that rapid evolution is common but not ubiquitous and highlights the key role of drought escape in plant responses to a warming world. Our review also suggests promising avenues for future resurrection research.
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BibTeX
@article{pennington2026decades,
title = {{Two decades of resurrection studies: What have we learned about contemporary evolution of plant species?}},
author = {Lillie K. Pennington and Seema N. Sheth and Steven J. Franks and Jill T. Anderson and Elena Hamann},
journal = {American Journal of Botany},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.1002/ajb2.70214},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.70214},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Two decades of resurrection studies: What have we learned about contemporary evolution of plant species?
AU - Lillie K. Pennington
AU - Seema N. Sheth
AU - Steven J. Franks
AU - Jill T. Anderson
AU - Elena Hamann
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/01
JO - American Journal of Botany
DO - 10.1002/ajb2.70214
UR - https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.70214
AB - PREMISE: Global climate change has altered the eco-evolutionary trajectories of plant species, leading to observed shifts in phenotypes, such as earlier flowering. However, disentangling the contributions of plasticity and adaptation to trait changes remains challenging. The resurrection approach is a powerful method to study genetic and plastic responses by contrasting ancestral and descendant lineages from the same populations under common conditions. METHODS: We compiled a database of resurrection studies to examine plant evolutionary responses to global change using a meta-analysis (46 studies) and quantitative and qualitative review (61 studies). Studies varied widely in the number of focal populations and intervening years separating generations, yet most involved annual plant species in North America and Europe. RESULTS: We found evidence for rapid, contemporary evolution in over half of the cases. Moreover, evolution was often adaptive. As hypothesized, annuals showed greater magnitudes of evolutionary change than perennials. Across studies, annual descendants evolved earlier phenology and more resource-acquisitive leaf traits relative to ancestors. Under drought stress, annual and perennial species both evolved earlier phenology. Furthermore, in response to drought, annuals evolved increased plasticity in phenological and physiological traits but reduced plasticity in leaf traits, whereas perennials showed no evidence for evolution in plasticity. CONCLUSIONS: Our study reveals that rapid evolution is common but not ubiquitous and highlights the key role of drought escape in plant responses to a warming world. Our review also suggests promising avenues for future resurrection research.
SN - 0002-9122
SN - 1537-2197
ER -