Data for: Mycorrhizas drive the evolution of plant adaptation to drought

Plant adaptation to drought facilitates major ecological transitions, and
will likely play a vital role under looming climate change. Mycorrhizas,
i.e. strategic associations between plant roots and soil-borne symbiotic
fungi, can exert strong influence on the tolerance to drought of extant
plants. Here, I show how mycorrhizal strategy and drought adaptation have
been shaping one another throughout the course of plant evolution. To
characterize the evolutions of both plant characters, I applied a
phylogenetic comparative method using data of 1,638 extant species
globally distributed. The detected correlated evolution unveiled gains and
losses of drought tolerance occurring at faster rates in lineages with
ecto- or ericoid mycorrhizas, which were on average about 15 and 300 times
faster than in lineages with the arbuscular mycorrhizal and naked root
(non-mycorrhizal alone or with facultatively arbuscular mycorrhizal)
strategy, respectively. My study suggests that mycorrhizas can play a key
facilitator role in the evolutionary processes of plant adaptation to
critical changes in water availability across global climates.

植物对干旱的适应性推动了重大生态转型，且在迫在眉睫的气候变化背景下或将发挥关键作用。菌根（Mycorrhizas），即植物根系与土壤中共生真菌形成的战略性共生联合体，可对现存植物的干旱耐受性产生显著影响。本研究揭示了在植物演化的完整历程中，菌根策略与干旱适应性如何彼此相互塑造。为刻画这两类植物性状的演化规律，本研究采用了系统发育比较法（phylogenetic comparative method），基于全球分布的1638种现存植物物种的数据开展分析。本次研究检测到的协同演化结果显示，拥有外生菌根（ecto-mycorrhizas）与欧石楠类菌根（ericoid mycorrhizas）的植物支系，其干旱耐受性的获得与丢失速率显著更快——平均速率分别约为拥有丛枝菌根（arbuscular mycorrhizal）与裸露根系策略（仅为非菌根状态，或兼具兼性丛枝菌根）的植物支系的15倍与300倍。本研究表明，在全球气候变化背景下，菌根可在植物适应水资源可用性剧烈变化的演化进程中发挥关键的促进作用。