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Evolution

Evolutionary innovation, enablers and the origin of C4 plants

Nature Reviews Biodiversity volume 1, page 753 (2025)Cite this article

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Changes in atmospheric CO2 concentration directly shape global vegetation patterns. One such shift occurred during the Palaeogene, when CO2 levels declined by a factor of two to three times to near-present-day concentrations. This decline gave rise to C4 photosynthesis, a photosynthetic ‘supercharger’ that concentrates CO2 within the leaf. C4 photosynthesis is thought to have evolved independently at least 60 times from C3 ancestors and drove the diversification of angiosperms into warm, dry environments, helping to establish grasslands and savannahs. The ecological significance, complexity and repeated origins of C4 photosynthesis make it a prime example of adaptation to climate change.

In Donoghue’s discussions of evolutionary innovations, I found phylogenies particularly compelling for how they allow researchers to reconstruct the sequence of traits leading up to major evolutionary innovations. Donoghue termed some of these early traits ‘enablers’: characters that increase phenotypic disparity (diversity) within lineages. That is, these traits expand the range of possible phenotypes that can later be co-opted into new functions. This perspective reshaped how I think about the foundations of complex innovations by placing extant biodiversity in the context of past events in my study system.

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References

Original article

  • Donoghue, M. J. Key innovations, convergence, and success: macroevolutionary lessons from plant phylogeny. Paleobiology 31, 77–93 (2005)

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Related articles

  • Hibberd, J. M. & Quick, W. P. Characteristics of C4 photosynthesis in stems and petioles of C3 flowering plants. Nature 415, 451–454 (2002)

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  • Leung, A. et al. Tribulus (Zygophyllaceae) as a case study for the evolution of C2 and C4 photosynthesis. Plant Cell Environ. 47, 3541–3560 (2024)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

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  1. Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Arthur Leung

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  1. Arthur Leung
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Correspondence to Arthur Leung.

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Leung, A. Evolutionary innovation, enablers and the origin of C4 plants. Nat. Rev. Biodivers. 1, 753 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44358-025-00114-0

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