What are some ways the evolution of plants is applied to daily life, medicine, or research?

Solutions

Expert Solution

Plant evolution is the subset of evolutionaru phenomena that concern plants.The study of plant evolution attempts to explain how the present diversity of plants arose over geologic time.

In daily life

Evolutionary principles are now routinely incorporated into medicine and agriculture.Examples inclide the design of treatment that slow the evolution of resistance by weeds, pests, and pathogens and design of breeding programmes, protection of small and isolated population from inbreeding depression , the design of harvesting regimes that minimize unwanted life history evolution.

In medicine

Many of the drugs used in our hospitals and pharmacies come from plants.Willow bark contain salicylic acid, the main ingredient in aspirin.Paclitaxel(taxol) was isolated from the bark of pacific yew tree which is used to stop cancer cells from dividing.Rushfoil(croton) and physic nut(jatropha) are close relatives from the spurge family and are both used to treat malaria in Nepal.Both can be used to treat malaria because of the underlying shared chemistry between them.And since manufactureres search for those same properties , evolutionary relationships between traditionally used plants could help to guide their search.

In research

Evolution of plants help in the discovery of new plants with high yielding crops and pest resistance.For example one goal in agriculture is apomixis, where a plant produces seeds clonally by skipping the haploid generation and thereby maintaining the characteristocs such as high yielding hybrid, of the mother plant.Apomixis would mean crops with desirable qualities would be produced more easily and cheapily.Gaining a better understanding of the molecular basis of plant reproduction and the regulation of the alternation of generation could provide tools to engineer apomixis.

gladiator answered 1 month ago

Next > < Previous

Related Solutions

In what ways is your life affected by government regulation? Do some research concerning a government...

In what ways is your life affected by government regulation? Do some research concerning a government regulatory agency, such as the EPA, FDA, OSHA, or the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Give some examples of specific regulations or issues that the agency is dealing with. Do you feel that this agency is doing too much or too little when it comes to regulation? Explain your answer.

What are some of the ways that new manufacturing plants in a port town might lead...

What are some of the ways that new manufacturing plants in a port town might lead to new health challenges for the local area? What do you think the local policy makers’ priorities should be? In your response please indicate why you have given this answer and support your answer with research and examples.

In what ways does "scarcity" play a role in your daily life and decision making? In...

In what ways does "scarcity" play a role in your daily life and decision making? In answering this question everyone should also consider discussing: How the invisible hand of self interest influences our decision making The four principles that guide choices made by individuals Explaining how trade-offs and opportunity costs fit into the decision making process Possibly look at charting a Production Possibility Frontier that illustrates a specific decision **PLEASE type your answer**

Analyze the use of statistics in the health industry (hospital) or daily life. What new ways...

Analyze the use of statistics in the health industry (hospital) or daily life. What new ways could statistics be incorporated into the health industry (hospital) or future career field or daily life? Are there ways in which you could improve processes in your current or future career field or daily life using these techniques (related to statistics)? Give specific examples and suggestions.

Give atleast 5 importance of research in daily life.

analyzing the following topic: In what ways does "scarcity" play a role in your daily life...

analyzing the following topic: In what ways does "scarcity" play a role in your daily life and decision making? In answering this question everyone should also consider discussing: How the invisible hand of self interest influences our decision making The four principles that guide choices made by individuals Explaining how trade-offs and opportunity costs fit into the decision making process Possibly look at charting a Production Possibility Frontier that illustrates a specific decision

1) In what way was the seed such an important adaptation in the evolution of plants?...

1) In what way was the seed such an important adaptation in the evolution of plants? 2) What could be the advantage having a free-living sporophyte as the dominant generational phase3) Discuss the role and evolutionary importance of the development of the pollen tube 4) Compare and contrast the origin and ploidy of the stored food that support the embryo in angiosperms and gymnosperms

Question