From green to red: Urban heat stress drives leaf color evolution

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https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abq3542

By YUYA FUKANO et al, Science.

Abstract: Prevalence of impervious surface and resulting higher temperatures in urban areas, known as urban heat islands, comprises prominent characteristics in global cities. However, it is not known whether and how urban plants adapt to such heat stress. This study ...examined whether the leaf color variation is associated with urban heat stress. Field observations revealed that green-leaved plants were dominant in green habitats, and red-leaved individuals were dominant in urban habitats.... Growth and photosynthesis experiments demonstrated that red-leaved individuals performed better under heat stress, while green-leaved individuals performed better under nonstressful conditions. ...the red leaf may have evolved multiple times from the ancestral green leaf. Overall, the results suggest that the red leaves of O. corniculata observed in cities worldwide are evidence of plant adaptive evolution due to urban heat islands....

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