The new model shows how one of the earliest root forms developed during the Devonian period: it was then that
According to experts, after plants evolved from simple stems to more complex forms with roots, the Earth's CO2 levels in the atmosphere decreased, the soil stabilized and constant water circulation began.
An international team of scientists from EdinburghThe university used digital techniques to create the first complete 3D reconstruction of Asteroxilon, an early ancestor of corms, an evergreen herb with needle-like leaves.
The model helped the scientists visualize the structure of the roots and the pathways of their development. The findings show that the roots of Asteroxylon developed in a fundamentally different way compared to modern plants.
The asteroxylon grew through a process called dichotomous branching, which is when the tip of a leaf shoot splits to form two new branches, one of which is a shoot and the other develops into a root. In modern plants, on the contrary, new roots ariseinside growing shoots or other roots.
Experts note that this discovery shows how an important evolutionary step took place between the earliest plants, which did not yet have roots, and living tubers, which already had them.
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