{"id":82728,"date":"2022-06-04T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-04T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sonnenseite.com\/?p=82728"},"modified":"2022-06-03T14:00:54","modified_gmt":"2022-06-03T12:00:54","slug":"largest-known-plant-on-earth-discovered-at-shark-bay-and-its-4500-years-old","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sonnenseite.com\/en\/science\/largest-known-plant-on-earth-discovered-at-shark-bay-and-its-4500-years-old\/","title":{"rendered":"Largest known plant on earth discovered at Shark Bay and it’s 4,500 years old"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Researchers from The University of Western Australia<\/a> and Flinders University<\/a> have located what is believed to be the largest plant in the world \u2013 an ancient and incredibly resilient seagrass stretching across 180km that is estimated to be at least 4,500 years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The discovery of the single plant or \u2018clone\u2019 of the seagrass Posidonia australis in the shallow, sun-drenched waters of the World Heritage Area of Shark Bay in WA, is detailed in a new study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B<\/a><\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evolutionary biologist Dr Elizabeth Sinclair, from UWA\u2019s School of Biological Sciences and the UWA Oceans Institute, is a senior author of the study and said the project began when researchers wanted to understand how genetically diverse the seagrass meadows in Shark Bay were, and which plants should be collected for seagrass restoration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe often get asked how many different plants are growing in seagrass meadows and this time we used genetic tools to answer it,\u201d Dr Sinclair said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UWA student researcher Jane Edgeloe, lead author of the study, said the team sampled seagrass shoots from across Shark Bay\u2019s variable environments and generated a \u2018fingerprint\u2019 using 18,000 genetic markers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe answer blew us away \u2013 there was just one!\u201d Ms Edgeloe said. \u201cThat\u2019s it, just one plant has expanded over 180km in Shark Bay, making it the largest known plant on earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe existing 200km2 of ribbon weed meadows appear to have expanded from a single, colonising seedling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Sinclair said what makes this seagrass plant unique from other large seagrass clones, other than its enormous size, is that it has twice as many chromosomes as its oceanic relatives, meaning it is a polyploid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhole genome duplication through polyploidy \u2013 doubling the number of chromosomes \u2013 occurs when diploid \u2018parent\u2019 plants hybridise. The new seedling contains 100 per cent of the genome from each parent, rather than sharing the usual 50 per cent,\u201d Dr Sinclair said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPolyploid plants often reside in places with extreme environmental conditions, are often sterile, but can continue to grow if left undisturbed, and this giant seagrass has done just that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven without successful flowering and seed production, it appears to be really resilient, experiencing a wide range of temperatures and salinities plus extreme high light conditions, which together would typically be highly stressful for most plants.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers have now set up a series of experiments in Shark Bay to understand how this plant survives and thrives under such variable conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research was made possible through a collaboration between UWA, Flinders University and Kings Park Science (Western Australia Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions). It was funded by the Australian Government\u2019s National Environmental Science Program Marine Biodiversity Hub and the Australian Research Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n