In both plants and animals, comparing species that span orders of magnitude in size reveals near-universal patterns of trait variation. For instance, allometric studies demonstrated that the disproportionate effects of body size on an organism’s physiology and metabolism can be modeled by relatively simple equations. However, it is still largely unknown whether evolutionary processes, such as neutral divergence, natural selection and ecological specialization, impact (or are impacted by) allometric relationships. To address these questions, a deep characterization of genetic and phenotypic variability within species is required. In twenty years, the ‘omics’ revolution has generated massive information on intraspecific genetic diversity, in particular in model organisms. This paves the way for studying the role of allometry in population diversification and adaptation. Over the last decade, efforts in this direction have been made on the most iconic model species in plants, Arabidopsis thaliana. I will illustrate, by synthesizing main findings from ten years of research on A. thaliana, how the genetic analysis of a model species can broaden our view of the ecology and evolution of plant allometry.

Contact : François Barbier