Mounting evidence suggests humans are now a major driving force of evolution on Earth.
From selective breeding to environmental modifications, we're altering so much of our world that we're not only now driving the climate, but the direction of life itself.
Their study, published last year, used white clover as a model – a plant native to Europe and west Asia, but found in cities all around the world. This is an example of parallel adaptive evolution – when separate populations are shaped by the same selective pressure for specific traits in different locations. It shows that the ways humans have changed the environment are having a bigger influence in shaping these traits than natural phenomena like local population genetics and climate.
"For urbanization to drive parallel evolution, urban areas must converge in environmental features that affect an organism's fitness," the researchersTaking a closer look, the international team identified that one of the features changing along urban to rural lines was the plant's production of hydrogen cyanide. White clover uses this chemical as a defense mechanism against its herbivorous predators. It also helps them resist drought.
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