Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: While one system is animate and the other inanimate, both plants and cars are powered by a highly successful process which has evolved in a changing environment. Each process (the photosynthetic pathway and the car engine, respectively) originated from a basic scheme and evolved greater efficiency by adding components to the existing structure, which has remained largely unchanged. Here we present a comparative analysis of two variants on the original C3 photosynthetic pathway (C4 and CAM) and two variants on the internal combustion engine (the turbocharger and the hybrid electric vehicle). We compare the timeline of evolution, the interaction between system components, and the effects of environmental conditions on both systems. This analysis reveals striking similarities in the development of these processes, providing insight as to how complex systems-both natural and built-evolve and adapt to changing environmental conditions in a modular fashion.
Source: PLoS ONE
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Climate action
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,382
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Directorate for Geosciences, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Division of Graduate Education, Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems, Division of Earth Sciences
Awards: G1018230808, IGERT: Training Program in Wireless Intelligent Sensor Networks (WISeNet), Human and Natural Forcings of Critical Zone Dynamics and Evolution at the Calhoun Critical Zone Observatory, Local and nonlocal topographic controls on landscape ecohydrology, GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM, G4607067897, G4946101720, Sustainable use of water and soils in seasonally-dry regions: exploring the continuum between natural and intensively-managed ecosystems, G5575345561, G5657546764, G573246133, G6116359233, FESD Type I: The Dynamics of Mountains, Landscapes and Climate in the Distribution and Generation of Biodiversity of the Amazon/Andean Forest, G7444028156, G7952023562
OpenAlex ID: W2810712413