A group of researchers from the Czech Republic and Romania discovered a plant that has been living for over 60,000 years in the Carpathians. According to their estimates, this may even be the oldest plant on Earth.
The plant has survived tens of thousands of years through vegetative reproduction Photo UBB
Following a research expedition, in the Eastern Carpathians, scientists found a rarity, Andryala laevitomentosa, an endemic plant species. Clones have been found to exist for over 60,000 years, living in the same place, despite the major climate changes of recent millennia.
Andryala laevitomentosa is one of the rarest plants in the world, it grows in only five small populations, distributed on a 1.8 km mountain ridge in the Bistriței Mountains, Eastern Carpathians. This species was only found in 1961 by a UBB student, its holotype being deposited in the UBB Herbarium (CL). The plant produces almost no viable seeds, instead surviving by vegetative reproduction, meaning it reproduces by shoots. Through this method, the plant expanded and formed clones that survived tens of thousands of years in extreme climatic conditions, including the Pleistocene glaciations.
During the study of this rarity, scientists applied advanced genetic analysis techniques to determine the age of the clones. The results showed that Andryala laevitomentosa shows an extremely low genetic diversity, instead its populations developed very high genetic differentiations.
“Only 11 genetically distinct individuals have been identified, but the longevity and persistence of these clones is incredible. Thus, the oldest ‘clone’ would represent one of the oldest, if not the oldest individual known in the plant world, thus demonstrating a remarkable capacity for adaptation and survival of these organisms in the face of environmental changes”detailed Prof. Dr. Mihai Pușcaș (Faculty of Biology and Geology, Al. Borza Botanical Garden from UBB), member of the research team.
In the study team, named “Persistence over millennia through extreme clonal longevity: phylogenomic insight into the history of one of the world’s rarest lant species”were involved Mráz P, Flašková L, Chrtek J, Mrázová V, Puşcaş M, Josefiová J, Záveská E. The scientists stated that this discovery shows the importance of preserving the unique habitat in which the plant was discovered. And the loss of any of the plant’s clones would be the equivalent of the extinction of an extraordinary organism that has adapted enough to survive the Ice Age. Also, this plant contributes to the further study of how plants adapt to new extreme climate changes.
