Weeds derived from a crop plant pose special challenges for
modern farming
The evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould once asked
whether the living world would be different “if the tape were played twice.” If
there were a duplicate Earth evolving quietly beside ours, would we observe the
emergence of creatures like ourselves and of plants and anaimals familiar to
us, or would the cast of characters be entirely different?
It’s an intriguing question.
So far replicate Earths are in short supply, but cases of
parallel evolution (the same trait evolving independently in related lineages)
allow scientists to ask some of the same questsions.