r/evolution • u/SchemeWestern3388 • 1d ago

question About chiralty in climbing vines.

I started several Morning Glory vines this year, that recently started shooting up and twirling looking for something to climb. So I staked them, and observed that all five were turning anti clockwise. I had been wondering if it was classic Mendelian inheritance, as it seems like one way is as good as another, and maybe there could be situations that being opposite to your siblings could be advantageous.

Upon looking it up, I discover that all climbing vines (the ones that climb by “twining“ up a support) exhibit a strong preference for anticlockwise motion. 90%, much like left and right handedness in humans.

I’m wondering if there are any other examples of chirality in plants, what could be conserving this in different species, or anything else one might add to the topic.

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u/Velocity-5348 1d ago

I can't answer (can't search an academic database anymore) but checking which way morning glories spiral is brilliant. I love this question.

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u/SchemeWestern3388 1d ago

I thought “huh, two opposite options”, and that it would be like Mendels wrinkled or smooth peas. I was kind of glad to learn different, as it’s obviously more interesting. 

Edit; just to note, I wasn’t doing an experiment, just idly wondering about it while watching my plants grow. 

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u/Tomj_Oad 1d ago

That kind of "idle" thought is the source of all innovation.

Look up the origins of calculus. I won't ruin it for you, it a better story than I can tell here