Towards understanding how molecular networks evolve in plants

Residing beneath the phenotypic landscape of a plant are intricate and dynamic networks of genes and proteins. As evolution operates on phenotypes, we expect its forces to shape somehow these underlying molecular networks. In this review, we discuss progress being made to elucidate the nature of these forces and their impact on the composition and structure of molecular networks. We also outline current limitations and open questions facing the broader field of plant network analysis.

► Genome-wide molecular networks are useful tools to study plant evolution.
► Molecular networks grow and diversify through gene duplications and new linkages.
► Networks contain both evolutionarily conserved and versatile functional modules.
► Coverage and diversity of plant molecular networks are major current challenges.