Comparative evolution of plants and cars.

<p>(a) In 1885, Karl Benz was among the automobile’s first producers, and in 1908, the Ford Motor Company pioneered the first mass produced automobile, the Model T [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0198044#pone.0198044.ref005" target="_blank">5</a>]. The turbocharger gained popularity during World War II, when it was used in military aircraft, which had to cope with low-pressure, high-altitude air [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0198044#pone.0198044.ref003" target="_blank">3</a>], and the first turbocharged passenger car, the Chevrolet Corvair Monza, debuted in 1962 [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0198044#pone.0198044.ref010" target="_blank">10</a>]. Serious interest in hybrid technology arose in the 1960s when it was recognized as a means for harnessing variability in driving conditions to lower fuel use and emissions, and the Toyota Prius was introduced in 1997 as the first mass produced hybrid car [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0198044#pone.0198044.ref005" target="_blank">5</a>]. (b) The first C3 plants developed around 1 Ga ago as aquatic lifeforms [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0198044#pone.0198044.ref006" target="_blank">6</a>]. CAM photosynthesis evolved during the Paleozoic era and likely experienced a significant expansion in terrestrial plants in the Cenozoic era, which was accompanied by increasing seasonality of water availability [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0198044#pone.0198044.ref004" target="_blank">4</a>]. C4 photosynthesis is thought to have first evolved in the mid-Tertiary period and experienced a large increase in the late Miocene, 4-7 Ma, which brought decreasing CO₂ levels [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0198044#pone.0198044.ref004" target="_blank">4</a>].