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Xiang KL, Wu SD, Lian L, He WC, Peng D, Peng HW, Zhang XN, Li HL, Xue JY, Shan HY, Xu GX, Liu Y, Wu ZQ, Wang W. Genomic data and ecological niche modeling reveal an unusually slow rate of molecular evolution in the Cretaceous Eupteleaceae. SCIENCE CHINA. LIFE SCIENCES 2024; 67:803-816. [PMID: 38087029 DOI: 10.1007/s11427-023-2448-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 04/06/2024]
Abstract
Living fossils are evidence of long-term sustained ecological success. However, whether living fossils have little molecular changes remains poorly known, particularly in plants. Here, we have introduced a novel method that integrates phylogenomic, comparative genomic, and ecological niche modeling analyses to investigate the rate of molecular evolution of Eupteleaceae, a Cretaceous relict angiosperm family endemic to East Asia. We assembled a high-quality chromosome-level nuclear genome, and the chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes of a member of Eupteleaceae (Euptelea pleiosperma). Our results show that Eupteleaceae is most basal in Ranunculales, the earliest-diverging order in eudicots, and shares an ancient whole-genome duplication event with the other Ranunculales. We document that Eupteleaceae has the slowest rate of molecular changes in the observed angiosperms. The unusually low rate of molecular evolution of Eupteleaceae across all three independent inherited genomes and genes within each of the three genomes is in association with its conserved genome architecture, ancestral woody habit, and conserved niche requirements. Our findings reveal the evolution and adaptation of living fossil plants through large-scale environmental change and also provide new insights into early eudicot diversification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kun-Li Xiang
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, 518120, China
- China National Botanical Garden, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Sheng-Dan Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems and College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Lian Lian
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
- China National Botanical Garden, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Wen-Chuang He
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, 518120, China
| | - Dan Peng
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, 518120, China
| | - Huan-Wen Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
- China National Botanical Garden, Beijing, 100093, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Xiao-Ni Zhang
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, 518120, China
| | - Hong-Lei Li
- College of Landscape Architecture and Life Science/Institute of Special Plants, Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences, Chongqing, 402160, China
| | - Jia-Yu Xue
- College of Horticulture, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Hong-Yan Shan
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
- China National Botanical Garden, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Gui-Xia Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
- China National Botanical Garden, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Yang Liu
- Fairylake Botanical Garden, Shenzhen & Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518004, China
| | - Zhi-Qiang Wu
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory of Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, 518120, China.
| | - Wei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China.
- China National Botanical Garden, Beijing, 100093, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
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Becker A, Bachelier JB, Carrive L, Conde E Silva N, Damerval C, Del Rio C, Deveaux Y, Di Stilio VS, Gong Y, Jabbour F, Kramer EM, Nadot S, Pabón-Mora N, Wang W. A cornucopia of diversity-Ranunculales as a model lineage. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2024; 75:1800-1822. [PMID: 38109712 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erad492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023]
Abstract
The Ranunculales are a hyperdiverse lineage in many aspects of their phenotype, including growth habit, floral and leaf morphology, reproductive mode, and specialized metabolism. Many Ranunculales species, such as opium poppy and goldenseal, have a high medicinal value. In addition, the order includes a large number of commercially important ornamental plants, such as columbines and larkspurs. The phylogenetic position of the order with respect to monocots and core eudicots and the diversity within this lineage make the Ranunculales an excellent group for studying evolutionary processes by comparative studies. Lately, the phylogeny of Ranunculales was revised, and genetic and genomic resources were developed for many species, allowing comparative analyses at the molecular scale. Here, we review the literature on the resources for genetic manipulation and genome sequencing, the recent phylogeny reconstruction of this order, and its fossil record. Further, we explain their habitat range and delve into the diversity in their floral morphology, focusing on perianth organ identity, floral symmetry, occurrences of spurs and nectaries, sexual and pollination systems, and fruit and dehiscence types. The Ranunculales order offers a wealth of opportunities for scientific exploration across various disciplines and scales, to gain novel insights into plant biology for researchers and plant enthusiasts alike.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annette Becker
- Plant Development Group, Institute of Botany, Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Julien B Bachelier
- Institute of Biology/Dahlem Centre of Plant Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, D-14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Laetitia Carrive
- Université de Rennes, UMR CNRS 6553, Ecosystèmes-Biodiversité-Evolution, Campus de Beaulieu, 35042 Rennes cedex, France
| | - Natalia Conde E Silva
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Génétique Quantitative et Evolution-Le Moulon, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Catherine Damerval
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Génétique Quantitative et Evolution-Le Moulon, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Cédric Del Rio
- CR2P - Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie - Paris, MNHN - Sorbonne Université - CNRS, 43 Rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Yves Deveaux
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Génétique Quantitative et Evolution-Le Moulon, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | | | - Yan Gong
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Florian Jabbour
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, 57 rue Cuvier, CP39, Paris, 75005, France
| | - Elena M Kramer
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Sophie Nadot
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Natalia Pabón-Mora
- Instituto de Biología, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, 050010, Colombia
| | - Wei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093 China and University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049China
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Pessoa EM, Ribeiro AC, Christenhusz MJM, Coan AI, Jud NA. Is Santaniella a ranunculid? Reassessment of this enigmatic fossil angiosperm from the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian, Crato Konservat-Lagerstätte, Brazil) provides a new interpretation. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2023; 110:e16163. [PMID: 37014186 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE The Lower Cretaceous Crato Konservat-Lagerstätte (CKL) preserves a rich flora that includes early angiosperms from northern Gondwana. From this area, the recently described fossil genus Santaniella was interpreted as a ranunculid (presumably Ranunculaceae). However, based on our examination of an additional specimen and a new phylogenetic analysis, we offer an alternative interpretation. METHODS The new fossil was collected from an active quarry for paving stones in the state of Ceará, northeastern Brazil. We assessed support for alternative phylogenetic hypotheses using a combined analysis of morphological data and DNA sequence data using Bayesian inference. We used a consensus network to visualize the posterior distribution of trees, and we used RoguePlot to illustrate the support for alternative positions on a scaffold tree. RESULTS The new material includes a flower-like structure not present in the original material and also includes follicles preserved at early stages of development. The flower-like structure is a compact terminal cluster of elliptical sterile laminar organs surrounding internal filamentous structures that occur on flexuous axes. Phylogenetic analyses did not support the fossil placement among eudicots. Instead, Santaniella appears to belong in the magnoliid clade. CONCLUSIONS The presence of seeds in a marginal-linear placentation and enclosed in a follicle supports the fossil as an angiosperm. However, even though most characters are clearly recognizable, its combination of characters does not provide strong support for a close relationship to any extant order of flowering plants. Its position in the magnoliid clade is intriguing and, based on plicate carpels, it is definitely a mesangiosperm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edlley M Pessoa
- Laboratório de Estudos Integrados de Plantas, Departamento de Botânica e Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil
| | - Alexandre C Ribeiro
- Departamento de Biologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil
| | - Maarten J M Christenhusz
- Department of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK
| | - Alessandra Ike Coan
- Departamento de Biodiversidade, Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho," Instituto de Biociências, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Nathan A Jud
- Department of Biology, William Jewell College, Liberty, Missouri, USA
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Wilf P, Zou X, Donovan MP, Kocsis L, Briguglio A, Shaw D, Slik JWF, Lambiase JJ. First fossil-leaf floras from Brunei Darussalam show dipterocarp dominance in Borneo by the Pliocene. PeerJ 2022; 10:e12949. [PMID: 35356469 PMCID: PMC8958975 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The Malay Archipelago is one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth, but it suffers high extinction risks due to severe anthropogenic pressures. Paleobotanical knowledge provides baselines for the conservation of living analogs and improved understanding of vegetation, biogeography, and paleoenvironments through time. The Malesian bioregion is well studied palynologically, but there have been very few investigations of Cenozoic paleobotany (plant macrofossils) in a century or more. We report the first paleobotanical survey of Brunei Darussalam, a sultanate on the north coast of Borneo that still preserves the majority of its extraordinarily diverse, old-growth tropical rainforests. We discovered abundant compression floras dominated by angiosperm leaves at two sites of probable Pliocene age: Berakas Beach, in the Liang Formation, and Kampong Lugu, in an undescribed stratigraphic unit. Both sites also yielded rich palynofloral assemblages from the macrofossil-bearing beds, indicating lowland fern-dominated swamp (Berakas Beach) and mangrove swamp (Kampong Lugu) depositional environments. Fern spores from at least nine families dominate both palynological assemblages, along with abundant fungal and freshwater algal remains, rare marine microplankton, at least four mangrove genera, and a diverse rainforest tree and liana contribution (at least 19 families) with scarce pollen of Dipterocarpaceae, today's dominant regional life form. Compressed leaves and rare reproductive material represent influx to the depocenters from the adjacent coastal rainforests. Although only about 40% of specimens preserve informative details, we can distinguish 23 leaf and two reproductive morphotypes among the two sites. Dipterocarps are by far the most abundant group in both compression assemblages, providing rare, localized evidence for dipterocarp-dominated lowland rainforests in the Malay Archipelago before the Pleistocene. The dipterocarp fossils include winged Shorea fruits, at least two species of plicate Dipterocarpus leaves, and very common Dryobalanops leaves. We attribute additional leaf taxa to Rhamnaceae (Ziziphus), Melastomataceae, and Araceae (Rhaphidophora), all rare or new fossil records for the region. The dipterocarp leaf dominance contrasts sharply with the family's <1% representation in the palynofloras from the same strata. This result directly demonstrates that dipterocarp pollen is prone to strong taphonomic filtering and underscores the importance of macrofossils for quantifying the timing of the dipterocarps' rise to dominance in the region. Our work shows that complex coastal rainforests dominated by dipterocarps, adjacent to swamps and mangroves and otherwise similar to modern ecosystems, have existed in Borneo for at least 4-5 million years. Our findings add historical impetus for the conservation of these gravely imperiled and extremely biodiverse ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Wilf
- Department of Geosciences and Earth & Environmental Systems Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Xiaoyu Zou
- Department of Geosciences and Earth & Environmental Systems Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Michael P. Donovan
- Department of Geosciences and Earth & Environmental Systems Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States,Department of Paleobotany and Paleoecology, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, Ohio, United States
| | - László Kocsis
- Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam,Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, Faculty of Geosciences and Environment, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Antonino Briguglio
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell’Ambiente e della Vita, Università degli Studi di Genova, Genoa, Italy
| | - David Shaw
- Biostratigraphic Associates (UK) Ltd., Stoke-on-Trent, UK
| | - JW Ferry Slik
- Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam
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First evidence of ranunculids in Early Cretaceous tropics. Sci Rep 2022; 12:5040. [PMID: 35322034 PMCID: PMC8943169 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-07920-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Early Cretaceous floras containing angiosperms were described from several geographic areas, nearly from the Arctic to the Antarctic, and are crucial to understand their evolution and radiation. However, most of these records come from northern mid-latitudes whereas those of lower paleolatitude areas, such as the Crato Fossil Lagerstätte in NE Brazil, are less studied. Here, we describe from this region of northern Gondwanan origin, two fossil-species of eudicots belonging to a new extinct genus Santaniella gen. nov. Together with several vegetative axes and leaves, anatomically well-preserved fruits with seeds and persistent perianth-like organs allowed us to reconstruct its potential affinities with ranunculids, and presumably Ranunculaceae. Previous records putatively assigned to Ranunculales are all from mid-latitudes, and their first unequivocal occurrence in a low-latitude area supports further the hypothesis of a widespread radiation of the earliest diverging eudicot lineage by this early age.
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