Nuclear Phylogenomics of Angiosperms and Evolutionary Implications
Lin Zhang,
Chien-Hsun Huang,
Guojin Zhang,
Caifei Zhang,
Yiyong Zhao,
Jie Huang,
Jing Guo,
Lin Cheng,
Taikui Zhang,
Hong Ma
Affiliations
Lin Zhang
Chongqing Key Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Chien-Hsun Huang
State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Sciences and Ecological Engineering, Institute of Biodiversity Sciences and Institute of Plant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai 200438, China
Guojin Zhang
College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China
Caifei Zhang
CAS Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Yiyong Zhao
State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Sciences and Ecological Engineering, Institute of Biodiversity Sciences and Institute of Plant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai 200438, China
Jie Huang
Guangxi Key Laboratory of Plant Conservation and Restoration Ecology in Karst Terrain, Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guilin 541006, China
Jing Guo
State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Sciences and Ecological Engineering, Institute of Biodiversity Sciences and Institute of Plant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai 200438, China
Lin Cheng
Henan International Joint Laboratory of Tea-Oil tree Biology and High-Value Utilization, College of Life Sciences, Xinyang Normal University, Xinyang 464000, China
Taikui Zhang
Department of Biology, The Huck Institute of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
Hong Ma
Department of Biology, The Huck Institute of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
Angiosperms are the largest group of land plants with ~375,000 species, which are classified into ~416 families and ~13,000 genera; they exhibit tremendous morphological and physiological diversities and are important members of diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Angiosperms have attracted continuous efforts to describe and understand these diversities in a framework of interrelationships—the phylogeny, which provides strong support for angiosperm classifications and relies on morphological, anatomical, and increasing molecular markers. Today, great advances in sequencing technology have led to the generation of tens of thousands of gene sequences for individual species, facilitating angiosperm phylogenetic reconstruction with high resolution at both deep and shallow levels. In this review, we present recent insights into angiosperm phylogeny based on relatively large numbers of nuclear genes, encompassing the ordinal scale of early-divergent and backbone branches, eudicots and their major subclades, asterids and rosids, as well as monocots. We further delve into intra-order cases such as Caryophyllales (Eudicots) and Alismatales (Monocots), along with intra-family relationships for some of the largest families (e.g., Asteraceae, Orchidaceae, Fabaceae, and Poaceae) and those with economic importance (such as Brassicaceae, Solanaceae, Cucurbitaceae, and Rosaceae). Furthermore, we briefly highlight the importance of nuclear phylogeny in addressing key evolutionary questions, including the origin and divergence of angiosperms, the evolution of morphological and other characters, gene duplication and other aspects of gene family evolution. Finally, we discuss possible future trends of angiosperm phylogenomics.
