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Publications (301)
A new species, Impatiens lhunzeensis (Balsaminaceae), and a new record of I. leptocarpa from southern Xizang, China are reported and described in this study. Based on morphological and phylogenetic evidence, both I. lhunzeensis and I. leptocarpa are assigned to I. sect. Racemosae. The new species forms a clade with I. drepanophora, I. eubotrya and...
Ctenium has about 20 species distributed in Africa, Arabia, and the Neotropics, with no species occurring on more than one continent. Its relationship with the morphologically similar Kampochloa is still unclear and has not been investigated. In this study, we performed phylogenomic analyses using 71 protein‐coding genes of 24 newly sequenced plast...
Background
The geographic patterns of plant diversity in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) have been widely studied, but few studies have focused on wetland plants. This study quantified the geographic patterns of wetland plant diversity in the QTP through a comprehensive analysis of taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional indices.
Methods
Based on a...
Background
Interest in the evolution of climatic niches, particularly in understanding the potential adaptive responses of species under climate change, has increased both theoretically and within macroecological studies. These studies have provided valuable insights into how climatic traits of species influence their niche evolution. In this study...
Ainsliaea is an Eastern Asian genus with approximately 50 species, and is characterized by two main habit types or leaf arrangements: rosulate with leaves aggregated at the stem base or pseudo‐verticillate with leaves clustered above the stem base. Most species of Ainsliaea have been classified into two sections, A. sect. Ainsliaea and sect. Aggreg...
The baobab trees (genus Adansonia) have attracted tremendous attention because of their striking shape and distinctive relationships with fauna¹. These spectacular trees have also influenced human culture, inspiring innumerable arts, folklore and traditions. Here we sequenced genomes of all eight extant baobab species and argue that Madagascar shou...
Asparagales, the largest monocot order, is renowned for its ecological, economic, and medicinal significance. Here, we leveraged transcriptome data from 455 Asparagales species to explore the phylogeny of Asparagales. Moreover, we investigated the evolutionary patterns of the genes involved in allium flavor formation. Our analyses not only establis...
Resource partitioning is considered a key factor in alleviating competitive interactions, enabling coexistence among consumer species. However, most studies have focused on resource partitioning between species, ignoring the potentially critical role of intraspecific variation in resource use. We investigated floral resource partitioning across spe...
Phylogenetic placement of Hydrostachys (Hydrostachyaceae) has long been enigmatic, the highly divergent morphology of Hydrostachys having prevented its confident placement in any clade of angiosperms. Phylogenetic placements using DNA sequence data have varied, with most studies suggesting a placement within Cornales. We conducted a large‐scale phy...
Pollinators mediate interspecific and intraspecific plant–plant indirect interactions (competition vs. facilitation) via density-dependent processes, potentially shaping the dynamics of plant communities. However, it is still unclear which ecological drivers regulate density-dependent patterns, including scale, pollination niches (i.e., the main po...
Background:
To date, plastid genomes have been published for all but two holoparasitic angiosperm families. However, only a single or a few plastomes represent most of these families. Of the approximately 40 genera of holoparasitic angiosperms, a complete plastid genome sequence is available for only about half. In addition, less than 15 species a...
Unlabelled:
Rubia podantha Diels is endemic to southwestern China and belongs to the family Rubiaceae. It is used in traditional Chinese medicines. To enrich the genetic data and resolve Rubiaceae's phylogeny, we assembled a complete chloroplast (cp) genome of R. podantha using Illumina HiSeq reads. The whole length of the cp genome was 154,866 bp...
A new orchid species, Bulbophyllum wolongense, from the Wolong National Nature Reserve (Sichuan, China), is proposed and described. Using the nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) and complete plastome sequences, we examined the phylogenetic position of this species and explored the plastome variation among the species of genus Bulbophyllum. The plastome o...
Sambucus L. is found in the family Viburnaceae (syn. Adoxaceae) and encompasses approximately 29 accepted species. The complex morphology of these species has caused continued confusion concerning their nomenclature, classification, and identification. Despite previous attempts to resolve taxonomic complexities in the Sambucus genus, there are stil...
Globally, endemic species and natural habitats have been significantly impacted by climate change, and further considerable impacts are predicted. Therefore, understanding how endemic species are impacted by climate change can aid in advancing the necessary conservation initiatives. The use of niche modeling is becoming a popular topic in biologica...
Mt Elgon is an ancient transboundary volcanic mountain found at the Kenya-Uganda boarder possessing high plant diversity. This study documents an updated checklist of the mountain’s vascular plants obtained through random-walk field excursions and retrieval of herbarium specimen tracing back to 1900. We compiled 1709 species from 673 genera in 131...
Moringa is a mono-genus belonging to the Moringaceae family, which includes 13 species. Among them, Moringa peregrina is plant species native to the Arabian Peninsula, Southern Sinai in Egypt, and the Horn of Africa, and comprehensive studies on its nutritional, industrial, and medicinal values have been performed. Herein, we sequenced and analyzed...
Moringa is a mono-genus belonging to the Moringaceae family, which includes 13 species. Among them, Moringa peregrina is plant species native to the Arabian Peninsula, Southern Sinai in Egypt, and the Horn of Africa, and comprehensive studies on its nutritional, industrial, and medicinal values have been performed. Herein, we sequenced and analyzed...
Globally, food and medicinal plants have been documented, but their use patterns are poorly understood. Useful plants are non-random subsets of flora, prioritizing certain taxa. This study evaluates orders and families prioritized for medicine and food in Kenya, using three statistical models: Regression, Binomial, and Bayesian approaches. An exten...
Background:
The genus Veronicastrum Heist. ex Fabr. are mainly distributed in East Asia, and only Veronicastrum virginicum (L.) Farw. is disjunctively distributed in eastern North America. The south area of China (extending to Taiwan Island) is the richest in Veronicastrum species. It is of medicinal importance in China as traditional herbs used t...
Premise:
A major goal of systematic biology is to uncover the evolutionary history of organisms and translate that knowledge into stable classification systems. Here, we integrate three sets of genome-wide data to resolve phylogenetic relationships in Cornaceae (containing only Cornus s. l.), reconstruct the biogeographic history of the clade, and...
Studies on large‐scale geographic patterns of aquatic plant diversity can promote the research on generality of macroecological patterns in different ecosystems. Here, we compiled a checklist of 889 aquatic angiosperms in China, including 738 helophytes (emergent and marshy plants) and 151 hydrophytes (submerged, free‐floating and floating‐leaved p...
Apocynaceae are one of the ten species-richest angiosperm families. However, the backbone phylogeny of the family is yet less well supported, and the evolution of plastid genome structure has not been thoroughly studied for the whole family. Herein, a total of 101 complete plastomes including 35 newly sequenced, 24 reassembled from public raw data...
China covers a vast territory harbouring a large number of aquatic plants. Although there are many studies on the β-diversity of total, herbaceous or woody plants in China and elsewhere, few studies have focused on aquatic plants. Here, we analyse a comprehensive data set of 889 aquatic angiosperm species in China, and explore the geographic patter...
Many aquatic species have restricted dispersal capabilities, making them the most vulnerable organisms to climate change and land use change patterns. These factors deplete Nymphaea species’ suitable habitats, threatening their populations and survival. In addition, the species are poorly documented, which may indicate how scarce they are or will b...
The genus Nymphaea L. (water lily) is the most diverse genus in the family Nymphaeaceae, with more than 50 species worldwide, including 11 species distributed in Africa. The complex and variable morphology of Nymphaea makes it extremely difficult to accurately identify species based on morphological characteristics alone. DNA barcoding has the pote...
Vincetoxicum is one of the largest genera in Apocynaceae with recent expansion that includes former Tylophora, Biondia, and other small genera. In this study, we describe Vincetoxicum pingtaoanum sp. nov., a new woody species of Apocynaceae from the Three Gorges District in Central China based on our recent field and old herbarium collections. It i...
Predicting the responses of threatened tropical plant species to global climate change has been considered to be critical for assessing changes in species distribution and evaluating their conservation status. In reflecting on the vast species richness, East Africa has long been recognised as a hotspot of biodiversity, but very little is known abou...
Background
The genus Verbascum L. (Scrophulariaceae) is distributed in Africa, Europe, and parts of Asia, with the Mediterranean having the most species variety. Several researchers have already worked on the phylogenetic and taxonomic analysis of Verbascum by using ITS data and chloroplast genome fragments and have produced different conclusions....
Background
Calanthe (Epidendroideae, Orchidaceae) is a pantropical genus distributed in Asia and Africa. Its species are of great importance in terms of economic, ornamental and medicinal values. However, due to limited and confusing delimitation characters, the taxonomy of the Calanthe alliance ( Calanthe , Cephalantheropsis , and Phaius ) has not...
Climate change has had a significant impact on natural ecosystems and endemic species around the world and substantial impacts are expected in the future. As a result, knowing how climate change affects endemic species can help in putting forward the necessary conservation efforts. The use of niche modeling to predict changes in species distributio...
The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects a global temperature rise of 4.3 ± 0.7 °C by 2100 and an extinction of 8.5% in one out of every six species. Australia’s aquatic ecosystem is no exception; habitat loss, fragmentation, and loss of biodiversity are being experienced. As the center for Nymphaea species distribution, it present...
Salvia officinalis is one of the most important medicinal and aromatic plants in terms of nutritional and medicinal value because it contains a variety of vital active ingredients. Terpenoid compounds, particularly monoterpenes (C10) and sesquiterpenes, are the most important and abundant among these active substances (C15). Terpenes play a variety...
Mount Kenya, with its rich plant diversity, is among the famous tropical mountains in the world, and is the second highest mountain in Africa after Mount Kilimanjaro. An annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Mount Kenya was compiled through several approaches including our own collections from 2009 to 2018. A total of 1 545 vascular plants...
Land plants first evolved from freshwater algae, and flowering plants returned to water as early as the Cretaceous and multiple times subsequently. Alismatales is the largest clade of aquatic angiosperms including all marine angiosperms, as well as terrestrial plants. We used Alismatales to explore plant adaptations to aquatic environments by analy...
Euphorbia xiangxiui, a new species of Euphorbiaceae from Eastern China, supported by morphological and molecular evidence, is illustrated and described here. It can be distinguished from its closest relatives by the combination of several characters, including taller stature (up to 1.6 m), leaves of 5–18 × 0.6–3 cm in size, color of primary involuc...
Background
Hydrocharis L. and Limnobium Rich. are small aquatic genera, including three and two species, respectively. The taxonomic status, phylogenetic relationships and biogeographical history of these genera have remained unclear, owing to the lack of Central African endemic H. chevalieri from all previous studies. We sequenced and assembled pl...
Taita Hills forests are an ecological island within the Tsavo plains and are the northern-most part of the Eastern Arc Mountains in southeast Kenya. They are highly fragmented forests embedded in a mosaic of human settlements and farms on the slopes and hilltops. Despite their intensive degradation, they exhibit a high degree of plant diversity and...
Ethnopharmacological relevance
The genus Sambucus L. (Viburnaceae) consists of about 29 recognized species distributed in all regions of the world except the extremely cold and desert areas. Some species have been used as traditional medicines to treat various disorders such as bone fractures, rheumatism, diabetes, respiratory and pulmonary disorde...
One of the anthropogenic causes affecting species distribution is climate change, which has significant implications for species conservation. However, little is known about the effects of changes in parasitic plant distribution on community-level interactions. Parasitic flowering plants make a limited numerical contribution to biodiversity. Their...
Background: Veronicastrum, perennial herbs, the traditional herbs treated ascites diseases that caused by schistosomiasis in China, are mainly distributed in East Asia, and only Veronicastrum virginicum (L.) Farw. is disjunctively distributed in eastern North America. The south area of China (including Taiwan Island) is the richest in Veronicastrum...
Background
Coffea arabica L. is an economically important agricultural crop and the most popular beverage worldwide. As a perennial crop with recalcitrant seed, conservation of the genetic resources of coffee can be achieved through the complementary approach of in-situ and ex-situ field genebank. In Ethiopia, a large collection of C. arabica L. ge...
Hoya is a genus in Apocynaceae-Asclepiadoideae, known for its showy wax flowers, making it a popular ornamental plant. However, phylogenetic relationships among most Hoya species are not yet fully resolved. In this study, we sequenced 31 plastomes of Hoya group species using genome skimming data and carried out multiple analyses to understand genom...
Biodiversity loss during the Anthropocene is a serious ecological challenge. Pollinators are important vectors that provide multiple essential ecosystem services but are declining rapidly in this changing world. However, several studies have argued that a high abundance of managed bee pollinators, such as honeybees (Apis mellifera), may be sufficie...
In the present study, two samples of Toddalia asiatica species, both collected from Kenya, were sequenced and comparison of their genome structures carried out with T. asiatica species from China, available in the NCBI database. The genome size of both species from Africa was 158, 508 base pairs, which was slightly larger, compared to the reference...
Abstract: Moringa oleifera and M. peregrina are robust and fast-growing trees. These trees are considered some of the most highly valued trees worldwide because of their properties and uses. This study aimed to investigate and determine the content of phytochemical and nutrient compounds in the fresh leaves and the mature seeds of both M. oleifera...
• Altitudinal diversity of terrestrial plants has been widely studied, whereas little is known for the patterns of aquatic plants. Here, we used a standardised field dataset to quantify the altitudinal patterns in the diversity and structure of aquatic plant assemblages, as well as the relationships between diversity indices and environmental varia...
Ponerorchis wolongensis, a new orchid species from the Hengduan Mountains, western
Sichuan, China, is described and illustrated here based on morphological and phyloge-
netic evidence. Morphologically, the new species is similar to P . capitata, but they can
easily be differentiated by the number of leaves and flowers, the shape of leaves, and th...
Land plants first evolved from freshwater algae, and flowering plants returned to water as early as the Cretaceous and multiple times beyond. Alismatales is the largest clade of aquatic angiosperms including all marine angiosperms, as well as terrestrial plants. We used Alismatales to explore plant adaptation to aquatic environments by including 95...
Background
Hydrocharis L. and Limnobium Rich. are small aquatic genera, including three and two species, respectively. The taxonomic status, phylogenetic relationships and biogeographical history of these genera have remained unclear, owing to the lack of Central African endemic H. chevalieri from all previous studies. We sequenced and assembled pl...
Euphorbia mbuinzauensis, a succulent new species of the Synadenium group in Euphorbiaceae from Makueni County, Kenya, is described and illustrated. Morphologically, it is most similar to E. pseudomollis, but differs mainly by its shrubby habit (up to 4 m), abaxial leaves surfaces with densely stellate hairs, 2-4-forked cymes, smaller bracts (ca. 2....
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the vital resources for plants and its concentrations in the atmosphere have been on the increase globally from the 18th century, and continue to rise at approximately 0.4% per year. Atmospheric CO2 enrichment could possibly modify growth and chemical profiles of plants, as well as plant–insect interactions. The prese...
Alismataceae, an ancient lineage of monocots, has attracted attention due to its complex evolutionary history, ornamental value, and ecological role. However, the phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history of the family have not been conclusively resolved. Here, we constructed the first complete genus-level plastid phylogeny of Alismatacea...
The segregated genera, Neoachmandra and Pilogyne were merged into Zehneria, based on recent molecular phylogenetic studies. Accordingly, Z. morobensis (Merr. & L.M.Perry) N.Wei, G.W.Hu & Q.F.Wang, comb. nov., a new combination in Cucurbitaceae, is proposed herein.
Impatiens longiaristata (Balsaminaceae), a new species from western Sichuan Province in China, is described and illustrated here based on morphological and molecular data. It is similar to I. longiloba and I. siculifer, but differs in its lower sepal with a long arista at the apex of the mouth, spur curved downward or circinate, and lower petal tha...
The new name Dracaena neobella (Asparagaceae) is proposed herein to replace the illegitimate homonym D. bella (L.E.Newton) Byng & Christenh.
With c. 2,000 species, Euphorbia is one of the largest angiosperm genera, yet a lack of chloroplast genome (plastome) resources impedes a better understanding of its evolution. In this study, we assembled and annotated 28 plastomes from Euphorbiaceae, of which 15 were newly sequenced. Phylogenomic and comparative analyses of 22 plastome sequences f...
The gymnosperm Welwitschia mirabilis belongs to the ancient, enigmatic gnetophyte lineage. It is a unique desert plant with extreme longevity and two ever-elongating leaves. We present a chromosome-level assembly of its genome (6.8 Gb/1 C) together with methylome and transcriptome data to explore its astonishing biology. We also present a refined,...