Insights into the evolutionary history and taxonomic status of Sinopteris (Pteridaceae)

Lei Wang; Wenli Yang; Xianchun Zhang; Danke Zhang; Gangmin Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107672

Insights into the evolutionary history and taxonomic status of Sinopteris (Pteridaceae)

Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2023 Mar:180:107672. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107672. Epub 2022 Dec 17.

Authors

Lei Wang¹, Wenli Yang², Xianchun Zhang³, Danke Zhang⁴, Gangmin Zhang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Systematic Evolution and Biogeography of Woody Plants, College of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China; College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, Henan 471023, China.
² College of Landscape Architecture and Tourism, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, Hebei 071000, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China.
⁴ Laboratory of Systematic Evolution and Biogeography of Woody Plants, College of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China.
⁵ Laboratory of Systematic Evolution and Biogeography of Woody Plants, College of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China. Electronic address: gary1967@bjfu.edu.cn.

PMID: 36539018
DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107672

Abstract

As an endemic Chinese genus, Sinopteris C. Chr. & Ching was once considered an early diverged taxon of cheilanthoid ferns, and its taxonomic status has long been controversial. In this study, eight datasets spanning the complete chloroplast genomes and three nuclear genes were used to reconstruct the phylogeny of Sinopteris and its relatives. In addition, combining morphological analyses, divergence time estimation, and ancestral trait reconstruction, the origin and evolutionary history of Sinopteris were comprehensively discussed. Based on the complete chloroplast genome dataset, our analyses yielded a phylogram with all clades strongly supported (ML-BS = 100, BI-PP = 1.0), and the topology was almost identical to that based on the concatenated sequences of nrDNA, CRY2, and IBR3. Two species of Sinopteris were united and sister to Aleuritopteris niphobola (C. Chr.) Ching. They constituted a stable monophyletic group embedded in Aleuritopteris Fée. This was also consistent with the results of morphological analyses. Divergence time estimation indicated that the clade of Aleuritopteris and Sinopteris originated in the early Miocene (ca. 16.80 Ma) and experienced two rapid diversifications, which could coincide with environmental heterogeneity caused by the progressive uplift of the Himalayas and the intense uplift of the Hengduan Mountains. Sinopteris originated in the late Miocene (ca. 6.96 Ma), accompanied by the sharp intensifications of Asian Monsoon, and began to diversify at 2.34 Ma, following the intense uplift of the Hengduan Mountains. Ancestral character reconstruction showed that monangial sori and subsessile sporangia were clearly late derived states rather than early diverged states. Both the molecular phylogenetic and morphological analyses support the inclusion of Sinopteris in Aleuritopteris.

Keywords: Aleuritopteris; Ancestral trait reconstruction; Cheilanthoid ferns; Chloroplast genome; Nuclear gene; Phylogeny.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Biological Evolution
Ferns*
Genome, Chloroplast*
Phylogeny
Pteridaceae*