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Friis EM, Crane PR, Pedersen KR, Marone F. Cretaceous chloranthoids: early prominence, extinct diversity and missing links. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2024; 133:225-260. [PMID: 38597914 PMCID: PMC11005782 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcad137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Chloranthaceae comprise four extant genera (Hedyosmum, Ascarina, Chloranthus and Sarcandra), all with simple flowers. Molecular phylogenetics indicates that the Chloranthaceae diverged very early in angiosperm evolution, although how they are related to eudicots, magnoliids, monocots and Ceratophyllum is uncertain. Fossil pollen similar to that of Ascarina and Hedyosmum has long been recognized in the Early Cretaceous, but over the last four decades evidence of extinct Chloranthaceae based on other types of fossils has expanded dramatically and contributes significantly to understanding the evolution of the family. SCOPE Studies of fossils from the Cretaceous, especially mesofossils of Early Cretaceous age from Portugal and eastern North America, recognized diverse flowers, fruits, seeds, staminate inflorescences and stamens of extinct chloranthoids. These early chloranthoids include forms related to extant Hedyosmum and also to the Ascarina, Chloranthus and Sarcandra clade. In the Late Cretaceous there are several occurrences of distinctive fossil androecia related to extant Chloranthus. The rich and still expanding Cretaceous record of Chloranthaceae contrasts with a very sparse Cenozoic record, emphasizing that the four extant genera are likely to be relictual, although speciation within the genera might have occurred in relatively recent times. In this study, we describe three new genera of Early Cretaceous chloranthoids and summarize current knowledge on the extinct diversity of the group. CONCLUSIONS The evolutionary lineage that includes extant Chloranthaceae is diverse and abundantly represented in Early Cretaceous mesofossil floras that provide some of the earliest evidence of angiosperm reproductive structures. Extinct chloranthoids, some of which are clearly in the Chloranthaceae crown group, fill some of the morphological gaps that currently separate the extant genera, help to illuminate how some of the unusual features of extant Chloranthaceae evolved and suggest that Chloranthaceae are of disproportionate importance for a more refined understanding of ecology and phylogeny of early angiosperm diversification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Else Marie Friis
- Department of Geoscience, University of Aarhus, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 2, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
- Department of Palaeobiology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Box 50007, SE-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Peter R Crane
- Oak Spring Garden Foundation, 1776 Loughborough Lane, Upperville, VA 20184, USA
- Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Kaj Raunsgaard Pedersen
- Department of Geoscience, University of Aarhus, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 2, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Federica Marone
- Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
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Ma J, Sun P, Wang D, Wang Z, Yang J, Li Y, Mu W, Xu R, Wu Y, Dong C, Shrestha N, Liu J, Yang Y. The Chloranthus sessilifolius genome provides insight into early diversification of angiosperms. Nat Commun 2021; 12:6929. [PMID: 34836967 PMCID: PMC8626421 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26931-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Most extant angiosperms belong to Mesangiospermae, which comprises eudicots, monocots, magnoliids, Chloranthales and Ceratophyllales. However, phylogenetic relationships between these five lineages remain unclear. Here, we report the high-quality genome of a member of the Chloranthales lineage (Chloranthus sessilifolius). We detect only one whole genome duplication within this species and find that polyploidization events in different Mesangiospermae lineage are mutually independent. We also find that the members of all floral development-related gene lineages are present in C. sessilifolius despite its extremely simplified flower. The AP1 and PI genes, however, show a weak floral tissue-specialized expression. Our phylogenomic analyses suggest that Chloranthales and magnoliids are sister groups, and both are together sister to the clade comprising Ceratophyllales and eudicots, while the monocot lineage is sister to all other Mesangiospermae. Our findings suggest that in addition to hybridization, incomplete lineage sorting may largely account for phylogenetic inconsistencies between the observed gene trees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianxiang Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Institute of Innovation Ecology and School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Pengchuan Sun
- Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education & State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics & Mountain River Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Dandan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Institute of Innovation Ecology and School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Zhenyue Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Institute of Innovation Ecology and School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Jiao Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Institute of Innovation Ecology and School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Ying Li
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Institute of Innovation Ecology and School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Wenjie Mu
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Institute of Innovation Ecology and School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Renping Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Institute of Innovation Ecology and School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Ying Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Institute of Innovation Ecology and School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Congcong Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Institute of Innovation Ecology and School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Nawal Shrestha
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Institute of Innovation Ecology and School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Jianquan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Institute of Innovation Ecology and School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education & State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics & Mountain River Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yongzhi Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Institute of Innovation Ecology and School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
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Arshad W, Lenser T, Wilhelmsson PKI, Chandler JO, Steinbrecher T, Marone F, Pérez M, Collinson ME, Stuppy W, Rensing SA, Theißen G, Leubner-Metzger G. A tale of two morphs: developmental patterns and mechanisms of seed coat differentiation in the dimorphic diaspore model Aethionema arabicum (Brassicaceae). THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2021; 107:166-181. [PMID: 33945185 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.15283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 04/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The developmental transition from a fertilized ovule to a dispersed diaspore (seed or fruit) involves complex differentiation processes of the ovule's integuments leading to the diversity in mature seed coat structures in angiosperms. In this study, comparative imaging and transcriptome analysis were combined to investigate the morph-specific developmental differences during outer seed coat differentiation and mucilage production in Aethionema arabicum, the Brassicaceae model for diaspore dimorphism. One of the intriguing adaptations of this species is the production and dispersal of morphologically distinct, mucilaginous and non-mucilaginous diaspores from the same plant (dimorphism). The dehiscent fruit morph programme producing multiple mucilaginous seed diaspores was used as the default trait combination, similar to Arabidopsis thaliana, and was compared with the indehiscent fruit morph programme leading to non-mucilaginous diaspores. Synchrotron-based radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy revealed a co-ordinated framework of morph-specific early changes in internal anatomy of developing A. arabicum gynoecia including seed abortion in the indehiscent programme and mucilage production by the mucilaginous seed coat. The associated comparative analysis of the gene expression patterns revealed that the unique seed coat dimorphism of Ae. arabicum provides an excellent model system for comparative study of the control of epidermal cell differentiation and mucilage biosynthesis by the mucilage transcription factor cascade and their downstream cell wall and mucilage remodelling genes. Elucidating the underlying molecular framework of the dimorphic diaspore syndrome is key to understanding differential regulation of bet-hedging survival strategies in challenging environments, timely in the face of global climatic change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Waheed Arshad
- Department of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, TW20 0EX, UK
| | - Teresa Lenser
- Matthias Schleiden Institute/Genetics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, D-07743, Germany
| | - Per K I Wilhelmsson
- Plant Cell Biology, Department of Biology, University of Marburg, Marburg, D-35043, Germany
| | - Jake O Chandler
- Department of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, TW20 0EX, UK
| | - Tina Steinbrecher
- Department of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, TW20 0EX, UK
| | - Federica Marone
- Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, CH-5232, Switzerland
| | - Marta Pérez
- Department of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, TW20 0EX, UK
| | - Margaret E Collinson
- Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, TW20 0EX, UK
| | - Wolfgang Stuppy
- Botanischer Garten der Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, Bochum, D-44780, Germany
- The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Wellcome Trust Millennium Building, Wakehurst Place, Ardingly, West Sussex, RH17 6TN, UK
| | - Stefan A Rensing
- Plant Cell Biology, Department of Biology, University of Marburg, Marburg, D-35043, Germany
| | - Günter Theißen
- Matthias Schleiden Institute/Genetics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, D-07743, Germany
| | - Gerhard Leubner-Metzger
- Department of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, TW20 0EX, UK
- Laboratory of Growth Regulators, Palacký University, Institute of Experimental Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Olomouc, CZ-78371, Czech Republic
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