Exploring the evolutionary landscape of mitochondrial genomes in the sunflower family (Asteraceae)
March 2026
Asteraceae, the largest family of flowering plants, comprises more than 26,000 species worldwide, many of which serve as crops, medicinal herbs, and ornamentals. While substantial genomic resources...
Speciation, endangerment and adaptation in limestone rocky environment of Urophysa (Ranunculaceae)
March 2026
Urophysa (Ranunculaceae) are plants endemic to the limestone regions of southern China, representing an attractive model for studying species differentiation, endangerment, and adaptive evolution in...
A robust phylogenomic framework supports a revised intrafamilial classification of Urticaceae
March 2026
Over the past decade, phylogenomics has significantly enhanced our understanding of relationships among numerous angiosperm lineages. However, comprehensive phylogenetic studies combining broad sampling...
Differences in leaf heat and drought tolerance but not cold tolerance between karst and non-karst forest plants
March 2026
Ongoing climate change and increasingly frequent extreme precipitation events pose greater threats to plant survival. Plants in the karst environment may face heightened risks because shallow soils...
Stage-dependent shifts in native and invasive traits mediate community invasibility in subtropical urban ecosystems
March 2026
Biological invasions threaten biodiversity and ecosystem stability through stage-dependent functional trait mediation. However, the mechanistic linkages between invasion intensity and multidimensional...
Effects of neighborhood diversity on herbivory in early-stage forests in southern China
March 2026
Herbivory plays important roles in forest ecosystems and is thought to be influenced by tree diversity. However, it is unclear whether, and if so how, tree diversity confers associational resistance...
Tamarindus indica telomere-to-telomere genome reveals tartaric acid accumulation in fruit
March 2026
•First telomere-to-telomere genome of Tamarindus indica.•Fruit sourness is likely driven by duplication of tartaric acid biosynthesis genes during lineage-specific WGD.•Development of Tamarind Multi-Omics...
Soil nutrients and heavy metals jointly shape spontaneous plant functional groups in abandoned mining areas
March 2026
Ecological recovery of abandoned mining areas requires developing and implementing effective nature-based solutions. However, ecological processes that underlie the establishment, development, and long-term...
Chromosome-level genome assembly and population genomics analysis of Camellia rubituberculata provide insights into adaptation to karst habitats
March 2026
Karst flora confined to isolated ‘habitat islands’ evolve specialized adaptations and unique traits, serving as ideal models for investigating adaptive evolution and species diversification mechanisms....
Influence of divergent sampling intensity across plant growth forms on estimating elevational richness patterns and their drivers
March 2026
Numerous studies have demonstrated that sampling intensity can significantly influence the detection of richness patterns and the assessment of the importance of driving factors. However, existing research...
Tree structural diversity mediates vegetation carbon storage in dry-hot valley savannas along an elevational gradient
March 2026
Understanding the factors that drive distributional variation in terrestrial vegetation carbon pools (VCPs) is crucial for assessing the potential of carbon sequestration and mitigating climate change....
High-quality genome of Oreocharis mileensis (Gesneriaceae) provides insights into the adaptation and conservation of highly threatened species in karst region
March 2026
Despite the ecological importance of karst ecosystems, genomic studies on the conservation and adaptation of karst plant species, particularly threatened wild species, remain scarce. Here, we investigate...
Climate modulation of phylogenetic and functional constraints on fruit volume: A case study of Chinese angiosperms
Available online 20 March 2026
Fruit volume is a pivotal reproductive trait that influences dispersal, seed predation, and offspring establishment, yet its large-scale drivers remain poorly understood. Here, we compiled phylogenetic,...
Niche evolution and asymmetric diversification in elm species (Ulmaceae)
Available online 20 March 2026
Global patterns of species diversity are highly heterogeneous, and even within the same evolutionary lineage, species richness can differ markedly. Understanding the mechanisms underlying such disparities...
Determinants of herbivory on seedlings in a subtropical forest: Insights from plant apparency, Janzen-Connell effects, and functional traits
Available online 17 March 2026
Herbivory is widely known to play a critical role in structuring plant communities. However, much less is known about what factors determine herbivory in forest ecosystems. Here, we monitored herbivory...
Scale-dependent evidence for the abundant-center hypothesis and underlying mechanisms
Available online 14 March 2026
Whether species are more abundant near the center of their distribution has been intensively debated. Previous studies have largely focused on local sampling units, often overlooking the inherent scale-dependence...
Local adaptation sustains genetic differentiation between two varieties of Chinese walnut (Juglans cathayensis) despite extensive hybridization in subtropical China
Available online 12 March 2026
Understanding how natural selection sustains genetic differentiation despite ongoing hybridization remains a central question in evolutionary biology. Here, we integrated range-wide whole-genome resequencing...
Divergence in plant water relations mediates the clear niche differentiation of two congeneric desert shrub species
Available online 12 March 2026
Desert plants, despite overall well adapted to drought, exhibit considerable inter-specific differentiation of micro-habitats and variation in adaptive characteristics in the generally much water-limited...
Scaling and stoichiometry of seed nitrogen and phosphorus across Chinese grasslands
Available online 12 March 2026
Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) play crucial roles in early seedling establishment, influencing germination, survival, and overall performance. However, large-scale multispecies seed element survey...
The Tianshan Mountains as a biogeographic barrier driving North-South divergence and local adaptation in Typha laxmannii
Available online 11 March 2026
The Tianshan Mountains constitute a major biogeographic barrier in Arid Central Asia, yet their impact on plant genomic divergence and adaptation remains poorly understood. Using Typha laxmannii, a...
Is beta diversity higher in seed plants with larger body sizes?
Available online 11 March 2026
Beta diversity is a scalar linking local (alpha) with regional (gamma) species diversity. Understanding patterns of beta diversity is central to ecology and biogeography. It is suggested that beta diversity...
Invasive plant richness and abundance synergistically amplify co-invasion success: Experimental evidence for invasional meltdown
Available online 11 March 2026
Co-invasion by multiple invasive species is becoming increasingly prevalent, yet the role of interactions among invasive species in shaping invasion success remains poorly understood. While invader...
Herbivore defense syndromes differ between native and invasive plant species
Available online 11 March 2026
In their non-native ranges, invasive plant species may escape specialist herbivores and thus experience exclusive pressure from generalists. This is predicted to shape the defense strategies of successful...
Class I TCP transcription factor OsTCP4 suppresses plant height via negatively regulating the green revolution gene SD1 (OsGA20ox2) in rice (Oryza sativa)
Available online 9 March 2026
Plant height is critical for crops in agricultural research and practice. Optimizing plant height helps to increase yield and lodging resistance. The green revolution gene semi-dwarf 1 (SD1) encoding...
Chromosome-level genome and population resequencing reveal genetic diversity, demographic history, and climate risk in the East Asian relict tree Perkinsiodendron macgregorii
Available online 9 March 2026
Relict trees are key to understanding macroevolution, biogeography, and extinction risk under environmental change, yet genome-wide data on diversity and demography remain scarce. Perkinsiodendron macgregorii,...