Angiosperm Diversification and Phylogenetic Relationships

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Ecology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 100

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Integrative Biology, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
2. Yazhouwan National Laboratory, Sanya 572025, China
Interests: plant genomics; ornamental flower genomics; bioinformatics; molecular evolution; phylogeny; gene family evolution; water lilies; angiosperms; floral fragrance and floral color

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Guest Editor
Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Interests: plant biology; plant phylogeny; genome doubling; floral evolution; angiosperm diversification; phylogeography

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Angiosperms, the most diverse group among land plants, have been instrumental in shaping terrestrial ecosystems. Their diversification, which has given rise to over 300,000 extant species, represents a captivating field of research. Gene families within angiosperm genomes are pivotal in understanding this diversification process. Through gene duplications and subsequent functional divergence, novel traits have emerged, driving the rapid radiation of angiosperms.

Recent genomic investigations have revealed a complex history of whole-genome duplications in angiosperms. These events furnished abundant genetic material for evolution to act on. For example, in certain lineages, gene families associated with flower development experienced expansion, thereby influencing the diversity of floral forms. Nevertheless, resolving the phylogenomic relationships among angiosperms remains a formidable challenge, mainly due to ancient hybridization events and rapid evolutionary radiations.

This Special Issue endeavors to explore angiosperm evolution, diversification, and genome evolution in greater depth, aiming to elucidate how genomes, genes, and gene families have evolved and how these evolutionary changes have contributed to angiosperm diversification. By integrating data from multiple genomes, we aspire to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the phylogenetic relationships and the driving forces behind angiosperm evolution.

Prof. Dr. Liangsheng Zhang
Prof. Dr. Douglas E. Soltis
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • angiosperms
  • gene families
  • genomes
  • diversification
  • phylogenomics

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 3137 KB  
Article
Characterization and Phylogenetic Analysis of MADS-Box Gene Family in Magnoliids: Insights into the Evolution of Floral Morphogenesis in Angiosperms
by Haowei Chen, Haoyue Qu, Junmei Zhou, Junjie Pan, Zhoutao Wang, Liangsheng Zhang, Xiuxiu Li and Kejun Cheng
Plants 2025, 14(19), 2991; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14192991 (registering DOI) - 27 Sep 2025
Abstract
Magnoliids represent one of the most basal lineages within angiosperms, and their ancestral floral morphology provides crucial insights into the evolution of flowers in angiosperms. MCM1-AGAMOUS-DEFICIENS-SRF (MADS)-box transcription factors play crucial roles in specifying floral organs. To understand their evolutionary history and functional [...] Read more.
Magnoliids represent one of the most basal lineages within angiosperms, and their ancestral floral morphology provides crucial insights into the evolution of flowers in angiosperms. MCM1-AGAMOUS-DEFICIENS-SRF (MADS)-box transcription factors play crucial roles in specifying floral organs. To understand their evolutionary history and functional divergence in magnoliids, we identified MADS-box genes, and conducted phylogenetic and expression analysis in 33 magnoliids and 8 other angiosperm plants. A total of 1310 MADS-box genes were identified and classified into Type I and Type II. The expansion of MADS-box genes in magnoliids mainly arose from whole-genome duplication events. In Liriodendron chinensis and Chimonanthus praecox, we identified floral homeotic MADS-box genes that are orthologous to the ABCDE model genes of floral organ identity determination. The broad expression pattern of A and B genes in floral organs and overlapping activity of ABCDE-model genes are consistent with the “shifting−fading borders” scheme proposed in basally diverging angiosperm lineages. Our results not only elucidate the driving forces underlying the diversification of MADS-box genes in magnoliids, but also shed light on the evolutionary models of floral development in angiosperms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Angiosperm Diversification and Phylogenetic Relationships)
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