Processes and Patterns of Genetic and Genomic Differentiation in Trees

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 549

Special Issue Editors

Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
Interests: plant evolution; population genetics; molecular ecology; phylogeny

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Guest Editor
College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
Interests: phylogeny, biogeography, adaptive evolution, conservation genetics

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Guest Editor
College of Life Science, Shanxi Normal University, Taiyuan 030006, China
Interests: plant diversity; phylogeography; population genomics; plant speciation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Tree species have played important roles in the maintenance and turnover of global forest ecosystems, and the utility of trees covers environmental conservation and restoration, genetics and breeding, horticultural application, food and industrial production as well as social science. Numerous tree species are now threatened by habitat loss and suffering significant population decline and local extinction. However, the molecular mechanisms in explanation of tolerance and adaptive evolution in trees are still unclear due to limited biological and ecological investigations, while this scenario can be relevant to the specific characteristics of tree species, such as long-term lifespan, potentially low evolutionary rate and massive population size.

Currently, the rapid accumulation of genetic resources in tree species and related organisms, especially the omics data from next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have provided opportunities for understanding the survival, development and adaptation of trees in the face of climate change, species competition and anthropogenic influence. In view of this, we launch this Special Issue entitled “Processes and Patterns of Genetic and Genomic Differentiation in Trees” to collect about 6-10 original research articles as well as related reviews focused on the adaptive aspects of tree species, aiming to promote the knowledge of molecular adaptation and evolution of trees, and to provide valuable insights into the management and conservation of forest ecosystems based on genetic/genomic explanation. The topics of this Special Issue include, but not limited to: diversification patterns of trees, phylogeography and population genetics, genomic background of important tree species, adaptive effects on morphology, physiology and molecule, biotic and abiotic interactions on adaptive evolution, novel methods and/or techniques for detection of genetic signals in adaptive evolution, ecological prediction and implication on forest conservation, etc.

Dr. Jia Yang
Prof. Dr. Guifang Zhao
Dr. Xiaodan Chen
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • adaptive evolution
  • genomic variation
  • lineage diversification
  • ecological tolerance
  • tree

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 2857 KiB  
Article
Identification of the MADS-Box Gene Family and Development of Simple Sequence Repeat Markers in Chimonanthus praecox
by Huafeng Wu, Bin Liu, Yinzhu Cao, Guanpeng Ma, Xiaowen Zheng, Ximeng Yang, Qianli Dai, Hengxing Zhu, Haoxiang Zhu, Xingrong Song and Shunzhao Sui
Plants 2025, 14(15), 2450; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14152450 - 7 Aug 2025
Viewed by 249
Abstract
Chimonanthus praecox, a traditional ornamental plant in China, is admired for its ability to bloom during the cold winter season and is recognized as an outstanding woody cut flower. MADS-box genes encode transcription factors essential for plant growth and development, with key [...] Read more.
Chimonanthus praecox, a traditional ornamental plant in China, is admired for its ability to bloom during the cold winter season and is recognized as an outstanding woody cut flower. MADS-box genes encode transcription factors essential for plant growth and development, with key functions in regulating flowering time and the formation of floral organs. In this study, 74 MADS-box genes (CpMADS1–CpMADS74) were identified and mapped across 11 chromosomes, with chromosome 1 harboring the highest number (13 genes) and chromosome 3 the fewest (3 genes). Physicochemical property analysis revealed that all CpMADS proteins are hydrophilic and predominantly nuclear-localized. Phylogenetic analysis classified these genes into Type I and Type II subfamilies, highlighting a clear divergence in domain structure. Eighty simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci were detected, with dinucleotide repeats being the most abundant, and the majority located in Type II MADS genes. From 23 C. praecox samples, 10 polymorphic SSR markers were successfully developed and PCR-validated, enabling a cluster analysis that grouped these cultivars into three distinct clusters. This study offers significant insights into the regulation of flowering, floral organ development, genetic linkage map construction, and the application of marker-assisted selection in C. praecox. Full article
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