Genomic convergence underlying high-altitude adaptation in alpine plants

作     者：Xu Zhang Tianhui Kuang Wenlin Dong Zhihao Qian Huajie Zhang Jacob BLandis Tao Feng Lijuan Li Yanxia Sun Jinling Huang Tao Deng Hengchang Wang Hang Sun Xu Zhang;Tianhui Kuang;Wenlin Dong;Zhihao Qian;Huajie Zhang;Jacob B.Landis;Tao Feng;Lijuan Li;Yanxia Sun;Jinling Huang;Tao Deng;Hengchang Wang;Hang Sun

作者机构：CAS Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty AgricultureThe Chinese Academy of SciencesWuhan Botanical GardenWuhan 430074China Center of Conservation BiologyCore Botanical GardensThe Chinese Academy of SciencesWuhan 430074China Yunnan International Joint Laboratory for Biodiversity of Central AsiaKey Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East AsiaKunming Institute of BotanyThe Chinese Academy of SciencesKunming 650201China University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing 100049China School of Integrative Plant ScienceSection of Plant Biology and the L.H.Bailey HortoriumCornell UniversityIthacaNew York 14850USA BTI Computational Biology CenterBoyce Thompson InstituteIthacaNew York 14853USA State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and ImprovementSchool of Life SciencesHenan UniversityKaifeng 475004China Department of BiologyEast Carolina UniversityGreenvilleNorth Carolina 27858USA 

出 版 物：《Journal of Integrative Plant Biology》 (植物学报（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2023年第65卷第7期

页      面：1620-1635页

核心收录：

学科分类：0710[理学-生物学] 07[理学] 071007[理学-遗传学] 

基　　金：supported by the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research program (2019QZKK0502) the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA20050203) the Key Projects of the Joint Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U1802232) the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences (2019382) the Yunnan Young & Elite Talents Project (YNWR-QNBJ-2019-033) the Ten Thousand Talents Program of Yunnan Province (202005AB160005)。 

主　　题：adaptation alpine plants evolutionary rates genomic convergence “greenhouse”morphology high altitude 

摘      要：Evolutionary convergence is one of the most striking examples of adaptation driven by natural selection.However, genomic evidence for convergent adaptation to extreme environments remains scarce.Here, we assembled reference genomes of two alpine plants, Saussurea obvallata(Asteraceae)and Rheum alexandrae(Polygonaceae), with 37,938 and 61,463 annotated protein-coding genes. By integrating an additional five alpine genomes,we elucidated genomic convergence underlying high-altitude adaptation in alpine plants. Our results detected convergent contractions of diseaseresistance genes in alpine genomes, which might be an energy-saving strategy for surviving in hostile environments with only a few pathogens present.We identified signatures of positive selection on a set of genes involved in reproduction and respiration(e.g., MMD1, NBS1, and HPR), and revealed signatures of molecular convergence on genes involved in self-incompatibility, cell wall modification,DNA repair and stress resistance, which may underlie adaptation to extreme cold, high ultraviolet radiation and hypoxia environments. Incorporating transcriptomic data, we further demonstrated that genes associated with cuticular wax and flavonoid biosynthetic pathways exhibit higher expression levels in leafy bracts, shedding light on the genetic mechanisms of the adaptive “greenhouse morphology. Our integrative data provide novel insights into convergent evolution at a high-taxonomic level,aiding in a deep understanding of genetic adaptation to complex environments.