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Map showing the Junggar Basin and the location of the studied section in China. (a), Location of the Junggar Basin. (b), Geological map and the location of the Keziletuogayi section. (Maps was drawn by Jimin Sun using the Software of Canvas 8.0.2).
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The Eocene–Oligocene Boundary (,34 million years ago) marks one of the largest extinctions of marine invertebrates in the world oceans and of mammalian fauna in Europe and Asia in the Cenozoic era. A shift to a cooler climate across this boundary has been suggested as the cause of this extinction in the marine environment, but there is no manifold...
Citations
... However, species diversification has been promoted by notable geological and climatic change (Zachos et al., 2001;Sun et al., 2014;Deng et al., 2018;Westerhold et al., 2020) and plant diversity resulting from climate-related events has been observed in diverse plant lineages (Schmerler et al., 2012;Feng et al., 2020). For example, the East Asian flora (EAF) is incredibly rich in species diversity and includes more than 3000 genera (Chen et al., 2018). ...
Species delimitation remains a challenge worldwide, especially in highly diverse tropical and subtropical regions. Here, we use an integrative approach that combines morphology, phylogenomics, and species distribution modeling (SDM) to clarify the cryptic differentiation within the enigmatic hemiparasitic love vine Cassytha filiformis (Lauraceae) in China and adjacent regions. We generated complete plastid genomes and nuclear ribosomal sequences for diverse samples from across the species range and compared results with previously published plastid data, recovering two well‐supported monophyletic clades. Further, the analysis revealed significant differences in two morphological characters and SDM, indicating distinct environmental factors influencing their distributions. Fossil‐calibrated analyses to estimate the origins and diversification patterns for the cryptic species gave divergence age estimates corresponding to the Oligo‐Miocene; a period of new ecological opportunities associated with the prevailing East Asian monsoon. Multivariate analyses support the conclusion that southern China and adjacent regions have a different, previously unknown, cryptic lineage of C. filiformis . Our study highlights the importance of using multivariate approach to characterize plant species, as well as the significant role that past climatic changes have played in driving speciation in parasitic plants in tropical and subtropical zones.
... While our understanding of diversity transitions across west and central Asia remains poor, the drivers of lineage turnover have been studied in other plant clades, particularly at global scales. In previous studies (Sun et al., 2014;Scherson et al., 2017;Spalink et al., 2018;Cheikh Albassatneh et al., 2021;Carta et al., 2022), including one previous investigation in legumes (Ringelberg et al., 2023), temperature and precipitation contrasts between regions have been interpreted as closely associated with lineage turnover. We investigated a broad set of factors, finding that rather than overall temperature or precipitation, the primary factors associated with lineage turnover were related to diurnal variation and annual seasonality, especially temperature seasonality. ...
Astragalus (Fabaceae) is astoundingly diverse in temperate, cold arid regions of Earth, positioning this group as a model clade for investigating the distribution of plant diversity in the face of climatic challenge. Here we identify the spatial distribution of diversity and endemism in Astragalus , using species distribution models for 752 species and a phylogenetic tree comprising 847 species. We integrated these to map centers of species richness (SR) and relative phylogenetic diversity (RPD), and used grid cell randomizations to investigate centers of endemism. We also used clustering methods to identify phylogenetic regionalizations. We then assembled predictor variables of current climate conditions to test environmental factors predicting these phylogenetic diversity results, especially temperature and precipitation seasonality.
We find that SR centers are distributed globally at temperate middle latitudes in arid regions, but the Mediterranean Basin is the most important center of RPD. Endemism centers also occur globally, but Iran represents a key endemic area with a concentration of both paleo- and neoendemism. Phylogenetic regionalization recovered an east-west gradient in Eurasia and an amphitropical disjunction across North and South America; American phyloregions are overall most closely related to east and central Asia. SR, RPD, and lineage turnover are driven mostly by precipitation and seasonality, but endemism is driven primarily by diurnal temperature variation. Endemism and regionalization results point to western Asia and especially Iran as a biogeographic gateway between Europe and Asia. RPD and endemism highlight the importance of temperature and drought stress in determining plant diversity and endemism centers.
... Prunus were estimated to be much younger in this study, about 39.27 Mya than the estimate by Chin et al., but much older than the estimate by Zhang et al. [14]. It has been suggested that the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT) around 30-40 Mya marked a period of global cooling that resulted in significant flora turnovers [40][41][42]. ...
Cherries (Prunus Subgenus Cerasus) have economic value and ecological significance, yet their phylogeny, geographic origin, timing, and dispersal patterns remain challenging to understand. To fill this gap, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the complete chloroplast genomes of 54 subg. Cerasus individuals, along with 36 additional genomes from the NCBI database, resulting in a total of 90 genomes for comparative analysis. The chloroplast genomes of subg. Cerasus exhibited varying sizes and consisted of 129 genes, including protein-coding, transfer RNA, and ribosomIal RNA genes. Genomic variation was investigated through InDels and SNPs, showcasing distribution patterns and impact levels. A comparative analysis of chloroplast genome boundaries highlighted variations in inverted repeat (IR) regions among Cerasus and other Prunus species. Phylogeny based on whole-chloroplast genome sequences supported the division of Prunus into three subgenera, I subg. Padus, II subg. Prunus and III subg. Cerasus. The subg. Cerasus was subdivided into seven lineages (IIIa to IIIg), which matched roughly to taxonomic sections. The subg. Padus first diverged 51.42 Mya, followed by the separation of subg. Cerasus from subg. Prunus 39.27 Mya. The subg. Cerasus started diversification at 15.01 Mya, coinciding with geological and climatic changes, including the uplift of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau and global cooling. The Himalayans were the refuge of cherries, from which a few species reached Europe through westward migration and another species reached North America through northeastward migration. The mainstage of cherry evolution was on the Qing–Tibet Plateau and later East China and Japan as well. These findings strengthen our understanding of the evolution of cherry and provide valuable insights into the conservation and sustainable utilization of cherry’s genetic resources.
... Later, post the mid-Miocene climatic optimum, came the late Miocene aridification event, and these climatic transitions fragmented much of the forested habitats and restricted them to pockets (Molnar et al., 1993;Morley, 2007). These events also caused global turnovers in biota from wet-adapted to dry-adapted forms (Prothero, 1994;Sun et al., 2014;Zhang et al., 2012). The fact that the current distribution range for these three endemic genera is restricted to just the cool, wet zones of the Western Ghats -Sri Lanka bioregion might indicate that they have faced significant extinctions as well as range contractions in peninsular India. ...
The Western Ghats‐Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot is home to three endemic Lygosomine (Reptilia, Scincidae) skink genera— Kaestlea , Ristella and Lankascincus . Phylogenetic reconstructions in the past have suggested a sister relationship between the Western Ghats endemic Ristella and the Sri Lankan endemic Lankascincus , while the placement of Kaestlea has been uncertain. We reconstruct a global, genus‐level, multi‐locus phylogeny of the sub‐family Lygosominae to ask if these endemic genera share an immediate common ancestor, that is, did they arise from a single dispersal event? Furthermore, to understand the possible centres of origin and dispersal routes of these three genera of Indo‐Sri Lankan skinks, we construct a time‐calibrated phylogeny and perform ancestral range evolution. We find that Kaestlea does not share an immediate ancestor with Ristella + Lankascincus . Therefore, their presence in the Indian subcontinent results from two independent colonization events. Both these dispersal events likely occurred during the late Palaeocene‐early Eocene from the Asian landmass. Our molecular dating and ancestral range evolution analyses add further evidence of probable transoceanic dispersal in skinks and early land connections between the Indian subcontinent and Asia. It also reveals that these skinks were some of the earliest lizards to disperse into the Indian subcontinent.
... Based on our time-calibrated analyses using the 20 most clock-like genes, the family's origin and the onset of its diversification coincide with the cooling of the Earth during the Eocene-Oligocene transition (so-called greenhouse to icehouse transition 86,87 ). This period was characterized by a worldwide replacement of tropical forests with temperate forests, open vegetation, and deserts, which are all typical habitats of extant Brassicaceae. ...
The mustard family (Brassicaceae) is a scientifically and economically important family, containing the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and numerous crop species that feed billions worldwide. Despite its relevance, most phylogenetic trees of the family are incompletely sampled and often contain poorly supported branches. Here, we present the most complete Brassicaceae genus-level family phylogenies to date (Brassicaceae Tree of Life or BrassiToL) based on nuclear (1,081 genes, 319 of the 349 genera; 57 of the 58 tribes) and plastome (60 genes, 265 genera; all tribes) data. We found cytonuclear discordance between the two, which is likely a result of rampant hybridization among closely and more distantly related lineages. To evaluate the impact of such hybridization on the nuclear phylogeny reconstruction, we performed five different gene sampling routines, which increasingly removed putatively paralog genes. Our cleaned subset of 297 genes revealed high support for the tribes, whereas support for the main lineages (supertribes) was moderate. Calibration based on the 20 most clock-like nuclear genes suggests a late Eocene to late Oligocene origin of the family. Finally, our results strongly support a recently published new family classification, dividing the family into two subfamilies (one with five supertribes), together representing 58 tribes. This includes five recently described or re-established tribes, including Arabidopsideae, a monogeneric tribe accommodating Arabidopsis without any close relatives. With a worldwide community of thousands of researchers working on Brassicaceae and its diverse members, our new genus-level family phylogeny will be an indispensable tool for studies on biodiversity and plant biology.
... We have chronologically labeled these TP O 1 to TP O 9, where the lower index refers to the used proxy data. As shown in Fig. 1B, TP O 6 separates the climate variability in two separate macroclusters prior and after 34 Ma, the well-known Eocene-Oligocene Transition (EOT) 54 , which is a key step in the Cenozoic climate history and is associated with a major extinction event 55,56 . ...
The Earth’s climate has experienced numerous critical transitions during its history, which have often been accompanied by massive and rapid changes in the biosphere. Such transitions are evidenced in various proxy records covering different timescales. The goal is then to identify, date, characterize, and rank past critical transitions in terms of importance, thus possibly yielding a more thorough perspective on climatic history. To illustrate such an approach, which is inspired by the punctuated equilibrium perspective on the theory of evolution, we have analyzed 2 key high-resolution datasets: the CENOGRID marine compilation (past 66 Myr), and North Atlantic U1308 record (past 3.3 Myr). By combining recurrence analysis of the individual time series with a multivariate representation of the system based on the theory of the quasi-potential, we identify the key abrupt transitions associated with major regime changes that separate various clusters of climate variability. This allows interpreting the time-evolution of the system as a trajectory taking place in a dynamical landscape, whose multiscale features describe a hierarchy of metastable states and associated tipping points.
... During the Eocene,~56-33.9 million years ago (Ma), the global climate system experienced a series of major adjustments, including the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), the Early Eocene Climate Optimum (EECO), the Middle Eocene Climate Optimum (MECO), and the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT) events, which comprised the warmest intervals within the entire Cenozoic (Zachos et al., 2001;Barnet et al., 2019). Studies of the changes in terrestrial ecosystems, the global carbon cycle, and the global climate during the warming and cooling events of the Eocene have contributed to an improved understanding of the interactions among the climate system and the carbon cycle on a global scale (McInerney and Wing, 2011;Sun et al., 2014;Barnet et al., 2019). ...
... This process suggests that global temperatures decreased in the Middle and Late Eocene to Oligocene, and the Frontiers in Earth Science frontiersin.org increased seasonal drought in temperate regions led to increased fire activity (Liu et al., 2009;Abels et al., 2011;Sun et al., 2014). We suggest that this dynamic change contributed to the evolution of steppe ecosystems and eventually to the formation of the northern steppe during the Oligocene. ...
Changes in fire ecology during warm and cold periods in the geological past are important because of their effects on terrestrial ecosystems and the global carbon cycle. We examined the charcoal concentrations of the Erden Obo section in Inner Mongolia to reconstruct the evolution of wildfire and their relationship to the regional vegetation from the Late Paleocene through Early Oligocene. Our data show that fire frequency were relatively high from the end of the Paleocene to the beginning of the Eocene, in accord with other paleofire records worldwide. However, low fire frequency occurred during the Early Eocene Climate Optimum (EECO), coincident with the change in the regional vegetation from shrubland to forest due to the strengthening of the regional rainfall, and we suggest that the humid climate may have been responsible for this decrease. High frequency fire occurred after the Middle Eocene, near-synchronously with the transition of the regional vegetation from forest to steppe. The high-frequency fire was most likely triggered by regional drought during the aridification process after the Middle Eocene. We propose that these temporal changes in the fire ecology were consistent within the northern temperate zone from the Late Paleocene through Early Oligocene, and we suggest that studies of global wildfires need to be evaluated within the context of paleovegetation zones and ecosystem evolution.
... Around the same time, major faunal turnover events occurred in various continents, including the "Grande Coupure" in Europe and the "Mongolian Remodeling" in Asia, while the change in North America was less pronounced. These faunal turnovers were generally considered to be coupled with the EOT cooling event [8][9][10][11][12][13]. Previous studies have primarily focused on the overall faunal change across the EOT but paid less attention to the evolution of individual groups [11][12][13]. ...
... These faunal turnovers were generally considered to be coupled with the EOT cooling event [8][9][10][11][12][13]. Previous studies have primarily focused on the overall faunal change across the EOT but paid less attention to the evolution of individual groups [11][12][13]. ...
... The Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT) occurred in two steps, with the second step (~33.8-33.6 Ma) representing the major ice-sheet expansion known as the Oi1 glaciation [67,73,74] and caused an expansion of open habitats in Asia [13,75]. However, there appears no extinction of Karakoromys species in Ulantatal during this significant global cooling event (Figure 5f,g,n). ...
The Eocene–Oligocene Transition (EOT) was one of the most profound climate changes in the Cenozoic era, characterized by global cooling around 34 million years ago. This time period also witnessed major faunal turnovers, such as the “Mongolian Remodeling” of Asia, characterized by the dominance of rodents and lagomorphs after the EOT. Previous studies have primarily focused on overall faunal change across the EOT. Here, we examined one genus, the earliest ctenodactylid Karakoromys, based on rich fossils from continuous sections at Ulantatal, Nei Mongol, magnetostragraphically dated to latest Eocene–Early Oligocene. Based on a systematic paleontological study of these fossils, we recognized four species of Karakoromys (Karakoromys decussus, K. arcanus, K. chelkaris, and K. conjunctus sp. nov.), indicating a relatively high diversity of the most primitive ctenodactylids during the latest Eocene–Early Oligocene (~34.9–30.8 Ma). The turnover of ctenodactylids primarily occurred during a regional aridification event around 31 Ma rather than during the EOT cooling event, suggesting that regional precipitation variation in the semi-arid area may have played a more important role than global temperature change in the evolution of early ctenodactylids.
... The terrestrial sediments of the Petrockstowe and Bovey basins in Devon, UK offer an opportunity to examine the carbon cycle during the Eocene-Oligocene transition (∼33.9 million years ago), an interval, that saw a climate shift from a largely ice-free greenhouse conditions to an icehouse world (Miller et al., 2009;Coxall and Wilson, 2011;Hutchinson et al., 2021). At this time major changes in fauna and flora record a shift toward more cold-climate-adapted species (e.g., Sun et al., 2014). For this pivotal interval in Earth's climate, our understanding of the role of the carbon cycle, is much more limited (Coxall and Wilson, 2011;Armstrong McKay et al., 2016). ...
... However, during the Eocene-Oligocene transition, the global climate shifted from "greenhouse" to "icehouse" within a short geological time (Allen & Armstrong, 2008;Zachos et al., 2001), witnessing a weakened monsoon at 34 Ma (Licht et al., 2014). As a result, the floristic elements of EBLFs were largely converted to deciduous and cold-adapted taxa Su et al., 2019;Sun et al., 2014). Subsequently, the establishment of ESM resembling that of today at c. 26 Ma (Wu, Fang, et al., 2022) and the weaking of the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) led to enhanced winter precipitations during the Early Miocene (c. ...
... 33-23 Ma) (Figure 2b). Meanwhile, fossil record in Southwest China also suggested that the area was dominated by evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved forests, while with dramatic conversion to deciduous and cold-adapted taxa within a short geological period Linnemann et al., 2018;Su et al., 2019;Sun et al., 2014;Tao et al., 2000). Figure 5). ...
The evergreen versus deciduous leaf habit is an important functional trait for adaptation of forest trees and has been hypothesized to be related to the evolutionary processes of the component species under paleoclimatic change, and potentially reflected in the dynamic history of evergreen broadleaved forests (EBLFs) in East Asia. However, knowledge about the shift of evergreen versus deciduous leaf with the impact of paleoclimatic change using genomic data remains rare. Here, we focus on the Litsea complex (Lauraceae), a key lineage with dominant species of EBLFs to gain insights into how evergreen versus deciduous trait shifted, providing insights into the origin and historical dynamics of EBLFs in East Asia under Cenozoic climate change. We reconstructed a robust phylogeny of the Litsea complex using genome-wide single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) with eight clades resolved. Fossil-calibrated analyses, diversification rate shifts, ancestral habit, ecological niche modeling and climate niche reconstruction were employed to estimate its origin and diversification pattern. Taking into accounts of studies on other plant lineages dominating EBLFs of East Asia, it was revealed that the prototype of EBLFs in East Asia probably emerged in the Early Eocene (55-50 Ma), facilitated by the greenhouse warming. As a response to the cooling climate in the Middle to Late Eocene (48-38 Ma), deciduous habits were evolved in the dominant lineages of the EBLFs in East Asia. Up to the Early Miocene (23 Ma), the prevailing of East Asian monsoon increased the extreme seasonal precipitation and accelerated the emergence of evergreen habits of the dominant lineages, and ultimately shaped the vegetation resembling that of today.
