AUTHOR=Nie Shuai , Tian Xue-Chan , Kong Lei , Zhao Shi-Wei , Chen Zhao-Yang , Jiao Si-Qian , El-Kassaby Yousry A. , Porth Ilga , Yang Fu-Sheng , Zhao Wei , Mao Jian-Feng TITLE=Potential allopolyploid origin of Ericales revealed with gene-tree reconciliation JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science VOLUME=13 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.1006904 DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.1006904 ISSN=1664-462X ABSTRACT=

Few incidents of ancient allopolyploidization (polyploidization by hybridization or merging diverged genomes) were previously revealed, although there is significant evidence for the accumulation of whole genome duplications (WGD) in plants. Here, we focused on Ericales, one of the largest and most diverse angiosperm orders with significant ornamental and economic value. Through integrating 24 high-quality whole genome data selected from ~ 200 Superasterids genomes/species and an algorithm of topology-based gene-tree reconciliation, we explored the evolutionary history of in Ericales with ancient complex. We unraveled the allopolyploid origin of Ericales and detected extensive lineage-specific gene loss following the polyploidization. Our study provided a new hypothesis regarding the origin of Ericales and revealed an instructive perspective of gene loss as a pervasive source of genetic variation and adaptive phenotypic diversity in Ericales.