Tag: phylogenetics
-
How Earth’s Alpine Plant Diversity Took Shape: New Deep-Time Insights
New Insights into Alpine Plant Diversity A recent study published in Science Advances sheds light on the deep-time forces that have sculpted the extraordinary diversity of alpine flora across the world’s mountain regions. While scientists have long documented the richness of plants that thrive in high elevations, the new research digs into the historical processes…
-
How Earth’s Alpine Plant Diversity Origins Unfolded: A Deep-Time Perspective
Unveiling a Deep-Time Tale of Alpine Flora Mountains are not just dramatic silhouettes against the sky; they are dynamic theaters where plants have evolved under unique pressures. A new study published in Science Advances sheds light on the deep-time processes that have crafted the exceptional plant diversity found in the world’s alpine regions. By integrating…
-
Comparative Chloroplast Genomics of Erigeron (Asteroideae, Asteraceae): Insights from a Broad Phylogenomic Survey
Overview: Why Compare Erigeron Chloroplast Genomes? Erigeron, commonly known as fleabanes, includes hundreds of species spread across temperate and mountainous regions worldwide. Unraveling their evolutionary relationships is challenging due to polyphyly, hybridization, and taxonomic ambiguity, especially among Old World taxa. A comprehensive comparative study of chloroplast (cp) genomes provides a stable, maternally inherited genetic framework…
-
Mitochondrial Genome of Plasmodium pitheci in Bornean Orang-utans Reveals Close Relations Within Orang-utan Malaria Lineages
Background: Orang-utan malaria and the Plasmodium pitheci discovery Malaria in non-human primates (NHP) spans a diverse genus, with Plasmodium species infecting a broad host range. Among Asian NHPs, orang-utans (Pongo spp.) harbor Plasmodium pitheci and Plasmodium sylvaticum, parasites historically identified by morphology but lacking validated molecular characterization until now. The present work focuses on the…
-
Pitheci Mitochondrial Genome Illuminates Orangutan Malaria Lineage
New mitochondrial genome sequence of Plasmodium pitheci from Bornean orangutans The mitochondrial (mt) genome of Plasmodium pitheci, the malaria parasite morphologically identified in Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus), has now been sequenced and analyzed, providing a crucial genetic reference for this Asian NHP malaria lineage. This study fills a long-standing gap in molecular characterization, moving beyond…