Reticulate allopolyploidy and subsequent dysploidy drive evolution and diversification in the cotton family
Polyploidy and subsequent post-polyploid diploidization (PPD) are key drivers of plant genome evolution, yet their contributions to evolutionary success remain debated. Here, we analyze the Malvaceae family as an exemplary system for elucidating the evolutionary role of polyploidy and PPD in angiosperms, leveraging 11 high-quality chromosome-scale genomes from all nine subfamilies, including newly sequenced, near telomere-to-telomere assemblies from four of these subfamilies. Our findings reveal a complex reticulate paleoallopolyploidy history early in the diversification of the Malvadendrina clade, characterized by multiple rounds of species radiation punctuated by ancient allotetraploidization (Mal-β) and allodecaploidization (Mal-α) events around the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary. We further reconstruct the evolutionary dynamics of PPD and find a strong correlation between dysploidy rate and taxonomic richness of the paleopolyploid subfamilies (R<sup>2</sup> ≥ 0.90, P < 1e-4), supporting the "polyploidy for survival and PPD for success" hypothesis. Overall, our study provides a comprehensive reconstruction of the evolutionary history of the Malvaceae and underscores the crucial role of polyploidy-dysploidy waves in shaping plant biodiversity.
Authors
- Cheng Jin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0903-1685)
- Yongpeng Ma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7725-3677)
- Martin A. Lysák (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0318-4194)
- Xiaoxu Shen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5194-9900)
- Jonathan F. Wendel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2258-5081)
- Kai‐Hua Jia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8134-5830)
- Xiongfang Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7842-5717)
- Detuan Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2295-3799)
- Xiaoyang Ge (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3428-2942)
- Shi‐Cheng Shao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3658-5170)
- Justin L. Conover (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3558-6000)
- Dawei Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5138-4492)
- Hang Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-5693-8593)
- Yihui Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3716-125X)
- Rengang Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8028-9208)
- Minjie Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2075-9826)
- Meng‐Meng Li
- Hong‐Yun Shang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6886-7810)
Institutions
- Central European Institute of Technology (CZ)
- University of Arizona (US)
- Kunming Institute of Botany (CN)
- Iowa State University (US)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Qufu Normal University (CN)
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center (US)
- Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (CN)
- Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CN)
- Cotton Research Institute (CN)
- Wuhan Botanical Garden (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-08-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62644-7
- Citations
- 7
- Primary Topic
- Chromosomal and Genetic Variations
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 12.25
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- European Regional Development Fund
- National Key Research and Development Program of China