Macroevolutionary dynamics and predictors of tropical rain forest plant diversity

Tropical rain forest is the most diverse terrestrial biome, yet the drivers of its diversification across space and time remain poorly understood. Although heterogeneous diversification rates, including both ancient and recent radiations, have been reported, these dynamics have rarely been examined within a single lineage across deep evolutionary timescales. Here, we reconstruct a dated phylogenomic tree of the pantropical plant family Annonaceae, sampling 2045 species (∼82% of its diversity) and spanning ∼100 million years of evolutionary history. Diversification dynamics vary markedly across tropical regions, correlated with distinct environmental factors rather than uniform processes. Sea level fluctuations dominate in the Asia-Pacific, whereas paleotemperature shapes diversification in the Afrotropics and Neotropics. We also detect a Late Cretaceous increase in diversification, indicating that a substantial portion of Annonaceae diversity originated before the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. Together, these results highlight how regional environmental trajectories have shaped the assembly of a diverse tropical plant family over deep evolutionary time.

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Publication Details

Journal
Science Advances
Published
2026-09-30
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aee4197
Primary Topic
Plant Diversity and Evolution
Type
article
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article

Macroevolutionary dynamics and predictors of tropical rain forest plant diversity

Nicolás Zapata, David M. Johnson, Cédric Mariac, Roxali Bijmoer et al.
Science Advances
Plant Diversity and Evolution
article

Macroevolutionary dynamics and predictors of tropical rain forest plant diversity

Nicolás Zapata, David M. Johnson, Cédric Mariac, Roxali Bijmoer, Myriam Gaudeul, Laura Holzmeyer, Jan J. Wieringa, Pasakorn Bunchalee, Carlos Rodrigues‐Vaz, Federico Fabriani, Daniel C. Thomas, Bonaventure Sonké, Fabien L. Condamine, Renata Borosova, Léo‐Paul M. J. Dagallier, Joeri S. Strijk, Luiz Henrique M. Fonseca, Germinal Rouhan, Michael David Pirie, Thomas L. P. Couvreur, Fabián Armando Michelangeli, Paul H. Hoekstra, Nancy A. Murray, Mijoro Rakotoarinivo, Andrés Ernesto Ortiz-Rodríguez, Kate E. Armstrong, Tanawat Chaowasku, Jérôme Munzinger, Susana Arias Guerrero, Hervé Sauquet, Adriana Quintella Lobão, Roy H. J. Erkens, Lars W. Chatrou, Álvaro J. Pérez, Ming‐Fai Liu, Rommel Montúfar, Heimo Rainer, Kathryn Mercier, Francis Jason Nge, Márcio Lucas Bazante, Tariq Stévart, Anissara Damthongdee, Charan Leeratiwong, Pierre Sepulchre, Thea Lautenschläger, Delphine Tardif, Jenifer de Carvalho Lopes, David Bruy, Maria Fernanda Martínez‐Velarde, Vincent Soulé, Junhao Chen, Serafin J. R. Streiff, Archimède Towe Patipe
article en

Abstract

Tropical rain forest is the most diverse terrestrial biome, yet the drivers of its diversification across space and time remain poorly understood. Although heterogeneous diversification rates, including both ancient and recent radiations, have been reported, these dynamics have rarely been examined within a single lineage across deep evolutionary timescales. Here, we reconstruct a dated phylogenomic tree of the pantropical plant family Annonaceae, sampling 2045 species (∼82% of its diversity) and spanning ∼100 million years of evolutionary history. Diversification dynamics vary markedly across tropical regions, correlated with distinct environmental factors rather than uniform processes. Sea level fluctuations dominate in the Asia-Pacific, whereas paleotemperature shapes diversification in the Afrotropics and Neotropics. We also detect a Late Cretaceous increase in diversification, indicating that a substantial portion of Annonaceae diversity originated before the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. Together, these results highlight how regional environmental trajectories have shaped the assembly of a diverse tropical plant family over deep evolutionary time.

Science AdvancesVol. 12(40)
University of Vermont (US), Mahasarakham University (TH), City College of New York (US), Natural History Museum Vienna (AT), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Naturalis Biodiversity Center (NL), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (FR), Prince of Songkla University (TH), National Parks Board (SG), Université de Yaoundé I (CM), Harvard University (US), University of Antananarivo (MG), Universität Hamburg (DE), École Pratique des Hautes Études (FR), Universidade Federal Fluminense (BR), National University of Singapore (SG), Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México (MX), Nanyang Technological University (SG), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (FR), Université de Montpellier (FR), Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (BR), Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR), Université Paris-Saclay (FR), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (GB), New York Botanical Garden (US), Missouri Botanical Garden (US), Ghent University (BE), Maastricht University (NL), Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (EC), Sorbonne Université (FR), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (FR), Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (FR), Diversité, adaptation et développement des plantes (FR), UMR Botanique et Modélisation de l’Architecture des Plantes et des végétations (FR), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (FR), Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (FR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), University of Bergen (NO), Chiang Mai University (TH), Université des Antilles (GP), Technische Universität Dresden (DE), Ohio Wesleyan University (US), University of Amsterdam (NL), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (MX)
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