The Spatial Shifts and Vulnerability Assessment of Ecological Niches under Climate Change Scenarios for Betula luminifera, a Fast-Growing Precious Tree in China.

The spatial shifts and vulnerability assessments of ecological niches for trees will offer fresh perspectives for sustainable development and preservation of forests, particularly within the framework of rapid climate change. Betula luminifera is a fast-growing native timber plantation species in China, but the natural resources have been severely damaged. Here, a comprehensive habitat suitability model (including ten niche-based GIS modeling algorithms) was developed that integrates three types of environmental factors, namely, climatic, soil, and ultraviolet variables, to assess the species contemporary and future distribution of suitable habitats across China. Our results suggest that the habitats of B. luminifera generally occur in subtropical areas (about 1.52 × 106 km2). However, the growth of B. luminifera is profoundly shaped by the nuances of its local environment, the most reasonable niche spaces are only 1.15 × 106 km2 when limiting ecological factors (soil and ultraviolet) are considered, generally considered as the core production region. Furthermore, it is anticipated that species-suitable habitats will decrease by 10 and 8% with climate change in the 2050s and 2070s, respectively. Our study provided a clear understanding of species-suitable habitat distribution and identified the reasons why other niche spaces are unsuitable in the future, which can warn against artificial cultivation and conservation planning.

Identification and characterization of the WOX Gene Family revealed two WUS Clade Members associated with embryo development in Cunninghamia lanceolata.

The WUSCHEL-related homeobox (WOX) gene family is vital for plant development and stress response. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of WOX genes in Cunninghamia lanceolata (C. lanceolata) and subsequently explored the potential roles of two ClWOX genes within the WUS clade. In total, six ClWOX genes were identified through a full-length transcriptome analysis. These genes, exhibiting conserved structural and functional motifs, were assigned to the ancient clade and Modern/WUS clade, respectively, through a phylogenetic analysis. Our expression analysis indicated that these ClWOX genes were highly expressed in the middle and late developmental stages of zygotic embryos in C. lanceolata. Moreover, only ClWOX5 and ClWOX6 within the Modern/WUS clade exhibited transcriptional activity, and their expressions were also induced in response to auxin and wounding. Overexpression of ClWOX5 and ClWOX6 in Arabidopsis caused a partially sterile phenotype, resulting in a very low seed setting rate. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that expressions of many embryo-defective (EMB) genes, phytohormone-related genes, and transcription factors (TFs) were dramatically altered in ClWOX5 and ClWOX6 transgenic plants, which suggested that ClWOX5 and ClWOX6 may play specific important roles in embryo development via complex gene networks. In addition, overexpression of ClWOX5 and ClWOX6 in leaf segments promoted shoot regeneration in tobacco, indicating that ClWOX5 and ClWOX6 can promote plant regeneration and could be used to improve genetic transformation. In conclusion, these results help to elucidate the function of the WOX gene and provide a valuable basis for future studies of the developmental regulation and applications of WOX genes in C. lanceolata.

Comparative physiological analyses and the genetic basis reveal heat stress responses mechanism among different Betula luminifera populations.

Betula luminifera is a subtropical fast-growing timber species with high economic value. However, along with global warming, heat stress become one of the main environmental variables that limit the productivity of B. luminifera, and the response of diverse geographic populations to high temperatures is still unclear. In order to offer a comprehensive understanding of the behavior of B. luminifera under heat stress, the physiological responses of six B. luminifera populations (across the core distribution area) were described in this work in an integrated viewpoint. The results showed that a multi-level physiological regulatory network may exist in B. luminifera, the first response was the activity of resistant enzymes [e.g., peroxidase (POD)] at a preliminary stage of 2 h heat stress, and then the proline (osmoregulation substance) content began to increase after 24 h of continuous high-temperature treatment. In addition, photosynthesis was stronlgly affected by heat stress, and the net photosynthetic rate (Pn ) showed a downward trend under heat treatment in all six B. luminifera populations. Interestingly, although the physiological change patterns of the six B. luminifera populations were relatively consistent for the same parameter, there were obvious differences among different populations. Comprehensive analysis revealed that the physiological response of Rongshui (RS) was the most stable, and this was the representative B. luminifera population. Illumina RNA-seq analysis was applied to reveal the specific biological process of B. luminifera under heat stress using the RS population, and a total of 116,484 unigenes were obtained. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between different time periods under heat stress were enriched in 34 KEGG pathways, and the limonene and pinene degradation pathway was commonly enriched in all pairwise comparisons. Moreover, transcription factors including bHLH (basic helix-loop-helix), MYB, WRKY, and NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, and CUC2) were identified. In this study, the physiological response and tolerance mechanisms of B. luminifera under high temperature stress were revealed, which can conducive to the basis of B. luminifera selection and resistance assessment for cultivation and breeding.

Genome-wide identification and characterization of OVATE family proteins in Betula luminifera reveals involvement of BlOFP3 and BlOFP5 genes in leaf development.

Ovate family proteins (OFP) are plant-specific transcription factors involved in regulating morphologies of the lateral organs, plant growth and development. However, the functional roles of OFP genes in Betula luminifera, an important timber tree species, are not well studied. In this study, we identified 20 BlOFP genes and analyzed their phylogenetic relationship, gene structure, conserved motifs, and cis-elements. Further, expression analysis indicates that BlOFP genes were up-regulated in leaves on the one-year-old branch compared to leaves on the current-year branch and bract, except BlOFP7, BlOFP11, BlOFP14 and BlOFP12. The overexpression of BlOFP3 and BlOFP5 in Arabidopsis thaliana not only resulted in a slower growth rate but also produced sawtooth shape, flatter and darker green rosette leaves. Further investigation showed that the leaf thickness of the transgenic plants was more than double that of the wild type, which was caused by the increasement in the number and size of palisade tissue cells. Furthermore, the expression analysis also indicated that the expressions of several genes related to leaf development were significantly changed in the transgene plants. These results suggested the significant roles of BlOFP3 and BlOFP5 in leaf development. Moreover, protein-protein interaction studies showed that BlOFP3 interacts with BlKNAT5, and BlOFP5 interacts with BlKNAT5, BlBLH6 and BlBLH7. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that BlOFP3 and BlOFP5 were involved in leaf shape and thickness regulation by forming a complex with BlKNAT5, BlBLH6 and BlBLH7. In addition, our study serves as a guide for future functional genomic studies of OFP genes of the B. luminifera.

Assessing the current genetic structure of 21 remnant populations and predicting the impacts of climate change on the geographic distribution of Phoebe sheareri in southern China.

Phoebe sheareri is a valuable tree species known as "Golden Nanmu" and is one of the most important protected tree species in China. However, natural populations are decreasing because of climate change and anthropogenic factors. To evaluate the genetic diversity and structure of remnant populations and the impacts of climate change on the distribution of potential suitable habitats, we conducted a field investigation and sampled 21 P. sheareri natural populations to evaluate their genetic diversity and structure using simple sequence repeat (SSR) molecular markers. Then, we predicted the distribution of suitable P. sheareri habitats across China under future scenarios (RCP 2.6 and RCP 8.5) and periods (2050 and 2070) using multivariate modeling methods-the MaxEnt model. The results showed a medium level of genetic diversity and low inbreeding in the 21 P. sheareri natural populations, and genetic differentiation among populations was significant, with 21.2 % genetic variation among populations. The remnant populations of P. sheareri were grouped into four genetic clusters based on genetic structure; five environmental variables involving four temperature variables and precipitation seasonality (Bio12) might determine the distribution of P. sheareri populations. In the future, the suitable habitats of P. sheareri are manifested as northward migration, and the highly suitable habitats are expected to increase. Our results highlight the importance of conservation units in situ, giving priority to populations with higher genetic diversity (e.g., TMS, FJS, and THY populations); sampling strategies for ex situ conservation, breeding and reforestation should consider climate change, especially Bio1 (annual mean temperature) and Bio12 (annual precipitation). Overall, this study may provide useful genetic information for strategies for the protection, management, and utilization of P. sheareri.

Full-Length Transcriptome Sequencing and Comparative Transcriptomic Analyses Provide Comprehensive Insight Into Molecular Mechanisms of Cellulose and Lignin Biosynthesis in Cunninghamia lanceolata.

Cunninghamia lanceolata is an essential timber species that provide 20%-30% raw materials for China's timber industry. Although a few transcriptomes have been published in C. lanceolata, full-length mRNA transcripts and regulatory mechanisms behind the cellulose and lignin biosynthesis have not been thoroughly investigated. Here, PacBio Iso-seq and RNA-seq analyses were adapted to identify the full-length and differentially expressed transcripts along a developmental gradient from apex to base of C. lanceolata shoots. A total of 48,846 high-quality full-length transcripts were obtained, of which 88.0% are completed transcriptome based on benchmarking universal single-copy orthologs (BUSCO) assessment. Along stem developmental gradient, 18,714 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected. Further, 28 and 125 DEGs were identified as enzyme-coding genes of cellulose and lignin biosynthesis, respectively. Moreover, 57 transcription factors (TFs), including MYB and NAC, were identified to be involved in the regulatory network of cellulose and lignin biosynthesis through weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). These TFs are composed of a comparable regulatory network of secondary cell wall formation in angiosperms, revealing a similar mechanism may exist in gymnosperms. Further, through qRT-PCR, we also investigated eight specific TFs involved in compression wood formation. Our findings provide a comprehensive and valuable source for molecular genetics breeding of C. lanceolata and will be beneficial for molecular-assisted selection.

Landscape genomics predicts climate change-related genetic offset for the widespread Platycladus orientalis (Cupressaceae).

Understanding and quantifying populations' adaptive genetic variation and their response to climate change are critical to reforestation's seed source selection, forest management decisions, and gene conservation. Landscape genomics combined with geographic and environmental information provide an opportunity to interrogate forest populations' genome-wide variation for understanding the extent to which evolutionary forces shape past and contemporary populations' genetic structure, and identify those populations that may be most at risk under future climate change. Here, we used genotyping by sequencing to generate over 11,000 high-quality variants from Platycladus orientalis range-wide collection to evaluate its diversity and to predict genetic offset under future climate scenarios. Platycladus orientalis is a widespread conifer in China with significant ecological, timber, and medicinal values. We found population structure and evidences of isolation by environment, indicative of adaptation to local conditions. Gradient forest modeling identified temperature-related variables as the most important environmental factors influencing genetic variation and predicted areas with higher risk under future climate change. This study provides an important reference for forest resource management and conservation for P. orientalis.

Transcriptome-wide identification and profiling of miRNAs in a stress-tolerant conifer Sabina chinensis.

miRNAs are important regulatory components involving in many biological processes, including plant development, vegetative and reproductive growth, and stress response. However, identification and characterization of miRNAs still remain limited for conifer species. In this study, with deep sequencing, we obtained 1,314,450 unique reads with 18-30 nt length from a stress-tolerant conifer, Sabina chinensis. We identified 37 conserved and 103 novel miRNAs, their unique characteristics were further analyzed, and 10 randomly selected were validated by qRT-PCR. Through miRNA target predictions and annotations, we found miRNA may have several targets as well a target could be regulated by several miRNAs, and a total of 2,397 mRNAs were predicted to be targets of the 140 miRNAs. These targets included not only important transcription factors such as auxin response factors, but also indispensable non-transcriptional factor proteins. Pathway-based analysis showed that S. chinensis miRNAs are involved in 172 metabolic pathways, of which 3 were discovered in adaptation-related pathways, indicating their possible relevance to the species' stress-tolerance characteristics. This study is expected to lay the foundation for exploring the regulative roles of miRNAs in development, growth, and response to environmental stresses of S. chinensis.

Late Pleistocene speciation of three closely related tree peonies endemic to the Qinling-Daba Mountains, a major glacial refugium in Central China.

Determining the factors promoting speciation is a major task in ecological and evolutionary research and can be aided by phylogeographic analysis. The Qinling-Daba Mountains (QDM) located in central China form an important geographic barrier between southern subtropical and northern temperate regions, and exhibit complex topography, climatic, and ecological diversity. Surprisingly, few phylogeographic analyses and studies of plant speciation in this region have been conducted. To address this issue, we investigated the genetic divergence and evolutionary histories of three closely related tree peony species (Paeonia qiui, P. jishanensis, and P. rockii) endemic to the QDM. Forty populations of the three tree peony species were genotyped using 22 nuclear simple sequence repeat markers (nSSRs) and three chloroplast DNA sequences to assess genetic structure and phylogenetic relationships, supplemented by morphological characterization and ecological niche modeling (ENM). Morphological and molecular genetic analyses showed the three species to be clearly differentiated from each other. In addition, coalescent analyses using DIYABC conducted on nSSR variation indicated that the species diverged from each other in the late Pleistocene, while ecological niche modeling (ENM) suggested they occupied a larger area during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) than at present. The combined genetic evidence from nuclear and chloroplast DNA and the results of ENM indicate that each species persisted through the late Pleistocene in multiple refugia in the Qinling, Daba, and Taihang Mountains with divergence favored by restricted gene flow caused by geographic isolation, ecological divergence, and limited pollen and seed dispersal. Our study contributes to a growing understanding of the origin and population structure of tree peonies and provides insights into the high level of plant endemism present in the Qinling-Daba Mountains of Central China.

In-depth transcriptome characterization uncovers distinct gene family expansions for Cupressus gigantea important to this long-lived species' adaptability to environmental cues.

BACKGROUND: Cupressus gigantea, a rare and endangered tree species with remarkable medicinal value, is endemic to the Tibetan Plateau. Yet, little is known about the underlying genetics of the unique ecological adaptability of this extremely long-lived conifer with a large genome size. Here, we present its first de novo and multi-tissue transcriptome in-depth characterization. RESULTS: We performed Illumina paired-end sequencing and RNA libraries assembly derived from terminal buds, male and female strobili, biennial leaves, and cambium tissues taken from adult C. gigantea. In total, large-scale high-quality reads were assembled into 101,092 unigenes, with an average sequence length of 1029 bp, and 6848 unigenes (6.77%) were mapped against the KEGG databases to identify 292 pathways. A core set of 41,373 genes belonging to 2412 orthologous gene families shared between C. gigantea and nine other plants was revealed. In addition, we identified 2515 small to larger-size gene families containing in total 9223 genes specific to C. gigantea, and enriched for gene ontologies relating to biotic interactions. We identified an important terpene synthases gene family expansion with its 121 putative members. CONCLUSIONS: This study presents the first comprehensive transcriptome characterization of C. gigantea. Our results will facilitate functional genomic studies to support genetic improvement and conservation programs for this endangered conifer.

Modelling environmentally suitable areas for the potential introduction and cultivation of the emerging oil crop Paeonia ostii in China.

Paeonia ostii is a traditional ornamental and medicinal species that has attracted considerable interest for its high oil value. To facilitate the effective and rational cultivation and application of P. ostii in China, it is necessary to determine its potential spatial habitat distribution and environmental requirements. Using high-resolution environmental data for current and future climate scenarios, the potential suitable area and climatic requirements of P. ostii were modelled. Among the 11 environmental variables investigated, growing degree days, precipitation of the wettest month, mean temperature of the coldest quarter, global UV-B radiation, annual precipitation, and soil pH played major roles in determining the suitability of a habitat for the cultivation of P. ostii. Under the current environmental conditions in China, a total area of 20.31 × 105 km2 is suitable for growing P. ostii, accounting for 21.16% of the country's total land area. Under the two future climate scenario/year combinations (i.e., representative concentration pathways [RCPs], RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 in 2050), this species would increase its suitable area at high latitudes while decrease at low latitudes. These results present valuable information and a theoretical reference point for identifying the suitable cultivation areas of P. ostii.

Development of high transferability cpSSR markers for individual identification and genetic investigation in Cupressaceae species.

Given the low substitution rate in plastomes, the polymorphic and codominant nature of chloroplast SSRs (cpSSRs) makes them ideal markers, complementing their nuclear counterpart. In Cupressaceae, cpSSRs are mostly paternally inherited, thus, they are useful in mating systems and pollen flow studies. Using e-PCR, 92 SSR loci were identified across six Cupressaceae plastomes, and primers were designed for 26 loci with potential interspecific transferability. The 26 developed cpSSRs were polymorphic in four genera, Platycladus, Sabina, Juniperus, and Cupressus and are suitable for Cupressaceae molecular genetic studies and utilization. We genotyped 192 Platycladus orientalis samples from a core breeding population using 10 of the developed cpSSRs and 10 nuclear SSRs, and these individuals were identified with high confidence. The developed cpSSRs can be used in (1) a marker-assisted breeding scheme, specifically when paternity identification is required, (2) population genetics investigations, and (3) biogeography of Cupressaceae and unraveling the genetic relationships between related species.

Genetic evaluation of the breeding population of a valuable reforestation conifer Platycladus orientalis (Cupressaceae).

Platycladus orientalis, a widespread conifer with long lifespan and significant adaptability. It is much used in reforestation in north China and commonly planted in central Asia. With the increasing demand for plantation forest in central to north China, breeding programs are progressively established for this species. Efficient use of breeding resources requires good understanding of the genetic value of the founder breeding materials. This study investigated the distribution of genetic variation in 192 elite trees collected for the breeding program for the central range of the species. We developed first set of 27 polymorphic EST-derived SSR loci for the species from transcriptome/genome data. After examination of amplification quality, 10 loci were used to evaluate the genetic variation in the breeding population. We found moderate genetic diversity (average He = 0.348) and low population differentiation (Fst = 0.011). Extensive admixture and no significant geographic population structure characterized this set of collections. Our analyses of the diversity and population structure are important steps toward a long-term sustainable deployment of the species and provide valuable genetic information for conservation and breeding applications.

De Novo Transcriptome Assembly and Characterization for the Widespread and Stress-Tolerant Conifer Platycladus orientalis.

Platycladus orientalis, of the family Cupressaceae, is a widespread conifer throughout China and is extensively used for ecological reforestation, horticulture, and in medicine. Transcriptome assemblies are required for this ecologically important conifer for understanding genes underpinning adaptation and complex traits for breeding programs. To enrich the species' genomic resources, a de novo transcriptome sequencing was performed using Illumina paired-end sequencing. In total, 104,073,506 high quality sequence reads (approximately 10.3 Gbp) were obtained, which were assembled into 228,948 transcripts and 148,867 unigenes that were longer than 200 nt. Quality assessment using CEGMA showed that the transcriptomes obtained were mostly complete for highly conserved core eukaryotic genes. Based on similarity searches with known proteins, 62,938 (42.28% of all unigenes), 42,158 (28.32%), and 23,179 (15.57%) had homologs in the Nr, GO, and KOG databases, 25,625 (17.21%) unigenes were mapped to 322 pathways by BLASTX comparison against the KEGG database and 1,941 unigenes involved in environmental signaling and stress response were identified. We also identified 43 putative terpene synthase (TPS) functional genes loci and compared them with TPSs from other species. Additionally, 5,296 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified in 4,715 unigenes, which were assigned to 142 motif types. This is the first report of a complete transcriptome analysis of P. orientalis. These resources provide a foundation for further studies of adaptation mechanisms and molecular-based breeding programs.

Predicting Impacts of Future Climate Change on the Distribution of the Widespread Conifer Platycladus orientalis.

Chinese thuja (Platycladus orientalis) has a wide but fragmented distribution in China. It is an important conifer tree in reforestation and plays important roles in ecological restoration in the arid mountains of northern China. Based on high-resolution environmental data for current and future scenarios, we modeled the present and future suitable habitat for P. orientalis, evaluated the importance of environmental factors in shaping the species' distribution, and identified regions of high risk under climate change scenarios. The niche models showed that P. orientalis has suitable habitat of ca. 4.2×106 km2 across most of eastern China and identified annual temperature, monthly minimum and maximum ultraviolet-B radiation and wet-day frequency as the critical factors shaping habitat availability for P. orientalis. Under the low concentration greenhouse gas emissions scenario, the range of the species may increase as global warming intensifies; however, under the higher concentrations of emissions scenario, we predicted a slight expansion followed by contraction in distribution. Overall, the range shift to higher latitudes and elevations would become gradually more significant. The information gained from this study should be an useful reference for implementing long-term conservation and management strategies for the species.