The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) and adjacent areas are centers of diversity for several alpine groups. Although the QTP acted as a source area for diversification of the alpine genus Gentiana, the evolutionary process underlying diversity in this genus, especially the formation of narrow endemics, is still poorly understood. Hybridization has been proposed as a driver of plant endemism in the QTP but few cases have been documented with genetic data. Here, we describe a new endemic species in Gentiana section Cruciata as G. hoae sp. nov., and explore its evolutionary history with complete plastid genomes and nuclear ribosomal ITS sequence data. Genetic divergence within G. hoae approximately 3 million years ago was followed by postglacial expansion on the QTP, suggesting Pleistocene glaciations as a key factor shaping the population history of G. hoae. Furthermore, a mismatch between plastid and nuclear data suggest that G. hoae participated in historical hybridization, while population sequencing show this species continues to hybridize with the co-occurring congener G. straminea in three locations. Our results indicate that hybridization may be a common process in the evolution of Gentiana and may be widespread among recently diverged taxa of the QTP.

Energy transfer plays a special role in photocatalysis by utilizing the potential energy of the excited state through indirect excitation, in which a photosensitizer determines the thermodynamic feasibility of the reaction. Bioinspired by the energy-transfer ability of natural product cercosporin, here we developed a green and highly efficient organic photosensitizer HiBRCP (hexaisobutyryl reduced cercosporin) through structural modification of cercosporin. After structural manipulation, its triplet energy was greatly improved, and then, it could markedly promote the efficient geometrical isomerization of alkenes from the E-isomer to the Z-isomer. Moreover, it was also effective for energy-transfer-mediated organometallic catalysis, which allowed realization of the cross-coupling of aryl bromides and carboxylic acids through efficient energy transfer from HiBRCP to nickel complexes. Thus, the study on the relationship between structural manipulation and their photophysical properties provided guidance for further modification of cercosporin, which could be applied to more meaningful and challenging energy-transfer reactions.

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