Historical biogeography of the gingers and its implications for shifts in tropical rain forest habitats

Abstract

Aim The relationships between biome shifts and global environmental changes in temperate zone habitats have been extensively explored; yet, the historical dynamics of taxa found in the tropical rain forest (TRF) remain poorly known. This study aims to reconstruct the relationships between tropical rain forest shifts and global environmental changes through the patterns of historical biogeography of a pantropical family of monocots, the Zingiberaceae. Location Global. Taxon Zingiberaceae. Methods We sampled DNA sequences (nrITS, trnK, trnL‐trnF and psbA‐trnH) from GenBank for 77% of the genera, including 30% of species, in the Zingiberaceae. Global fossil records of the Zingiberaceae were collected from literatures. Rates of speciation, extinction and diversification were estimated based on phylogenetic data and fossil records through methods implemented in BAMM. Ancestral ranges were estimated using single‐tree BioGeoBEARS and multiple‐trees BioGeoBEARS in RASP. Dispersal rate through time and dispersal rate among regions were calculated in R based on the result of ancestral estimation. Results The common ancestor of the Zingiberaceae likely originated in northern Africa during the mid‐Cretaceous, with later dispersal to the Asian tropics. Indo‐Burma, rather than Malesia, was likely a provenance of the common ancestor of Alpinioideae–Zingiberoideae. Several abrupt shifts of evolutionary rates from the Palaeocene were synchronized with sudden global environmental changes. Main conclusions Integrating phylogenetic patterns with fossil records suggests that the Zingiberaceae dispersed to Asia through drift of the Indian Plate from Africa in the late Palaeocene. Formation of island chains, land corridors and warming temperatures facilitated the emigration of the Zingiberaceae to a broad distribution across the tropics. Moreover, dramatic fluctuations of the speciation rate of Zingiberoideae appear to have been synchronized with global climate fluctuations. In general, the evolutionary history of the Zingiberaceae broadens our understanding of the association between TRF shifts in distribution and past global environmental changes, especially the origin of TRF in Southeast Asia.

Molecular phylogenetic relationships based on chloroplast genomes of Zingiberaceae crops: Insights into evolution and adaptation to extreme environments

“…This study provided an excellent phylogenetic framework for the study of the evolutionary and geographic history of the Zingiberaceae species. We combined fossil evidence to reconstruct the divergence times and distributional localities of Zingiberaceae species, and the results supported a possible African origin for Zingiberaceae species, which consistent with previous ndings [52]. Due to Africa and tropical America being identi ed as the ancestral distribution of the common ancestor of the Zingiberaceae and Costaceae, and supported evidence indicating their origin in Gondwana during the mid-Cretaceous era, and then diverged into separate lineages prior to the nal separation of northern Western Gondwana (South America and Africa) [53].…”

Biogeographic history of the pantropical family Gesneriaceae with a focus on the Indian plate and diversification through the Old World

“…However time-calibrated phylogenies, especially when supported by near-complete taxon sampling, can address this question by determining the time and direction of movement between landmasses (e.g., Renner 2004a,b, Givnish et al 2004, Sytsma et al 2004, Buerki et al 2011, Olmstead 2013, Baker and Couvreur 2013a,b, Perret et al 2013, Armstrong et al 2014, Dupin et al 2016, Luebert et al 2017, Wu et al 2018, Schneider et al 2022. For pantropical plant groups, LDD is considered important but the role of island chains as potential stepping stones, and the precise routes employed, are still debated (e.g., Schneider et al 2022, Zhao et al 2022.…”

“…The Indian plate, the land portion of which comprises the Indian subcontinent, was part of the Gondwanan supercontinent 150 million years ago (Ma) (Jokat et al 2003), before separating from Africa 130-110 Ma (Morley 2003, Lomolino et al 2017, then Madagascar and the Seychelles 99-66 Ma (Ashton and Gunatilleke 1987, Plummer et al 1998, Lomolino et al 2017, and then drifting northwards and colliding with Eurasia 55-42 Ma (Ashton andGunatilleke 1987, Briggs 2003). Dramatic climatic shifts during its northward journey resulted in the loss of many endemic plant lineages (Morley 1998(Morley , 2000(Morley , 2003, but the region might have played a key role in the diversification of species-rich plant families in Asia, such as Dipterocarpaceae and Zingiberaceae (e.g., Karanth 2006, Ashokan et al, 2022 as the recipient of long-distance dispersals (e.g., Zhao et al 2022); the site of rapid in situ radiations (e.g., Surveswaran et al 2021) and as 'a biogeographical raft' (Zhao et al 2022). Certainly, biotic exchanges following collision with Eurasia would have had profound effects on the composition of the flora of that region (e.g., Mani 1974, Conti et al 2002, Karanth 2006, Sen et al 2019, but most biogeographic studies involving the Indian plate have focused on animals, with plants examined only rarely (e.g., Sen et al 2019, Zhao et al 2022.…”

“…Dramatic climatic shifts during its northward journey resulted in the loss of many endemic plant lineages (Morley 1998(Morley , 2000(Morley , 2003, but the region might have played a key role in the diversification of species-rich plant families in Asia, such as Dipterocarpaceae and Zingiberaceae (e.g., Karanth 2006, Ashokan et al, 2022 as the recipient of long-distance dispersals (e.g., Zhao et al 2022); the site of rapid in situ radiations (e.g., Surveswaran et al 2021) and as 'a biogeographical raft' (Zhao et al 2022). Certainly, biotic exchanges following collision with Eurasia would have had profound effects on the composition of the flora of that region (e.g., Mani 1974, Conti et al 2002, Karanth 2006, Sen et al 2019, but most biogeographic studies involving the Indian plate have focused on animals, with plants examined only rarely (e.g., Sen et al 2019, Zhao et al 2022.…”

Codon usage bias in chloroplast genes implicate adaptive evolution of four ginger species

“…Zingiberaceae plants exhibit rich species diversity and habitat variability from the equator to the mountains ( Zhao et al., 2022 ). Certain species tolerate strong light, whereas others thrive in the shade, for instance, sister genera with distinct habitat preferences, such as Roscoea versus Cautleya and Pommereschea versus Rhynchanthus .…”