Twenty years of big plant genera

Moonlight, Peter W.; Baldaszti, Ludwig; Cardoso, Domingos; Elliott, Alan; Särkinen, Tiina; Knapp, Sandra

doi:10.1098/rspb.2024.0702

Cited by 5 publications

References 48 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

Towards zero extinction—A case study focusing on the plant genus Begonia in Thailand

Radbouchoom,

delos Angeles,

Phutthai

et al. 2024

Integrative Conservation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Plant species with small habitat ranges and specific edaphic requirements are highly vulnerable to extinction and thus require enhanced attention in biodiversity conservation. This study was designed to explore the challenges of protecting such plant species by evaluating the in situ and ex situ conservation capacities available for Thailand's species of the mega‐diverse plant genus Begonia L. A comprehensive assessment of occurrence records across the country was conducted to evaluate the spatial distribution of Begonia diversity in Thailand, identify biodiversity hotspots, assess the extinction threats faced by the 60 Begonia species known in the country, and identify existing conservation capacities and potential gaps. The results show that 78% of Begonia species in Thailand are vulnerable to extinction, with the Northern floristic region identified as both a Begonia species hotspot and a region with major conservation gaps. While in situ conservation efforts have been successful in covering over 88% of the species, they have failed to provide the protection required to achieve zero extinction. Ex situ conservation capacities are poorly developed, with only 13% of species present in botanical gardens, and no seed banking or other related activities have been initiated. This evaluation presents a sharply contrasting message: on one hand, Thailand has assembled substantial capacities to protect these plants through established national parks and other protected areas, but on the other hand, essential capacities are still lacking to render the zero extinction target achievable. We advocate for the implementation of a multi‐component conservation strategy to enable Thailand to move towards zero species extinction, even for plant species with narrow habitat ranges and high edaphic specialisation.

show abstract

Towards zero extinction—A case study focusing on the plant genus Begonia in Thailand

Radbouchoom,

delos Angeles,

Phutthai

et al. 2024

Integrative Conservation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Twenty years of big plant genera

Moonlight,

Baldaszti,

Cardoso

et al. 2024

Proc. R. Soc. B.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In 2004, David Frodin published a landmark review of the history and concepts of big plant genera. Two decades of taxonomic activity have taken place since, coinciding with a revolution in phylogenetics and taxonomic bioinformatics. Here we use data from the World Flora Online (WFO) to provide an updated list of big (more than 500 species) and megadiverse (more than 1000 species) flowering plant genera and highlight changes since 2004. The number of big genera has increased from 57 to 86; today one of every four plant species is classified as a member of a big genus, with 14% in just 28 megadiverse genera. Most (71%) of the growth in big genera since 2000 is the result of new species description, not generic re-circumscription. More than 15% of all currently accepted flowering plant species described in the last two decades are in big genera, suggesting that groups previously considered intractable are now being actively studied taxonomically. Despite this rapid growth in big genera, they remain a significant yet understudied proportion of plant diversity. They represent a significant proportion of global plant diversity and should remain a priority not only for taxonomy but for understanding global diversity patterns and plant evolution in general.

show abstract

Building a robust backbone forAstragalus(Fabaceae) using a clade-specific target enrichment bait set

Buono,

Kadereit,

Liston

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

With over 3100 species, Astragalus (Fabaceae) has long fascinated botanists as the largest genus of flowering plants. With an origin in the Middle Miocene, Astragalus has one of the highest diversification rates known in flowering plants. Comprehensive taxonomic treatments exist, and the genus is currently subdivided into 136 sections in the Old World and 93 sections in the New World based on morphological characters. Despite considerable efforts, a comprehensive and well-resolved phylogeny of the genus is still lacking. Here, we reconstruct the backbone phylogeny of Astragalus using a custom bait set capturing 819 loci specifically designed for a target enrichment approach in the Astragalean clade. We carefully selected a set of 107 taxa representing all major clades currently recognized in Astragalus. Of those, 80 newly sequenced taxa were obtained from herbarium specimens as old as 110 years. We retrieved all the targeted loci and additional off-target plastome sequences for all samples, including the 80 herbarium specimens. Our phylogenetic analysis reinforced the currently accepted backbone phylogeny of Astragalus with high support and unprecedented details, additionally providing insights into cytonuclear phylogenetic conflicts in the genus. Evidence for potential reticulate evolution was found, providing a possible explanation for the conflicts observed. Conclusions: This work represents an important milestone in obtaining a comprehensive, herbarium-based phylogeny of Astragalus, which will constitute the base to study a wealth of relevant biological questions, for example, the still unanswered question of what drove the rapid diversification of Astragalus, with important repercussions on our understanding of diversification in natural contexts.

show abstract

Twenty years of big plant genera

Cited by 5 publications

References 48 publications

Towards zero extinction—A case study focusing on the plant genus Begonia in Thailand

Towards zero extinction—A case study focusing on the plant genus Begonia in Thailand

Twenty years of big plant genera

Building a robust backbone forAstragalus(Fabaceae) using a clade-specific target enrichment bait set

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About