Coq1 genes encode polyprenyl diphosphate synthases, which determine the isoprenoid side chain of ubiquinone and plastoquinone in organisms. The biological roles of Coq1 genes have been widely investigated in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In our study, we analyzed the phylogenetic relationships, structural evolution, selection pressure, and functional divergence of Coq1 genes to comprehensively elucidate the evolutionary fates of these genes after duplication and to understand the evolutionary pattern of the Coq1 family. We surveyed 32 representative sequenced genomes and found 59 Coq1 genes widely distributed in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the Coq1 genes have diverged into two clades among eukaryotic lineages. Further evolutionary analysis in intron numbers, evolutionary rates, and degrees of positive selection indicated that the paired clades of Coq1 genes in each eukaryotic lineage were not synchronized, which hinted that their evolutionary processes probably have diverged. Furthermore, functional divergence analysis suggested that different types of subfunctionalization in the Coq1 gene family have occurred. In plants, the paired clades of Coq1 genes only diverged in their localization and expression, whereas the functions of these genes in animals and fungi were partially divided. Therefore, asymmetrical evolutionary processes achieved similar evolutionary fates with different types in the Coq1 gene family among eukaryotes, which might be related to the divergence and conservation of eukaryotic lineages during evolution.

Phaeostigma is a controversial taxon for its taxonomic status and phylogenetic position in the subtribe Artemisiinae, Asteraceae. To address those questions, a phylogenetic evaluation of Phaeostigma and its related genera of subtribe Artemisiinae was carried out based on molecular as well as morphological character data. DNA sequences of nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer, the single copy nuclear CDS gene, and five chloroplast DNA loci (psbA-trnH, rpl16, trnC-ycf6,trnL-F, and ycf6-psbM) were used to construct gene trees, and variation patterns of 20 morphological characters were analyzed. In addition, pollen morphology was examined under scanning electron microscopy for representative species of Phaeostigma and Ajania, from which the former was separated by earlier taxonomists. All the above analyses showed: (i) Ajania tibetica (Hook.f. & Thomson) Tzvelev, A. purpurea C. Shih, and A. ramosa (Chang) C. Shih should be merged intoPhaeostigma so that it is a monophyletic genus with six species, P. ramosum (A. ramosa), P. purpureum (A. purpurea), P. tibeticum (A. tibetica), P. quercifolium (W. W. Sm.) Muldashev, P. salicifolium (Mattf.) Muldashev, and P. variifolium (C. C. Chang) Muldashev; (ii) all six Phaeostigma species have the Artemisia-type (microechinate) of pollen, reflexed leaf margin, and flowering branches with sericeous indumentum; (iii) two controversial species of Ajania, A. pallasiana and A. shiwogiku, have closer relationships with Ajania s.str. than with Phaeostigma, and should be kept in Ajania. Considering all the evidence from present and previous studies, we conclude that geographic and ecological factors as well as secondary contacts play important roles in the divergence and speciation of the genusPhaeostigma.

Daphne blagayana is a small decumbent bush from the family Thymelaeaceae with a fragmented distribution range, comprising the Balkan Peninsula and the southern Romanian Carpathians. Due to its rarity it is protected by national legislation in almost all countries within its range. The aim of this work was to assess the plastid diversity of Daphne blagayana from 21 locations throughout its distribution range using the chloroplast intergenic regions psbA-trnH and trnK–matK with the gene matK. Moreover, we tried to determine with DNA and morphometric characters whether the division of the species into subspecies and varieties, which were mentioned in some literature (subsp. lerchenfeldiana, var. kellereri, subsp. zogovićii), reflects its phylogeographic structure. The results suggest the existence of three clusters: the northwestern cluster (ESU1), including Slovenian and Italian populations, the southern cluster (ESU2), including populations from Macedonia, Montenegro and some populations from southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the central cluster, including the remaining populations (Bulgaria, Romania and rest of the populations from Bosnia and Herzegovina). The results of the genetic as well as morphometric study do not support the existence of subsp. lerchenfeldianaand var. kellereri as distinct infraspecific categories of D. blagayana, thus we suggest that ESU's should be used instead in planning conservation actions.

The genera Oreosolen and Scrophularia (Scrophulariaceae) were assumed to be closely related due to the considerable similarity in morphology. Their sister relationship was even suggested in a few molecular phylogenetic studies. However, this proposed relationship is not so convincing due to insufficient sampling ofScrophularia. In this study, the systematic position of Oreosolen was reassessed based on more sampling of both taxa and molecular traits. A total of 104 accessions representing 89 taxa were sampled, including 87 (85 taxa) of Scrophularia, 14 (one taxon) of Oreosolen, and three outgroups. The phylogenetic relationships between Oreosolen and Scrophularia were inferred based on one nuclear (internal transcribed spacer) and three plastid (trnL-F, psbA-trnH, and trnQ-rps16) DNA regions using maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian inference methods. The results revealed that Oreosolen was nested withinScrophularia and thus its generic status was not supported. Its type species, Oreosolen wattii Hook. f., was then transferred to Scrophularia and a new combination (Scrophularia wattii (Hook. f.) P. Li) was proposed. Oreosolen and its sympatric ally, Phlomoides rotata (Benth. ex Hook. f.) Mathiesen (= Lamiophlomis rotata (Benth. ex Hook. f.) Kudô, Lamiaceae), might undergo convergent evolution of acaulescence and rosulate leaves driven by the harsh alpine environment.

Six temperate woody bamboos (Arundinarieae, Bambusoideae) from Madagascar were described in the genus Arundinaria during the 1920s to 1960s. However, recent phylogenetic studies imply that Arundinaria is restricted to North America, and taxonomic affiliation of the Malagasy temperate woody bamboos remained ambiguous. In search of phylogenetic affinity of these bamboos, herbarium observation, fieldwork, and molecular phylogenetic analysis have been carried out. Four of them and one potential new species were sampled for molecular phylogenetic analyses in the context of the tribe Arundinarieae. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses indicated that those species were closely related to Oldeania alpina distributed in continental Africa, but not Arundinaria, Bergbambos, Fargesia (includingSinarundinaria), Thamnocalamus, or Yushania, in which they were placed at one time or another. On the grounds of molecular phylogeny, morphology, and phytogeography, the Malagasy temperate woody bamboos should be treated as members of the genus Oldeania. Arundinaria humbertii and A. ambositrensis are conspecific. A new species, Oldeania itremoensis, is described and illustrated. The other two temperate woody bamboo species in Madagascar not sampled in the molecular phylogeny are also transferred to Oldeania on the basis of morphology.

Several Kaempferia species, endemic to Thailand, are rare and therefore entitled to conservation status; other species are widely cultivated. We conducted extensive cytogenetic investigation of this genus to elucidate the botanical and taxonomic characterization of these plants. The study included 42 accessions belonging to 15Kaempferia species and four undescribed taxa from regions throughout Thailand, and one species from Laos. We determined chromosome numbers from root-tip cells collected from germinating rhizomes ex situ, but examined meiosis in flowers collected from the wild. The mitotic analyses verify that 2n chromosome numbers range from 22 (diploid, 15 taxa), 33 (triploid, three species), 44 (tetraploid, five taxa) to 55 (pentaploid, one species). Four taxa included accessions with different ploidy levels. The meiotic analyses demonstrated that all 14 diploid accessions investigated displayed normal meiosis, forming 11 bivalents, indicating the base chromosome number x = 11 for this genus. Meiotic figures were obtained from one triploid and four tetraploid accessions. The triploid showed 11 trivalents, most likely indicating autotriploidy. Two tetraploid accessions showed regular meiotic figures consisting of 22 bivalents, probably indicating allopolyploidy originating from interspecific hybrids, a hypothesis that is consistent with observations of plant morphology. The other two tetraploid accessions belong to the same species and show mostly irregular meiotic figures. Cytogenetic information is useful for evaluating fertility and hybridity in the genus. Good seed set was observed among diploid and tetraploid accessions. Triploid and pentaploid plants, on the other hand, do not set seeds, but produce large clusters of vegetatively-propagated rhizomes.

Extant species of Choerospondias (Anacardiaceae) are mainly distributed in the tropical and subtropical areas of East Asia. However, the fossil record indicates that the genus was more widespread in the past, with Cenozoic occurrences in both Europe and Asia. We investigated the pericarp anatomy of well-preserved mummified fossil fruits of Choerospondias from the upper part of Yongning Formation (late Oligocene) of the Nanning Basin, South China. These fruits are recognized as a new species Choerospondias nanningensis sp. nov. This is the lowest latitude fossil occurrence for the genus, and the first fossil record of this genus from its modern area of distribution (South China), indicating that Choerospondias had spread into its modern area of distribution by the Oligocene. In this study, we also investigated the pericarp anatomical structure of the one extant species of Choerospondias. We found that this genus has an endocarp morphology and anatomy typical of the Spondioideae. This is the first study focusing on the pericarp anatomy of fossil and extant species of Choerospondias simultaneously. This study provides new fossil evidence for further understanding the phylogeny of this genus, and contributes significantly to the knowledge of fruit morphology of the family Anacardiaceae.