ID: 613 / 188

Category: Symposia

Track: Pending

Proposed Symposium Title: PHYLOGENOMICS AND ADAPTIVE EVOLUTION OF THE WOODY PLANT GENUS RHODODENDRON

Abstract: Species diversity is the result of long-term evolution of life on Earth, and its distribution patterns and evolutionary mechanisms are important issues of evolutionary biology, ecology and biogeography. Rhododendron (Ericaceae), the largest genus of woody plants in the Northern Hemisphere and an important component of montane ecosystems, is a typical group that has undergone rapid adaptive radiation, and is renowned for cultural and economic importance. This genus provides an ideal system to investigate the mechanisms underlying evolutionary radiations of subalpine woody plants. In recent years, there has been a significant growth of interest in evolutionary radiation research, so this symposium is timely. The symposium aims to bring together researchers from many diverse areas of biology impacted by evolutionary radiation research (e.g. genomics, phylogenetics, evolution and ecology) and will provide an opportunity for interdisciplinary exchange of ideas, and the formation of new collaborations across the breadth of large cosmopolitan plant genera research. The symposium will also focus particularly on the integration of phylogenomics, population genetic data, and ecophysiological results, which provide novel insights into the origin and spread of Rhododendron. On a larger scale, the multidisciplinary synthesis of the increasing amount of genomic data now available provides new insights into the evolutionary and ecological significance of species diversity. This advances will also be covered by the symposium.

Speaker 1: Jian-Quan Liu Sichuan University, China. liujq@nwipb.cas.cn Pervasive hybridization during evolutionary radiation of Rhododendron subgenus Hymenanthes in mountains of southwest China

Speaker 2: Richard Ree Negaunee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum, Chicago, USA. rree@fieldmuseum.org Phylogenomic and morphological insights into ploidy and the radiation of Rhododendron subsect. Lapponica in the Hengduan Mountains

Speaker 3: Xiao-Mei Xia Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China xiaxiaomei@ibcas.ac.cn Spatiotemporal evolution of the global species diversity of Rhododendron

Topics (Up to three): Biogeography / Phylogeography

Topic 2: Comparative Genomics / Transcriptomics

Topic 3: Phylogenetics and Phylogenomics

Justification: Rhododendron is an iconic example of plant radiation, containing around 1000 species, most of which are diploids and highly interfertile. As the largest genus of woody plants in the Northern Hemisphere, Rhododendron provides an ideal system to investigate the mechanisms underlying evolutionary radiations of subalpine woody plants and to explore the interactions of evolutionary, geographic and ecological forces in shaping global patterns of species richness of large cosmopolitan plant genera. Our proposal bridges three of the 31 proposed topics, including Biogeography / Phylogeography, Comparative Genomics / Transcriptomics, Phylogenetics and Phylogenomics. Therefore, this proposal meets the review criteria.