Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. kevin@frim.gov.my
  • 2 Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
  • 3 Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, SOKENDAI, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Hayama, Kanagawa, Japan
  • 4 Genetics Laboratory, Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), Kepong, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 5 Division of Integrated Omics research, Research Center for Experimental Modeling of Human Disease, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
  • 6 Artificial Intelligence Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tokyo, Japan
  • 7 Malaysia Genome Institute, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 8 Forest Research Centre, Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia
  • 9 Faculty of Forestry, Bogor Agricultural University, Bogor, Indonesia
  • 10 Faculty of Forestry, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
  • 11 Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
  • 12 Genetics Laboratory, Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), Kepong, Selangor, Malaysia. leesl@frim.gov.my
  • 13 Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. kentaro.shimizu@uzh.ch
Commun Biol, 2021 Oct 07;4(1):1166.
PMID: 34620991 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02682-1

Abstract

Hyperdiverse tropical rainforests, such as the aseasonal forests in Southeast Asia, are supported by high annual rainfall. Its canopy is dominated by the species-rich tree family of Dipterocarpaceae (Asian dipterocarps), which has both ecological (e.g., supports flora and fauna) and economical (e.g., timber production) importance. Recent ecological studies suggested that rare irregular drought events may be an environmental stress and signal for the tropical trees. We assembled the genome of a widespread but near threatened dipterocarp, Shorea leprosula, and analyzed the transcriptome sequences of ten dipterocarp species representing seven genera. Comparative genomic and molecular dating analyses suggested a whole-genome duplication close to the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event followed by the diversification of major dipterocarp lineages (i.e. Dipterocarpoideae). Interestingly, the retained duplicated genes were enriched for genes upregulated by no-irrigation treatment. These findings provide molecular support for the relevance of drought for tropical trees despite the lack of an annual dry season.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.