Plastid phylogenomics of tribe Perseeae (Lauraceae) yields insights into the evolution of East Asian subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests

Background: The East Asian subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests
(EBLFs) harbor remarkable biodiversity. However, their historical assembly
remains unclear. To gain new insights into the assembly of this biome, we
generated a molecular phylogeny of one of its essential elements, the
tribe Perseeae (Lauraceae). Results: Our plastid tree topologies were
robust to analyses based on different plastid regions, data partitioning,
nucleotide substitution saturation and gap handling strategies. We found
that Perseeae comprised six major clades and started to colonize the
subtropical EBLFs of east Asia in the early Miocene. The diversification
rates of Perseeae accelerated twice in the late Miocene. Conclusions: Our
findings suggest that the intensified precipitation in East Asia in the
early Miocene might have facilitated range expansions of the
drought-sensitive subtropical EBLFs and establishment of Perseeae within
this biome. By the late Miocene, assembly and diversification within the
EBLFs had become rapid.