Indo-Burma is a global biodiversity hotspot for both plants and animals. However, our knowledge of genetic diversity and pattern and the underlying mechanisms among Indo-Burmese species is extremely poor, especially for plants. Dioecious fig trees have been considered as a study system to reveal the phylogeographic patterns of species in response to climatic oscillations and geological events. 

In a study published in BMC Plant Biology, researchers from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences conducted a comparative phylogeographic analysis of dioecious Ficus hispida and Ficus heterostyla across the Indo-Burma hotspot, based on extensive and intensive population sampling across the Indo-Burma range and evidence from chloroplast and nuclear markers, as well as ecological niche modeling.  

The researchers found that both species had strong phylogeographic structure and similar spatial distributions of genetic diversity. "In particular, a conspicuous east-west differentiation pattern was first revealed for the Indo-Burmese plants," said HUANG Jianfeng, first author of the study. 

They also observed interspecific dissimilarities in fine-scale genetic structure and asynchronized historical dynamics of east-west differentiation, which can be attributed to the differences in pollen and seed dispersal syndromes. 

"Our study provides insights into the conservation of Indo-Burmese biodiversity and will facilitate targeted conservation efforts," said PENG Yanqiong of XTBG.