Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40914804›Full record

ArticlePlant communications2025

Comprehensive sampling of mitochondrial genomes substantiates the Neoproterozoic origin of land plants.

Shuai-Ya Hu, Gongle Shi, Cheng-Ao Yang, Yves Van de Peer, Zhen Li, Jia-Yu Xue

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Plant communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Newly assembled mitochondrial genomes ofFrontiers in plant science · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Shuai-Ya HuCollege of Horticulture, Bioinformatics Center, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology, 9052 Ghent, Belgium.
Gongle ShiState Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China.
Cheng-Ao YangCollege of Horticulture, Bioinformatics Center, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
Yves Van de PeerCollege of Horticulture, Bioinformatics Center, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0028, South Africa. Electronic address: yves.vandepeer@psb.vib-ugent.be.
Zhen LiDepartment of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology, 9052 Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: zhen.li@psb.vib-ugent.be.
Jia-Yu XueCollege of Horticulture, Bioinformatics Center, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China. Electronic address: xuejy@njau.edu.cn.

Funding

Non-US Government Research Support type
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Molecular phylogenetics elucidates the evolution and divergence of green plants by analyzing sequence data from diverse sources. Notably, phylogenetic reconstruction based on mitochondrial genes often shows incongruence with results from nuclear and chloroplast genes. Although the uniparental inheritance and conservatively retained protein-coding genes of mitochondrial genomes inherently exclude certain confounding factors that affect phylogenetic reconstruction-such as hybridization and gene loss-the use of mitochondrial genomes for phylogeny and divergence-time estimation has remained limited. Here, we assembled a comprehensive dataset of 565 mitochondrial genomes representing all major lineages of green plants. Applying multiple partitions and phylogenetic models, our mitochondrial-based phylogenies support paraphyly in both bryophytes and charophytes, place hornworts (Anthocerotaceae) as sister to all tracheophytes, and recover stoneworts (Charophyceae) as sister to land plants. We systematically evaluated the influence of factors in mitochondrial coding sequences, including GC-content heterogeneity and codon-usage bias. Furthermore, by rigorously testing seven dating strategies, we assessed the impact of confounding elements affecting divergence-time estimates, such as fossil calibration number and prior settings, as well as rate heterogeneity among sites and across lineages. Our dating analyses support a Neoproterozoic origin (crown age) of land plants and a Triassic origin of angiosperms, consistent with nuclear evidence. In conclusion, we emphasize the importance of exploring alternative partitioning strategies and addressing among-lineage heterogeneity in both phylogenetic and dating analyses, with extended sampling and careful data pruning to minimize systematic error in phylogenetic inference.

Indexed as

EmbryophytaGenome, MitochondrialEvolution, MolecularFossilsPhylogenyfossil calibrationmitochondrial genomesmolecular modelsphylogenomicsrate heterogeneity

Identifiers

PMID40914804
PMCPMC12785157

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.