On May 15, under the leadership of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Wuhan Botanical Garden and the China Africa Joint Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with Queen Mary University in London, the Royal Botanical Garden Qiu Garden, BGI, the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar, the National Museum of Kenya, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, etc., a research paper entitled "The risk of baobab trees in Madagascar" was published in Nature, which clarified the diversity evolution history of the endangered plant group of global concern - Baobab, and proposed that Madagascar should be the origin and differentiation center of the genus. This study reveals the driving factors behind the historical population dynamics of Madagascar's baobab trees through comprehensive analysis of genetic, ecological, and geographic data, and proposes scientific and effective conservation strategies and recommendations for future conservation work.

Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world, and due to its high diversity and unique biota, it has become one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in the world. It is also a natural laboratory for exploring biological evolution and conservation. The Adansonia genus is a deciduous tree in the subfamily Kapok of the Malvaceae family, with only 8 species remaining globally. Among them, 6 species are endemic to Madagascar, while the remaining 2 species are distributed on the African continent and Australia, respectively. The individual lifespan of the monkey bread tree group can reach thousands of years. Its fruits are edible, the trunk is rich in water storage, and the bark is handmade and building raw materials. Under drought conditions, it can provide water, food, and shelter for various animals, known as the "Tree of Life". In Madagascar, it is known as the "Mother of Forests" and has important scientific research value, economic value, and cultural ecological value. In addition, the monkey bread tree has a huge size and unique shape, forming a magnificent natural landscape in the local area.

In recent years, due to the impact of global change and habitat destruction, the conservation of plant diversity in the genus baobab has become a hot topic of academic and public concern. Especially in Madagascar, the number of individuals and suitable habitats for some species have sharply decreased. Three species of baobab trees have been listed as endangered or critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. At the same time, there is significant controversy over the formation history of the origin center and geographical distribution pattern of the monkey bread tree genus. Therefore, it is urgent to clarify the formation process of the diverse personality patterns of the baobab tree and to develop more effective protection strategies through scientific research.

This study analyzed the genetic information of wild individuals of 8 species of baobab trees from Madagascar, Senegal, and Australia, reconstructed the evolutionary history of the baobab genus, and found that its species diversity differentiation began approximately 21 million years ago. This occurred later than the separation of the African and Australian plates and the formation of Madagascar Island. Comprehensive data analysis shows that in history, there has been interspecific hybridization among monkey bread tree species, including those that have formed intercontinental isolation or island co domain distribution, resulting in inconsistent signals of phylogenetic relationships at the whole genome level within the genus. Based on the historical cross regional hybridization patterns revealed in this study and the actual possibility of cross ocean diffusion, researchers have proposed that Madagascar Island should be the center of origin and differentiation of the existing crown group of the genus Paeonia.
At the same time, the study revealed the ecological niche competition pattern among six existing species of macaque bream trees in Madagascar by integrating genome-wide genetic diversity, historical population size, and ecological data analysis. It was found that the dynamic changes in population size and distribution of macaque bream tree species on the island were jointly driven by geological evolution factors such as global sea level historical fluctuations, island mountain uplift, and volcanic eruptions. Research has found that the rich heterogeneity of small habitats and interspecific hybridization generated by geological evolution may contribute to the diversity of species in the genus of baobab on the island, providing a research case for exploring the formation of species evolution and distribution patterns, especially the mechanism of biodiversity occurrence unique to Madagascar.

In addition, the study also found that the IUCN may have underestimated the actual endangered status of the Madagascar macaque bread tree species. By evaluating inter species competition and hybridization effects within the genus and integrating genomic and ecological research results, new conservation suggestions and strategies have been proposed for specific macaque bread tree species in Madagascar, providing a new scientific perspective and reference basis for effectively protecting the overall biodiversity of the island.

Researchers published a research brief titled "The evolutionary history of baobabs and implications for their conservation" in Nature at the same time.

The research work has received support from the Central African Center and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. This achievement is a phased summary of the long-term cooperation between Wuhan Botanical Garden, Central Africa Center, and research institutions in Africa, Europe, and other regions to implement research and protection of biodiversity in Africa.

Paper link



The current global distribution pattern and IUCN endangered protection level of the baobab genus plants




Phylogenetic relationships and interspecific hybridization history of 8 species in the genus of baobab