{
  "abstract": "Seed plants comprise angiosperms and gymnosperms. The latter includes gnetophytes, cycads, Ginkgo, and conifers. Conifers are distributed worldwide, with 630 species distributed across eight families and 70 genera. Their distinctiveness has triggered much debate on their origin, evolution, and phylogenetic placement among seed plants. To better understand the evolution of gymnosperms and their relation to other seed plants, we report here a high-quality genome sequence for a tree species, Chinese fir ( Cunninghamia lanceolata ), which has excellent timber quality and high aluminum adaptability and is a member of Cupressaceae with high levels of heterozygosity. We assembled an 11.24 Gb genome with a contig N50 value of 2.15 Mb and anchored the 10.89 Gb sequence to 11 chromosomes. Phylogenomic analyses showed that cycads sister to Ginkgo, which place to sister in all gymnosperm lineages, and Gnetales within conifers sister to Pinaceae. Whole-genome duplication (WGD) analysis showed that the ancestor of seed plants has differentiated into angiosperms and gymnosperms after having experienced a WGD event. The ancestor of extant gymnosperm has experienced a gymnosperm-specific WGD event and the extant angiosperms do not share a common WGD before their most recent common ancestor diverged into existing angiosperms lineages. Analysis of the MADS-box gene family of C. lanceolata revealed the developmental mechanism of the reproductive organs in C. lanceolata , which supported the (A)B(C) model of the development of gymnosperms reproductive organs. In addition, astringent seeds and shedding of whole branches (with withered leaves) might be a strategy of C. lanceolata that evolved during long-term adaptation to an aluminum-rich environment. The findings also reveal the molecular regulation mechanism of shade tolerance in C. lanceolata seedlings. Our results improve the resolution of ancestral genomic features within seed plants and the knowledge of genome evolution and diversification of gymnosperms.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Chinese Fir Engineering Technology Research Center of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration at College of Forestry, and Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration for Orchid Conservation and Utilization at College of Landscape Architecture and Art, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China",
    "College of Biology and Agriculture, Zunyi Normal University, Zunyi 563006, China",
    "Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium; VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, VIB, 9052 Ghent, Belgium",
    "Technical Department, Biomarker Technologies Corporation, Beijing 101300, China",
    "PubBio-Tech, Wuhan 430070, China"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 65,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Si-Zu Lin"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yuehua Chen",
      "orcid": "0009-0006-1343-7449"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Chao Wu"
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    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Wei-Hong Sun"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Z Y Li",
      "orcid": "0009-0000-5304-6780"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Hengchi Chen",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1173-6622"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jie-Yu Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Chang-Mian Ji"
    },
    {
      "name": "Shu-Bin Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Zhi-Wen Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Wen‐Chieh Tsai",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9389-168X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xiang-Qing Ma"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Si-Ren Lan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Fei-Ping Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ya-Cong Xie"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Lei Yao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yan Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Meng-Meng Lü"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jia-Jun Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Diyang Zhang",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7548-4378"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yi-Quan Ye"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xia Yu",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7007-6946"
    },
    {
      "name": "Shan-Shan Xu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Zhi-Hui Ma"
    },
    {
      "name": "Guo-Chang DING"
    },
    {
      "name": "Guangqiu Cao"
    },
    {
      "name": "Zong-Ming He"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Pengfei Wu",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7426-2335"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kai-Min Lin"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ai-Qin Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yanqing Lin"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Shaoning Ruan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Bao Liu",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0743-0938"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Shi-Jiang Cao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Lili Zhou",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4315-4715"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ming Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Peng Shuai",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1156-2338"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xiaolong Hou"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yi-Han Wu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Nuo Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Sheng Xiong"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yang Hao",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6457-786X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Zhuang Zhou",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3894-2576"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xuedie Liu",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2854-5304"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Dan-Dan Zuo"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jia Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Pei Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jian Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ding‐Kun Liu",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9927-0366"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Gui-Zhen Chen",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4777-3559"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jie Huang",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5757-1232"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ming‐Zhong Huang",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5403-6450"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "YJ Li",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4719-7210"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Qin-Yao Zheng"
    },
    {
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        0,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Xue-Wei Zhao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        4
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      "name": "Xiang Zhao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Wen-Ying Zhong"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Xuewen Zhang",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3619-2222"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Zheng-Bao Xia"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Ying Yu"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2ybzsfth3pyds.bib",
  "cited_by": 11,
  "doi": "10.1016/j.celrep.2026.117566",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "2ybzsfth3pyds",
  "issns": [
    "2211-1247",
    "2639-1856"
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  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2026.117566",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1110|Chromosomal and Genetic Variations"
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      "1311|Chromosomal and Genetic Variations"
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  "openalex": "W7165207795",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/pdf/S2211-1247(26)00644-3.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13415678",
  "pmid": "42319826",
  "published": "2026-06-18",
  "publisher": "Cell Press",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2ybzsfth3pyds.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-05T13:20:49Z",
      "native_id": "W7165207795",
      "source": "openalex",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2026.117566"
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  "subjects": [
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      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:1311|Chromosomal and Genetic Variations",
      "subfield": "genetics-genomics"
    },
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:1110|Chromosomal and Genetic Variations",
      "subfield": "plant-biology"
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  ],
  "title": "Cunninghamia lanceolata genome illuminates the evolutionary dynamics of gymnosperms",
  "title_text": "Cunninghamia lanceolata genome illuminates the evolutionary dynamics of gymnosperms",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T13:21:07Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2ybzsfth3pyds",
  "venue": "Cell Reports",
  "versions": []
}