Historical biogeography of Tetrastigma (Vitaceae): Insights into floristic exchange patterns between Asia and Australia

Biodiversity exchanges across the Malesian region, linking the distinct biotas of Asia and Australia, have long attracted the curiosity of biologists. Tetrastigma (Vitaceae) has a wide distribution in Asia through the Sunda archipelago to Australia and provides a good case to elucidate floristic exchange between Asia and Australia. Tetrastigma species have fleshy fruits that are consumed by birds, representing a lineage with a predictable dispersal across island chains. We herein estimate the divergence times and reconstruct the biogeographic history of Tetrastigma with intensive taxon sampling (96 of approximately 120 species; >80%) using 10 chloroplast loci. The biogeographic history of Tetrastigma was reconstructed with 4-area and 6-area divisions by delineating the Sunda region into one or three areas of endemism based on a phylogenetic bioregionalization analysis and the geological history of Malesia. The 4-area division shows that Tetrastigma originated in continental Asia and diverged from the recently segregated genus Pseudocayratia in the early Eocene (49.43 Ma). Dispersal from continental Asia might have started in the late Eocene but mainly occurred in the last 10 Myr. Continental Asia is indicated to be the most important source area while Sunda is the biggest sink, with 16 of the 27 dispersal events inferred from continental Asia to Sunda. Only seven dispersal events are inferred arriving in the Sahul plate and one reverse dispersal from Sahul back to Asia. The 6-area division suggests that the Philippines have been an active junction between Asia and Australia. The biogeographic history of Tetrastigma illustrates an asymmetric floristic exchange between Asia and Australia in this genus, which has been facilitated by the formation of terrestrial connections in the late Miocene and the expansion of wet tropical forests across Wallace's Line and beyond.

Automated summary

The study conducted intensive taxon sampling and reconstructed the biogeographic history of Tetrastigma, revealing a trend of dispersal from continental Asia to the Sunda island chain during its evolution. Through regional division analysis, it was found that continental Asia is the main source area for Tetrastigma, while Sunda is the largest sink, with the Philippines identified as an active junction between Asia and Australia.