根据金虎尾科植物地理分布格局与迁移历史提出来的“金虎尾路线”，是解释植物洲际间断分布与长距离扩散的经典模式。金虎尾科在起源中心热带美洲约有1100种，但花部特征非常保守；而亚洲特有的风筝果属（Hiptage）出现了镜像花、反折花瓣、分泌糖分的萼片腺体，可能是金虎尾路线在亚洲发生特化适应的一个典型代表。本申请项目拟（1）对比风筝果属广布种和狭域特有种的花部特征与传粉者类型与体型的相关性，揭示镜像花可能存在的传粉隔离机制及其对物种分化的作用；（2）通过分子系统与生物地理学方法，解析风筝果属物种分化历史与迁移格局及在中国滇黔桂交界区形成特有中心的原因与过程；（3）利用系统发育方法，在属水平上重建金虎尾路线全球扩散过程的传粉转变与花进化历史。本项目以风筝果属为例阐明了亚洲金虎尾科植物的迁移历史与传粉适应，揭示整条金虎尾路线的适应进化过程，有助于深入理解植物洲际长距离扩散的繁殖适应与物种进化规律。

Malpighiaceae is well-known for the ‘Malpighiaceae route’, which is a classic model to explain inter-continent disjunctions and long-distance dispersal of tropical plants. This family has about 1300 species, most of which are endemic to the New World and are characterized by ‘floral conservatism’. Floral conservatism in the neotropical Malpighiaceae refers to its stereotyped bisexual flowers and clawed petals, with paired oil-glands on each sepal, a result from co-evolution with oil-collecting bees. ..The Asia-endemic genus Hiptage, however,has a highly-specialized pollination system, i.e. mirror-image flowers, together with other striking floral traits such as extremely-reflexed petals and single nectar-secreting gland. These unusual floral syndromes indicate a special case of evolutionary transition of ‘floral conservatism’ in Asia, providing an excellent opportunity to examine ecological and evolutionary consequences of pollinator shifts during inter-continent dispersal, not only for Malpighiaceae but also the other plants with a dispersal pattern like ‘Malpighiaceae route’. ..To examine the evolutionary transition of ‘floral conservatism’ and its effects on speciation in Hiptage, three species, H. benghalensis (1 big calyx gland; widespread), H. minor (no calyx gland; endemic to China), and H. tianyangensis (1 small calyx glands; endemic to China), will be studied for their floral syndromes and pollination mechanism. Special attentions will be paid to their possible floral isolation mechanisms associated with mirror-image flowers and the herkogamy (the separation of the stigma and the fertile anther). The geographic isolation caused by river, karst landscape, and tropical monsoon will be also considered...To demonstrate the speciation history and dispersal route of the Hiptage, molecular phylogeny and biogeographic patterns of the widespread and narrow-endemic species in the two diversity and endemism centres of Hiptage (the boundary areas between Guangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces in China and the northern mountains in Thailand) will be studied using both nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequences. The results will be also helpful to understand the formation and evolution of the globally-important biodiversity hotspots in these regions. The information of floral evolution and pollination shift in Hiptage will add much-needed information on Asian taxa of Malpighiaceae for the study of complete evolution history of the ‘Malpighiaceae route’. ..To explore the evolutionary adaptations associated with ‘Maplpighiaceae route’ from a global context, pollination systems and floral syndromes of Hiptage, other Asian genera and all American and African genera will be mapped on an complete and up-date phylogeny of Malpighiaceae. The patterns of floral evolution and pollination shifts of ‘Malpighiaceae route’ can be determined based on phylogenetic analysis.