Paper · 2026 · The Plant Journal

Evolution of calyx diversity in angiosperms: a focus on transcriptomic repatterning mechanisms underlying inflated fruiting calyx within Solanaceae

Wei Gou; Nan Xu; Qiaoru Li; et al.

8
claims
11
verbatim quotes
0
citations
3
research areas
—
Not open access

Abstract

The angiosperm calyces display considerable diversity and have adaptive functions. However, the evolutionary trajectories and underlying mechanisms of calyx morphological diversity remain unclear. In this study, ancestral state reconstruction revealed that the abscised calyx was ancestral; however, most extant angiosperms exhibited persistent calyces showing notable variation in size. Remarkably, the Solanaceae family may represent a miniature reflecting the calyx diversity of angiosperms. Distinct from Solanum and Capsicum, Physalis fruits featured a morphological novelty known as inflated calyx syndrome (ICS). To reveal the molecular repatterning events underlying ICS formation, we conducted time-course transcriptomic comparisons on developing calyces of ICS species (Physalis floridana) and non-ICS species (Capsicum annuum and two Solanum species), and detected that variations in heterometric expression and alternative splicing were predominant across these species. Moreover, two Physalis-calyx highly expressed genes respectively encoding PHYSALIS ORGAN SIZE 4 (POS4) and POS5 were knocked down and out using virus-induced gene silencing and CRISPR/Cas9 technologies, and the resulting genetically modified P. floridana plant lines displayed a significant reduction in ICS size. Furthermore, when compared with Solanum and Capsicum, heterotopically expressed genes in Physalis calyx relative to berry were mainly enriched for functions in photosynthesis and responses to stimuli, thereby supporting the hypothesis that the inflated fruiting calyx may have partitioned and exapted functions originally associated with berry. This work elucidates the calyx evolutionary pattern of angiosperms as well as transcriptomic repatterning mechanisms that may govern both developmental and functional evolution of fruiting calyx inflation within Solanaceae, thereby providing insights into plant morphological evolution.

Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record, shown for indexing and research. Copyright remains with the authors or the publisher. Read at the source ↗

The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.

Claims 8

Observationobservedoriginal resultmeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Ancestral state reconstruction indicated that the abscised calyx was ancestral in angiosperms.

Taxon
angiospermsMagnoliopsidat0
Organ / stage
calyxt0
Outcome
abscised calyx was ancestrale0

Verbatim

t0

“Evolution of calyx diversity in angiosperms”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 0–43 · show in text ↑
e0

“ancestral state reconstruction revealed that the abscised calyx was ancestral”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 212–289 · show in text ↑
Observationobservedoriginal resultmeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Most extant angiosperms have persistent calyces with notable variation in size.

Taxon
angiospermsMagnoliopsidae0
Outcome
persistent calycese0
Qualifier
notable variation in sizee0

Verbatim

e0

“most extant angiosperms exhibited persistent calyces showing notable variation in size”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 300–386 · show in text ↑
Observationhypothesisoriginal resultmeasured

Claim · model-written summary

The Solanaceae family may represent a miniature of angiosperm calyx diversity.

Taxon
SolanaceaeSolanaceaee0
Outcome
calyx diversitye0

Verbatim

e0

“the Solanaceae family may represent a miniature reflecting the calyx diversity of angiosperms”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 400–493 · show in text ↑
Observationobservedoriginal resultmeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Physalis fruits have a morphological novelty, the inflated calyx syndrome (ICS), unlike Solanum and Capsicum.

Taxon
PhysalisPhysalise0
Outcome
inflated calyx syndromee0
Comparator
Solanum and Capsicume0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Physalis
Physalis · Taxon · picture of the genus (one of its species)Forest & Kim Starr · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“Distinct from Solanum and Capsicum, Physalis fruits featured a morphological novelty known as inflated calyx syndrome (ICS)”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 495–618 · show in text ↑
Observationobservedoriginal resultmeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Time-course transcriptome comparison of developing calyces of Physalis floridana and non-ICS species found that heterometric expression and alternative splicing variations were predominant.

Taxon
ICS species (Physalis floridana) and non-ICS species (Capsicum annuum and two Solanum species)e0
Organ / stage
developing calycese0
Outcome
variations in heterometric expression and alternative splicinge0

Verbatim

e0

“we conducted time-course transcriptomic comparisons on developing calyces of ICS species (Physalis floridana) and non-ICS species (Capsicum annuum and two Solanum species), and detected that variations in heterometric expression and alternative splicing were predominant across these species”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 690–981 · show in text ↑
Intervention effectobservedoriginal resultsignificant (as stated)measured

Claim · model-written summary

Knockdown and knockout of POS4 and POS5 significantly reduced ICS size in P. floridana.

Taxon
P. floridanaPhysalis pubescense1
Treatment
knocked down and out using virus-induced gene silencing and CRISPR/Cas9 technologiese1
Gene
PHYSALIS ORGAN SIZE 4 (POS4) and POS5e0
Outcome
ICS sizee1
Direction
reductione1

Not reportedComparator

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Physalis pubescens
Physalis pubescens · TaxonRoger Culos · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“PHYSALIS ORGAN SIZE 4 (POS4) and POS5”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1057–1094 · show in text ↑
e1

“were knocked down and out using virus-induced gene silencing and CRISPR/Cas9 technologies, and the resulting genetically modified P. floridana plant lines displayed a significant reduction in ICS size”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1095–1295 · show in text ↑
Observationobservedoriginal resultmeasured

Claim · model-written summary

Compared with Solanum and Capsicum, heterotopically expressed genes in Physalis calyx relative to berry were mainly enriched for photosynthesis and responses to stimuli.

Taxon
PhysalisPhysalise0
Organ / stage
calyx relative to berrye0
Outcome
enriched for functions in photosynthesis and responses to stimulie0
Comparator
Solanum and Capsicume0

Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Physalis
Physalis · Taxon · picture of the genus (one of its species)Forest & Kim Starr · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗

Verbatim

e0

“when compared with Solanum and Capsicum, heterotopically expressed genes in Physalis calyx relative to berry were mainly enriched for functions in photosynthesis and responses to stimuli”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1310–1496 · show in text ↑
Mechanismhypothesisoriginal resultbasis n/a

Claim · model-written summary

The inflated fruiting calyx may have partitioned and exapted functions originally associated with berry.

Taxon
SolanaceaeSolanaceaet0
Organ / stage
berrye0
Outcome
inflated fruiting calyxe0

Verbatim

t0

“within Solanaceae”

✓ located verbatim in the source · title, characters 130–147 · show in text ↑
e0

“the inflated fruiting calyx may have partitioned and exapted functions originally associated with berry”

✓ located verbatim in the source · abstract, characters 1537–1640 · show in text ↑