Synonymous Codon Usage Bias Overrides Phylogeny to Reflect Convergent Frond Architecture in a Rapidly Radiating Fern Family Thelypteridaceae

TL;DR

This study shows that synonymous codon usage bias (CUB) can reflect convergent evolution in fern species, overriding phylogenetic signals and linking to adaptive morphological traits.

Contribution

It introduces a comparative framework combining chloroplast phylogenomics and codon usage analysis to detect molecular convergence driven by adaptation.

Findings

CUB patterns are incongruent with phylogeny in Thelypteridaceae.

CUB correlates with convergently evolved lamina base architecture.

Specific photosynthesis genes show high density of codon substitutions.

Abstract

Convergent evolution provides powerful evidence for natural selection, yet its molecular basis is typically sought in protein-coding amino acid substitutions. Whether adaptive pressures can drive the convergent evolution of synonymous codon usage bias (CUB) to override phylogenetic history remains a fundamental question. Here, we investigate this within the rapidly radiating fern family Thelypteridaceae by establishing a comparative framework that integrates chloroplast phylogenomics with dimensionality reduction of codon usage, morphological data, and divergence time estimation. Our results reveal that chloroplast CUB patterns are strikingly incongruent with the phylogeny of this family. Instead, they partition species into distinct clusters that strongly correlate with a convergently evolved morphological trait, lamina base architecture, a key adaptation whose radiation we date to the early Neogene. This convergent molecular signal is driven by a specific subset of photosynthesis-related genes (ndhJ, psaA, and psbD), which exhibit a high density of type-specific, third-position codon substitutions. These findings demonstrate that CUB can serve as a powerful, quantifiable indicator of adaptive history, revealing a cryptic layer of molecular convergence linked to the regulation of protein synthesis. Our work providing a new framework for uncovering adaptive histories obscured by complex evolutionary processes.