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Due to the lack of corresponding magmatic records, the timing of the opening of the Yarlung–Tsangpo Neo‐Tethyan Ocean remains controversial. The Middle Permian Luerma igneous complex, which is situated in the western Gangdese magmatic belt of the southern Lhasa subterrane, western Tibet, can be divided into four or more rock types, including foid gabbro, amphibole gabbro, monzogabbro, and pyroxene‐bearing monzodiorite. Through zircon U–Pb dating using laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry, the age of the Luerma igneous complex is determined to be ~261 Ma. The complex is rich in titanium, iron, magnesium, and total alkalis, with medium to high levels of calcium, potassium and aluminium, as well as low levels of silicon. Therefore, it is classified as a shoshonite–latite rock series. The complex is relatively enriched in light rare earth elements and high‐field‐strength elements, without obvious Eu and Ce anomalies. These rocks exhibit relatively low (87Sr/86Sr)i values, high εNd(t) values, and high εHf(t) values. The geochemical and isotopic characteristics indicate that the magmas are derived from partial melting of the upper mantle in an intraplate tectonic environment. The new data presented here provide supplementary evidence for the initial rifting of the Lhasa terrane from the northern margin of Gondwana during the Middle Permian. These data also confirm that the opening of the Yarlung–Tsangpo Neo‐Tethyan Ocean occurred in the Middle Permian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Both selection effects and whole genome duplication played very important roles in plant speciation and evolution, and to decipher the corresponding molecular footprint has always been a central task of geneticists. Vaccinium is species rich genus that comprised of about 450 species, and blueberry is one of the most important species of Vaccinium genus, which is gaining popularity because of high healthful value. In this article, we aimed to decipher the molecular footprints of natural selection on the single copy genes and WGD events occur in the evolutionary history of blueberry species. Results: We identified 30,143, 29,922 and 28,891 putative protein coding sequences from 45,535, 42,914 and 43,630 unigenes assembled from the leaves' transcriptome assembly of 19 rabbiteye (T1), 13 southern highbush (T2) and 22 northern highbush (T3) blueberry cultivars. A total of 17, 21 and 27 single copy orthologs were found to undergone positive selection in T1 versus T2, T1 versus T3, and T2 versus T3, respectively, and these orthologs were enriched in metabolic pathways including "Terpenoid backbone biosynthesis", "Valine, leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis", "Butanoate metabolism", "C5-Branched dibasic acid metabolism" "Pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis". We also detected significant molecular footprints of a recent (about 9.04 MYA), medium (about 43.44 MYA) and an ancient (about 116.39 MYA) WGD events that occurred in the evolutionary history of three blueberry species. Conclusion: Some important functional genes revealed positive selection effect in blueberry. At least three rounds of WGD events were detected in the evolutionary history of blueberry species. Our work provides insights about the genetic mechanism of adaptive evolution in blueberry and species radiation of Vaccinium in short geological scale time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An integrated study of zircon U-Pb geochronology and petrochemistry, together with zircon Lu-Hf isotopes, has been carried out on the basaltic-andesitic tuff and volcanic breccia from the Nam Hang Formation and andesitic tuff from the Muang-Nan Formation in the Xaignabouli area, which had been mapped as the Permian-Early Triassic on the 1 : 1 000 000 geological map or Late Carboniferous on the 1 : 200 000 geological maps. Zircon U-Pb dating of three samples yielded weighted mean ages of 235±2.6, 232±1.4 and 278±2.8 Ma, respectively, suggesting a Late Triassic origin for the Nam Hang Formation and an Early Permian origin for the Muang-Nan Formation. Geochemically, they are characterized by depletions in HFSEs (e.g., Nb, Ta, Ti) and high LILE/HFSE ratios, and they have positive zircon εHf(t) values of 8.7-15.9, which exhibits the continental arc volcanic affinity and partial melting of subducting oceanic slab in the magma source. Combined with spatial occurrence of the volcanic rock and existing geochronological and geochemical data, we suggest that the Xaignabouli-Luang Prabang volcanic belt can be linked to the Loei-Phetchabun belt. The Permian-Triassic volcanic rocks in this belt might be a product of the Nan back-arc basin eastward subduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kejie pluton is located in the north of the Changning-Menglian suture zone. The rock types are mainly biotite-granite. Zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating indicates that the Kejie pluton emplaced at about 80-77 Ma, Late Cretaceous. The Kejie pluton samples are characterized by high SiO2 (71.68%-72.47%), K2O (4.73%-5.54%), total alkali (K2O + Na2O = 8.21%-8.53%), K2O/Na2O ratios (1.36-1.94) and low P2O5 (0.13%-0.17%), with A/CNK of 1.025-1.055; enriched in U, Th, and K, depleted in Ba, Nb, Sr, Ti, P and Eu. They are highly fractionated, slightly pet aluminous I-type granite. The two samples of the Kejie pluton give a large variation of εHf( t) values (-5.04 to 1.96) and Hf isotope crustal model ages of 1.16-1.5 Ga. Zircon Hf isotopes and zircon saturation temperatures of whole-rock (801°C-823°C) show that the mantle-derived materials maybe have played a vital role in the generation of the Kejie pluton. The Kejie pluton was most likely generated in a setting associated with the eastward subduction of the neo-Tethys ocean, where intrusion of mantle wedge basaltic magmas in the crust caused the anatexis of the latter, forming hybrid melts, which subsequently experienced high-degree fractional crystallization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The leucogranites in the Baoshan Block of the Tethyan belt in Western Yunnan, are composed mainly of two-mica granite with subordinate muscovite granite. Here we present zircon U–Pb ages from four intrusions that show ages of 448–476Ma suggesting that these rocks were emplaced during the Ordovician. The leucogranites are high-K calc-alkaline and strongly peraluminous, with K2O/Na2O>1 and A/CNK=1.12–1.54. These rocks are enriched in large-ion lithophile elements (LILEs) and light rare-earth elements (LREEs) [(La/Yb)N =1.13–32.4] and Pb, and are depleted in high field-strength elements (HFSEs). They show similar chondrite-normalized REE patterns, with negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu*=0.03–0.46). A wide range of zircon εHf(t) values (−9.6 to −2.6) and varying Hf-isotope crustal model ages (2.1–1.6Ga) are also observed. The geochemical signatures indicate that the leucogranites are S-type granites derived mainly from the anatexis of ancient crustal materials. The ages, geochemistry and tectonics in the Baoshan Block and the Lhasa Terrane are closely comparable, suggesting that the Baoshan Block might represent part of an Early Paleozoic magmatic arc in the Gondwana continental margin facing the proto-Tethyan Ocean. The Pinghe granites of the early phase in the Baoshan Block which are coeval with the Cambrian magmatism (ca. 492Ma) identified in the central and southern Lhasa subterranes can be interpreted as products of the slab break-off associated with the subduction of proto-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere. However, the late leucogranite stocks are analogous to the North Himalayan leucogranites, which formed in a short-lived extensional setting caused by the slab break-off associated with the subduction–collision system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• The Loei Fold Belt contains Late Carboniferous (304–299 Ma) basaltic and andesitic tuffaceous rocks and Late Triassic (224–236 Ma) andesite and rhyolite. • The Late Carboniferous and Late Triassic volcanic rocks were formed in a back-arc basin and continental arc setting respectively. • Magmatic events in the Loei Fold Belt occurred in four periods: Ordovician-Silurian, Late Devonian-Middle Permian, Early-Middle Triassic and Late Triassic. • The Nan belt and Luang Prabang-Loei belt were connected in a back-arc basin during Late Devonian to Carboniferous. The Loei Fold Belt is one of the most significant tectonic and metallogenic belts in the Indochina Block. However, origin and tectonic significance of volcanic rocks in several volcanic belts of this fold belt remain ambiguous. In this paper, we present new petrochemical data, zircon U-Pb ages and Lu-Hf isotopic data for volcanic rocks from the Loei Fold Belt in northwestern Laos. The basaltic and andesitic tuffaceous rocks have Late Carboniferous zircon U-Pb ages (304 ± 2.1 Ma and 299 ± 1.8 Ma respectively), and display both MORB-like and arc-like geochemical signatures. Zircon Lu-Hf isotopic analyses give highly positive ε Hf (t) values of 8.99–14.24, indicative of a metasomatic mantle source which formed in a back-arc basin environment. On the other hand, the andesite and rhyolite samples have zircon U-Pb ages ranging from 236 Ma to 224 Ma, erupted during the Late Triassic, and formed in a continental margin arc setting (e.g., enrichment of LREE, depletion in Nb-Ta, Sr, and positive ε Hf (t) values of 9.87–12.25). With a synthesis of available geochronological, petrochemical and isotopic data, magmatic events in the Loei Fold Belt occurred in four periods: Ordovician-Silurian (450–400 Ma), Late Devonian-Middle Permian (ca. 361–265 Ma), Early-Middle Triassic (250–237 Ma) and Late Triassic (ca. 236–200 Ma), with peaks in Triassic and Carboniferous. Accordingly, we propose a tectonic-magmatic evolution model for the Loei Fold Belt. The Luang Prabang-Loei belt was a spreading back-arc basin during the Late Devonian-Middle Permian, and connected with the Nan back-arc basin. The basin expanded to its largest extent in the Permian period and started subduction in the earliest Triassic; the successive subduction did not terminate until the Late Triassic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]