Genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships of seven Amorphophallus species in southwestern China revealed by chloroplast DNA sequences

Abstract

Plants species in the genus Amorphophallus are of great economic importance, as they are the only plants known to produce glucomannan. Although southwestern China has been recognized as one of the origin centres of Amorphophallus, only a few studies assessing its genetic diversity have been reported. To aid in the utilization and conservation of Amorphophallus species, we evaluated the genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships among seven edible Amorphophallus species using three chloroplast DNA regions (rbcL, trnL and trnK-matK). The results showed that the genetic diversity at the population level was relatively low, with over half of the populations harbouring only one haplotype. The widely scattered species, A. konjac, had the largest genetic diversity, while the narrow endemic species, A. yuloensis, possessed only one haplotype. Phylogeny analysis identified three well-supported major lineages. Our study suggested that habitat fragmentation might be a driver of the genetic variation patterns within and between populations of Amorphophallus. A conservation strategy consisting of in situ conservation and germplasm collection is recommended.

The Ribosomal DNA Loci of the Ancient Monocot Pistia stratiotes L. (Araceae) Contain Different Variants of the 35S and 5S Ribosomal RNA Gene Units

“…To date, the DNA sequence data for the Araceae family have mostly been obtained from chloroplasts and mitochondria ( Renner et al, 2004 ; Rothwell et al, 2004 ; Cusimano et al, 2011 ; Henriquez et al, 2014 ; Choi et al, 2017 ; Gao et al, 2018 ; Tian et al, 2018 ). With the exception of the whole-genome sequences of five species of the remotely related duckweeds ( Acosta et al, 2021 ), little information is available about the nuclear genes of Araceae species, including their rDNA.…”

Recent Trends in Research on the Genetic Diversity of Plants: Implications for Conservation

“…In most angiosperms, the cpDNA is inherited through the maternal lineage, has a low mutation rate, and is rarely subject to recombination [15][16][17]. Estimates of genetic diversity based on cpDNA sequences can be used to provide inferences on the evolutionary history of plant species, including possible recolonization routes, diversification events, and gene flow [18][19][20].…”

Genetic diversity and relationship of Indonesian swamp rice (Oryza sativa L.) germplasm based on agro-morphological markers

“…Compared to several other studies, such as Suriyagoda et al (2011); Rabara et al (2014) and Sinha et al (2015), this germplasm showed lower diversity. According to Gao et al (2017), low-level genetic diversity is affected by several factors, such as a founder effect, genetic isolation, population decline, natural selection or inbreeding. In this case, inbreeding was the most probable cause for the low level of diversity (Mursyidin et al, 2017).…”

“…Li (2003) predicted that the distribution of cultivated rice to Indonesia occurred around 1599 before the current era. During this process, inbreeding would have been unavoidable and may have reduced genetic diversity (Gao et al, 2017). Furthermore, reduced genetic diversity may correlate with decreasing disease resistance and resilience to environmental disturbance and extreme conditions (Lloyd et al, 2016).…”