Genetic Structure of Six Korean Tea Populations as Revealed by RAPD-PCR Markers

Abstract

Numerous Korean tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze] populations abandoned for more than nine centuries represent important genetic resources for future breeding of new tea types and tastes. This study was conducted to evaluate on the basis of random amplified polymorphic DNA‐polymerase chain reaction (RAPD‐PCR) markers the degree and organization of genetic diversity within and between six Korea populations and to formulate conservation strategies for tea populations in Korea. Of the 50 RAPD primers screened, 12 primers generated 25 reproducible and polymorphic bands. The genetic diversity within populations calculated from the Nei's index averaged 0.33 and was relatively lower than that found in other natural plant populations. This could be explained by the narrow genetic base of the tea samples introduced from Mainland China and considerable reduction in population size following mass destruction of tea populations in the fourteenth century. No geographical trends were observed among the tea populations following classification by unweighted pair group method and arithmetic average (UPGMA) and Nei distances and factorial correspondence analysis (FCA) carried out on individual samples. Even though highly significant differences were found among populations upon an analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), a markedly higher proportion of diversity was observed within populations (84%) as compared with between populations (16%). The fact that most diversity is within populations reflects the highly outcrossing nature of tea species. In the light of these results, it is proposed that conservation efforts target whole diverse populations rather than selected individuals from different populations. Due consideration should nevertheless be given to populations comprising private or rare alleles.

RAPD-based genetic relationships in different Bougainvillea cultivars

“…The morphological dissimilarities might be due to the long history of domestication under different climatic conditions. The lack of agreement in RAPD and morphological data was also noticed earlier by Kundun and Park (2002).…”

Genetic diversity and differentiation of Camellia sinensis L. (cultivated tea) and its wild relatives in Yunnan province of China, revealed by morphology, biochemistry and allozyme studies

“…Wachira et al (2001) reported that 72% of variation resided among individuals within populations of Camellia sinensis and its wild Camellia relatives based on the RAPD and AFLP markers. Kaundun and Park (2002) stated that 16% of the total diversity of RAPD-PCR markers was observed among populations of Korean tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze].…”

“…Due to its high economic importance, extensive collections of tea plants have been made in China and several other countries (Wachira et al 2001). Numerous studies to evaluate genetic diversity have also been conducted by incorporating various methods, including morphology (Wichremaratne 1981;Toyao and Takeda 1999), biochemistry (Takeda 1994;Magoma et al 2000), and the use of genetic markers, e.g., RFLPs (Matsumoto et al 1994), RAPDs (Lee et al 1995;Wachira et al 1995Wachira et al , 1997Kaundun et al 2000;Kaundun and Park 2002), AFLPs (Paul et al 1997), and ISSRs (Lai et al 2001). However, most of the materials used in these studies were from nonindigenous countries such as Kenya, Japan, and the UK.…”

Identification of Material Cultivar of Green Tea Infusions by Simple Sequence Repeat Markers

“…DNA isolation from fresh leaves of tea plants DNA was isolated from the young leaves of tea plants collected at the Kanaya Tea Research Station of National Institute of Vegetable and Tea Science (Shizuoka, Japan) by the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) method (Kaundun and Park, 2002) and stored at 4℃ until analysis.…”

“…The remaining procedures were the same as for the CTAB DNA extraction method for fresh leaves from tea plants (Kaundun and Park, 2002). The final precipitates from the two aliquots were dissolved in 100 μL of TE buffer after drying under air for few minutes.…”