Maternal Donor and Genetic Variation of Lagerstroemia indica Cultivars

Abstract

Lagerstroemia indica L. is a well-known ornamental plant with large pyramidal racemes, long flower duration, and diverse colors and cultivars. It has been cultivated for nearly 1600 years and is essential for investigating the germplasm and assessing genetic variation to support international cultivar identification and breeding programs. In this study, 20 common Lagerstroemia indica cultivars from different varietal groups and flower morphologies, as well as multiple wild relative species, were analyzed to investigate the maternal donor of Lagerstroemia indica cultivars and to discover the genetic variation and relationships among cultivars based on plastome and nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) sequences. A total of 47 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 24 insertion/deletions (indels) were identified in the 20 L. indica cultivars’ plastome and 25 SNPs were identified in the nrDNA. Phylogenetic analysis based on the plastome sequences showed that all the cultivars formed a clade with the species of L. indica, indicating that L. indica was the maternal donor of the cultivars. Population structure and PCA analyses supported two clades of cultivars, which exhibited significant genetic differences according to the plastome dataset. The results of the nrDNA supported that all 20 cultivars were divided into three clades and most of the cultivars had at least two genetic backgrounds and higher gene flow. Our results suggest that the plastome and nrDNA sequences can be used as molecular markers for assessing the genetic variation and relationships of L. indica cultivars.

Genomic divergence and demographic history of Quercus aliena populations

“…Chloroplast genomes are less commonly used at the intraspecies level owing to less polymorphism in practice [ 19 , 26 , 27 ]. However, with the advent of NGS sequencing methods, whole chloroplast genomes have been sequenced and used in population studies, such as of the medicinal plants Arnebia euchroma and Arnebia guttata [ 28 ], the endangered species Ulmus laevis [ 29 ] and Bretschneidera sinensis [ 30 ], the fruit tree Ziziphus jujuba [ 31 ], and the ornamental plants Aquilegia ecalcarata [ 15 ] and Lagerstroemia indica [ 32 ]. These findings suggest that chloroplast genome sequences contain many SNPs and indels suitable for genetic diversity and phylogeography studies.…”

Chloroplast Genomes Evolution and Phylogenetic Relationships of Caragana species

“…In this study, we sequenced eight species ( Figure 1 ) of Caragana , each from a different section, and we compared the chloroplast genome variations and mutations. The chloroplast genome length ranged from 128,458 bp to 135,401 bp, which is significantly shorter than other angiosperms [ 12 , 13 , 19 ]. The shorter genome lengths were due to the loss of the inverted repeat (IR) region ( Figure 2 ).…”

“…Chloroplast genome sequences have been widely used to investigate phylogenetic relationships among closely related species due to their higher mutation rates, maternal inheritance, and lack of recombination [ 12 , 13 , 14 ]. The advancement of sequencing technologies has facilitated cost-effective, easy-to-obtain, complete chloroplast genome sequences, enabling the transition from gene-based phylogenetics to genome-based phylogenomics [ 13 , 15 ] and facilitating the investigation of evolutionary phenomena in plant species with greater efficiency.…”

Chloroplast genomes in seven Lagerstroemia species provide new insights into molecular evolution of photosynthesis genes

“…Lagerstroemia indica, native to the southeastern part of Asia, is a famous flowering tree that is widely cultivated in landscapes ( Wang et al, 2011 ). Apart from its ornamental value, L. indica also possesses air-purifying properties, effectively absorbing smoke and dust particles ( Guo et al, 2023 ). Additionally, certain species of L. indica hold commercial significance due to their wood and medicinal properties ( Xu et al, 2017 ; Zheng et al, 2020 ).…”