Population genetics and evolutionary history of Miscanthus species in China

Abstract

Miscanthus species have received considerable attention as a potential biomass source for renewable energy production because of their ability to produce high yields of biomass and adapt to a wide range of climates and soils. To explore the genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationship of Miscanthus species in China, we used 24 simple sequence repeat markers to genotype 100 natural populations representing all four Chinese Miscanthus species (M. sinensis Andersson, M. floridulus (Lab.) Warb. ex K. Schum. & Lauterb., M. sacchariflorus (Maxim.) Hack., and M. lutarioriparius L. Liu ex Renvoize & S. L. Chen). Based on phylogenetic, principal coordinate, and STRUCTURE analyses, we found that the 100 populations formed two major groups corresponding to sect. Triarrhena and sect. Miscanthus. Group 1 (i.e., sect. Triarrhena) was further subdivided into two subgroups corresponding to M. sacchariflorus and M. lutarioriparius; Group 2 (i.e., sect. Miscanthus) was subdivided into three subgroups, group 2a (M. sinensis populations in southern China), group 2b (M. sinensis populations in northern China), and group 2c (all the M. floridulus populations). Population genetics analyses indicated high levels of the genetic diversity at both population (H E = 0.468-0.599) and species (H E = 0.559-0.708) levels, indicative of the potential of these wild resources in future breeding programs. The species distribution modeling showed that M. sacchariflorus and M. lutarioriparius have experienced population reductions during the last glacial maximum and population expansion afterward; in contrast, M. sinensis and M. floridulus both underwent gradual population expansions from the last interglaciation to the present. We also suggest that M. floridulus originated from M. sinensis in southeast China through ecological speciation. The understanding of the evolutionary history and population dynamics of these species not only provides valuable information for further genetic improvement and breeding of this energy crop but also gives important insights into the origin and speciation processes of the Miscanthus species.

Natural Variation of Lignocellulosic Components in Miscanthus Biomass in China

“…It belongs to the subtribe Saccharinae, tribe Andropogoneae, subfamily Panicoideae, and family Poaceae. It originated in East Asia and Southeast Asia and is now widely distributed in China, Japan, and Pacific Islands (Hodkinson et al, 2002;Hastings et al, 2009;Jensen et al, 2011) China is an important origin and distribution center of Miscanthus (Clifton-Brown et al, 2001;Clifton et al, 2015;Li et al, 2019), with extensive wild germplasm resources and abundant genetic diversity (Hodkinson et al, 2002;Anzoua et al, 2011;Ge et al, 2019). Seven species of Miscanthus are found in China, namely, M. sinensis, M. floridulus, M. sacchariflorus, M. lutarioriparius, M. paniculatus, M. nepalensis, and M. nudipes.…”

Population genetic structure of the giant panda staple food bamboo (Fargesia spathacea complex) and its taxonomic implications

“…Sun (Yang et al, 2018). However, the He level in the F. spathacea complex was equivalent to that reported for Miscanthus species, which are regarded as presenting a high level of genetic diversity (Li et al, 2019). As woody bamboo retains long blooming intervals, the outcrossing rate within or between populations must be high enough to maintain this level of polymorphism.…”

“…This challenge is even greater when phenotypic differences between closely related plant species are unclear or controversial. For a species complex or closely related species whose taxonomic differentiation is difficult, investigations of population genetics and evolutionary history are critical endeavors for understanding species identity and relationships and thus have important implications for their taxonomic treatments (e.g., Wang et al, 2014; Li et al, 2019; Pinho et al, 2019). For example, Li et al (2019) investigated the evolutionary history and population genetic structure of four Chinese Miscanthus Andersson species based on 24 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers.…”

“…For a species complex or closely related species whose taxonomic differentiation is difficult, investigations of population genetics and evolutionary history are critical endeavors for understanding species identity and relationships and thus have important implications for their taxonomic treatments (e.g., Wang et al, 2014; Li et al, 2019; Pinho et al, 2019). For example, Li et al (2019) investigated the evolutionary history and population genetic structure of four Chinese Miscanthus Andersson species based on 24 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. They found that all 100 populations formed two major groups and five minor clusters, providing important information for the classification of Miscanthus species.…”

Population genetic structure and classification of cultivated and wild pea (Pisum sp.) based on morphological traits and SSR markers

“…In addition to the significant morphological differences arising from crop domestication, strong artificial selection, and genetic bottlenecks can lead to significant reductions in genetic diversity. Therefore, studying the morphological variation and population genetic structure of cultivated crops and their wild relatives not only provides a foundation for clarifying fundamental aspects of crop domestication and local adaptation (Hyten et al, 2006;Zhu et al, 2007;Wang et al, 2014;Stetter et al, 2017) but also facilitates the identification of potential wild germplasm resources for the genetic improvement of crops (Tanksley & McCouch, 1997;Brozynska et al, 2016;Li et al, 2019;Coyne et al, 2020).…”