Plastid Phylogenomic Data Offers Novel Insights Into the Taxonomic Status of the Complex (Cucurbitaceae) in South Korea.

is a genus in Cucurbitaceae comprising 90-100 species. species are valuable as herbaceous medicinal ingredients. The fruits, seeds, and roots of species such as and are used in Korean traditional herbal medicines. is only found in China, whereas in South Korea two varieties, var. and var. , are distributed. var. and var. have different fruit and leaf shapes but are recognized as belonging to the same species. Furthermore, although its members have herbal medicine applications, genomic information of the genus is still limited. The broad goals of this study were (i) to evaluate the taxonomy of using plastid phylogenomic data and (ii) provide molecular markers specific for var. and var. , as these have differences in their pharmacological effectiveness and thus should not be confused and adulterated. Comparison of five plastid genomes revealed locally divergent regions, mainly within intergenic spacer regions (: marker name Tri, : TRr, : TRtt). Using these three markers as DNA-barcodes for important herbal medicine species in , the identity of material in commercial medicinal products in South Korea could be successfully determined. Phylogenetic analysis of the five species revealed that the species are clustered within tribe Sicyoeae. var. and formed a clade with var. as their sister group. As in its current circumscription is paraphyletic and as the two varieties can be readily distinguished morphologically (e.g., in leaf shape), var. should be treated (again) as an independent species, .