School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China.
Affiliated Cancer Hospital & Institute of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510095, China.
BMC Plant Biol. 2022 Jul 12;22(1):334. doi: 10.1186/s12870-022-03734-2.
Wuzhimaotao (Radix Fici Hirtae) originates from the dry root of Ficus hirta (Moraceae), which is widely known as a medical and edible plant distributed in South China. As the increasing demand for Wuzhimaotao, the wild F. hirta has been extremely reduced during the past years. It is urgent to protect and rationally develop the wild resources of F. hirta for its sustainable utilization. However, a lack of genetic background of F. hirta makes it difficult to plan conservation and breeding strategies for this medical plant. In the present study, a total of 414 accessions of F. hirta from 7 provinces in southern China were evaluated for the population genetics using 9 polymorphic SSR markers.
A mean of 17.1 alleles per locus was observed. The expected heterozygosity (He) varied from 0.142 to 0.861 (mean = 0.706) in nine SSR loci. High genetic diversity (H = 0.706, ranged from 0.613 to 0.755) and low genetic differentiation among populations (G' = 0.147) were revealed at population level. In addition, analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that the principal molecular variance existed within populations (96.2%) was significantly higher than that among populations (3.8%). Meanwhile, the three kinds of clustering methods analysis (STRUCTURE, PCoA and UPGMA) suggested that the sampled populations were clustered into two main genetic groups (K = 2). Mantel test showed a significant correlation between geographic and genetic distance among populations (R = 0.281, P < 0.001). Pollen flow, seed flow and/or geographical barriers might be the main factors that formed the current genetic patterns of F. hirta populations.
This is a comprehensive study of genetic diversity and population structure of F. hirta in southern China. We revealed the high genetic diversity and low population differentiation in this medicinal plant and clarified the causes of its current genetic patterns. Our study will provide novel insights into the exploitation and conservation strategies for F. hirta.
五指毛桃（榕属植物的根）来源于榕属植物（桑科）的干根，在中国南方被广泛认为是一种药用和食用植物。随着五指毛桃需求的增加，近年来野生榕属植物的数量已经极度减少。迫切需要保护和合理开发榕属植物的野生资源，以实现其可持续利用。然而，榕属植物缺乏遗传背景，使得为这种药用植物制定保护和繁殖策略变得困难。在本研究中，利用 9 个多态性 SSR 标记，对来自中国南方 7 个省的 414 份榕属植物资源进行了种群遗传评估。
每个位点平均观察到 17.1 个等位基因。在九个 SSR 位点中，预期杂合度（He）从 0.142 到 0.861（平均值为 0.706）不等。在种群水平上，揭示了高遗传多样性（H=0.706，范围为 0.613 至 0.755）和种群间低遗传分化（G'=0.147）。此外，分子方差分析（AMOVA）表明，主要的分子方差存在于种群内（96.2%），明显高于种群间（3.8%）。同时，三种聚类方法（STRUCTURE、PCoA 和 UPGMA）分析表明，采样种群聚类为两个主要遗传群（K=2）。Mantel 检验表明，种群间地理和遗传距离之间存在显著相关性（R=0.281，P<0.001）。花粉流、种子流和/或地理障碍可能是形成榕属植物种群当前遗传模式的主要因素。
这是对中国南方榕属植物遗传多样性和种群结构的综合研究。我们揭示了这种药用植物的高遗传多样性和低种群分化，并阐明了其当前遗传模式的原因。我们的研究将为榕属植物的开发和保护策略提供新的见解。
