Department of Plant Breeding, Yazd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Yazd, Iran.
Department of Systems Biology, Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran (ABRII), Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran.
PLoS One. 2023 Feb 3;18(2):e0265977. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265977. eCollection 2023.
Pomegranate has been considered a medicinal plant due to its rich nutrients and bioactive compounds. Since environmental conditions affect the amount and composition of metabolites, selecting suitable locations for cultivation would be vital to achieve optimal production. In this study, data on the diversity of targeted metabolites and morphological traits of 152 Iranian pomegranate genotypes were collected and combined in order to establish the first core collection. The multivariate analyses were conducted including principal component analysis (PCA), and cluster analysis. In addition, the current and future geographical distribution of pomegranate in Iran was predicted to identify suitable locations using the MaxEnt model. The results showed high diversity in the studied morphological and metabolic traits. The PCA results indicated that FFS, NFT, JA, and AA are the most important traits in discriminating the studied genotypes. A constructed core collection using maximization strategy consisted of 20 genotypes and accounted for 13.16% of the entire collection. Shannon-Weaver diversity index of a core collection was similar or greater than the entire collection. Evaluation of the core collection using four parameters of MD, VD, CR, and VR also indicated the maintenance of the genetic diversity of the original set. According to the MaxEnt model, altitude, average temperature of coldest quarter, and isothertmality were the key factors for the distribution of pomegranate. The most suitable areas for pomegranate cultivation were also determined which were located in arid and semi-arid regions of Iran. The geographic distribution of pomegranate in the future showed that the main provinces of pomegranate cultivation would be less affected by climatic conditions by the middle of the century. The results of this study provide valuable information for selection of elite genotypes to develop the breeding programs to obtain the cultivars with the highest levels of metabolic compounds for pharmaceutical purposes, as well as identification of the most suitable agro-ecological zones for orchard establishment.
石榴因其丰富的营养成分和生物活性化合物而被视为药用植物。由于环境条件会影响代谢物的数量和组成，因此选择合适的种植地点对于实现最佳产量至关重要。在这项研究中，收集了 152 个伊朗石榴基因型的目标代谢物多样性和形态特征数据，并将其进行了组合，以建立首个核心种质。进行了多元分析，包括主成分分析（PCA）和聚类分析。此外，还使用 MaxEnt 模型预测了石榴在伊朗的当前和未来地理分布，以确定合适的种植地点。研究结果表明，所研究的形态和代谢特征存在高度多样性。PCA 结果表明，FFS、NFT、JA 和 AA 是区分研究基因型的最重要特征。使用最大化策略构建的核心种质库由 20 个基因型组成，占整个种质库的 13.16%。核心种质库的香农-威弗多样性指数与整个种质库相似或更大。使用 MD、VD、CR 和 VR 四个参数对核心种质库进行评估也表明，其保持了原始集合的遗传多样性。根据 MaxEnt 模型，海拔、最冷月平均温度和等温性是石榴分布的关键因素。还确定了最适合石榴种植的区域，这些区域位于伊朗干旱和半干旱地区。石榴在未来的地理分布表明，到本世纪中叶，石榴种植的主要省份受气候条件的影响将较小。本研究的结果为选择优良基因型提供了有价值的信息，以制定培育计划，获得具有最高代谢化合物水平的品种，用于药用目的，并确定最适合果园建立的农业生态区。
