Hazarika T K, Momin Marcy D, Ibrahim Kalibulla Syed, Lalrinzuala P, Dutta Himjyoti, Singh Thingnam Surendrakumar, Debbarma Panthor, Das Jayshree, Bora Ajitabh
Department of Horticulture, Aromatic and Medicinal Plants, School of Earth Sciences and Natural Resources Management, Mizoram University, Aizawl, India.
Department of Biotechnology, PSG College of Arts and Science, Avinashi Road, Civil Areodrome Post, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, 641 104, India.
Mol Biol Rep. 2025 Jun 26;52(1):643. doi: 10.1007/s11033-025-10753-3.
The genus Ficus L., commonly known as fig and belonging to the family Moraceae, is widely distributed across tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, America, and Australia. Ficus species hold significant importance in horticulture and traditional medicine due to their aesthetic, edible, and therapeutic properties. Nevertheless, the pronounced morphological diversity and intricate genetic makeup of these species require the application of molecular techniques for precise identification and comprehensive assessment of genetic diversity.
This study focuses on the morphological, molecular characterization, and phylogeny of wild Ficus species in Mizoram, Northeast India. Morphological traits of the plants and fruits were observed, and molecular analysis was conducted using DNA barcoding of the rbcL gene, with the resulting sequences submitted to NCBI GenBank. Significant variation in morphological traits was observed among the studied Ficus species. Phylogenetic analysis based on rbcL gene sequences confirmed genetic diversity, with notable genetic similarity identified in Ficus velutina (MTMZU12 and MTMZU13) despite their morphological similarity.
The study underscores how genetic and environmental factors shape morphology and shows that integrating molecular and morphological data improves phylogenetic resolution in Northeast India, a critical biodiversity hotspot.
榕属植物，通常被称为无花果，属于桑科，广泛分布于亚洲、非洲、美洲和澳大利亚的热带和亚热带地区。榕属植物因其美学价值、可食用性和治疗特性，在园艺和传统医学中具有重要意义。然而，这些物种显著的形态多样性和复杂的基因组成需要应用分子技术来进行精确鉴定和全面评估遗传多样性。
本研究聚焦于印度东北部米佐拉姆邦野生榕属植物的形态学、分子特征及系统发育。观察了植物和果实的形态特征，并使用rbcL基因的DNA条形码进行分子分析，所得序列提交至NCBI基因库。在所研究的榕属物种中观察到形态特征存在显著差异。基于rbcL基因序列的系统发育分析证实了遗传多样性，尽管绒毛榕（MTMZU12和MTMZU13）形态相似，但在其之间鉴定出了显著的遗传相似性。
该研究强调了遗传和环境因素如何塑造形态，并表明整合分子和形态数据可提高印度东北部这一关键生物多样性热点地区的系统发育分辨率。
