An unexpected genetic diversity pattern and a complex demographic history of a rare medicinal herb, Chinese asparagus (Asparagus cochinchinensis) in Korea

Abstract

Range-wide population studies of wide spread species are often associated with complex diversity patterns resulting from genetically divergent evolutionary significant units (ESUs). The compound evolutionary history creating such a pattern of diversity can be inferred through molecular analyses. Asparagus cochinchinensis , a medicinally important perennial herb, is in decline due to overharvesting in Korea. Eight A . cochinchinensis populations in Korea and three populations from neighboring countries (China, Japan and Taiwan) were examined using nine nuclear microsatellite loci and three chloroplast microsatellite loci to characterize molecular diversity patterns. The average within-population diversity was limited likely due to long-term bottlenecks observed in all eight populations. High pairwise F ST values indicated that the populations have largely diverged, but the divergences were not correlated with geographic distances. Clustering analyses revealed a highly complex spatial structure pattern associated with two ESUs. Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) suggests that the two ESUs split about 21,000 BP were independently introduced to Korea approximately 1,800 years ago, and admixed in secondary contact zones. The two ESUs found in our study may have different habitat preferences and growth conditions, implying that the two genetically divergent groups should be considered not only for conservation and management but also for breeding programs in agricultural areas.

Analysis of genetic diversity and population structure in Asparagus species using SSR markers

“…Fst values of different populations showed significant structuring of studied germplasm. Structure analysis showed two genetic stocks for the analyzed germplasm and in agreement to the results reported by Lee et al [ 36 ] in A. cochinchinensis . The two genetic stocks and very less admixture revealed by structure analysis strongly supported the species level demarcation of accessions.…”

“…A large number of this type of studies based on different DNA markers has been reported previously in various crops [ 27 , 38 , 39 ]. Dendrogram of A. adscendens and A. racemosus showed two major groups and agreed the results of Altintas et al, Castro et al, and Vijay et al [ 36 , 40 , 41 ] who also obtained two clades with different Asparagus species. Further examination of these groups revealed that group I was showing subgrouping in two subgroups while no such subgroups were observed in group II.…”

Phenotypic, chemical component and molecular assessment of genetic diversity and population structure of Morinda officinalis germplasm

“…The higher the heterozygosity rate, the more similar the base sequence between two DNAs, and the closer the relationship between them [ 55 ]. The heterozygous rate of MO (average heterozygous rate = 32.26%) is significantly higher than other species, such as rice [ 56 ], soybeans [ 57 ], etc.…”

“…Furthermore, wind and animals have long been considered as the primary agents of inter-population gene exchange between geographically isolated populations, which can transport pollen and seeds to other MO plantations over the landscape, and can reduce the impact of genetic drift and founder events [60]. Since the gene flow that wind mediated appears to be effective just at distances of less than 1 km, anemochorous dispersal may only affect allele frequencies among closer populations, while birds can transport pollen and seeds over 12 km, and long-distance migration promotes gene flow between local populations, making the populations genetically homogeneous [55,61]. These are consistent with the results of field investigation: the plant morphological characteristics of Hainan population have significant variation, followed by Guangxi, while the plants of Guangdong and Fujian were similar.…”

Asparagus cochinchinensis alleviates disturbances of lipid metabolism and gut microbiota in high-fat diet-induced obesity mice

“…belongs to the genus Asparagus (Liliaceae). It is widely distributed in the temperate zone (China, Korea, Japan) to tropical Asia (Laos and Vietnam) (Lee et al, 2019). Steroidal saponins and polysaccharides are conceived as the major chemical components of Asparagus cochinchinensis, and the content of polysaccharides was higher in roots than in stems (Xue et al, 2022).…”