Chloroplast Noncoding DNA Sequences Reveal Genetic Distinction and Diversity between Wild and Cultivated Prunus yedoensis

Abstract

<jats:p>Cultivated flowering cherries (<jats:italic>Prunus</jats:italic> subgenus <jats:italic>Cerasus</jats:italic>), which are one of the most popular ornamental trees around the world, have been developed through artificial hybridizations among wild flowering cherries. Among the hundreds of cultivars of flowering cherries, <jats:italic>Prunus</jats:italic> ×<jats:italic>yedoensis</jats:italic> ‘Somei-yoshino’ is the most common and widespread. However, its origin and genetic relationship to wild <jats:italic>P. yedoensis</jats:italic>, naturally occurring on Jeju Island, South Korea, have long been debated. We used sequence polymorphisms in eight chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) noncoding regions to distinguish wild and cultivated flowering cherries among 104 individuals (55 accessions). We were able to distinguish two distinct groups, one corresponding to wild <jats:italic>P. yedoensis</jats:italic> collections from Jeju Island and the other collections of cultivated <jats:italic>P.</jats:italic> ×<jats:italic>yedoensis</jats:italic> from Korea, Japan, and the United States. The chlorotype diversity of wild <jats:italic>P. yedoensis</jats:italic> in Jeju Island and cultivated <jats:italic>P.</jats:italic> ×<jats:italic>yedoensis</jats:italic> collections in the United States was quite high, suggesting multiple natural hybrid origins and long history of cultivation from different original sources, respectively.</jats:p>

DNA Barcoding of Prunus Species Collection Conserved in the National Gene Bank of Egypt

“…These primers were tested and reused as universal primers for wide range of taxonomic plant groups. These regions were latter used by many researchers to investigate the systematics and phylogentic relationships of Prunus species [18,19,25,26]. Meanwhile, Uncu [27] used trnH-psbA region sucessefully to detect the fraud of apricot kernels to the almond valuable oil.…”

Botany and national identities: The Tokyo Cherry

“…This conclusion may seem to have settled the dispute. Yet, without addressing the legacy of nationalist bias, researchers in Korea and Japan have entered the field of biotechnology, inflating problems of provenance, and classification (Innan et al 1995; Kato et al 2014; Cheong et al 2017; Baek et al 2018). The present paper explores the Korean and Japanese perspectives on this issue through an analysis of the more intimate workings of taxonomy confronted with cherry biology, and intends to show how the ethical standards of science were compromised within the framework of nationalism and colonialism.…”