Genetic diversity and population structure of eddoe taro in China using genome-wide SNP markers

Abstract

Taro (Colocasia esculenta) is an important root and tuber crop cultivated worldwide. There are two main types of taro that vary in morphology of corm and cormel, ‘dasheen’ and ‘eddoe’. The eddoe type (Colocasia esculenta var. antiquorium) is predominantly distributed throughout China. Characterizing the genetic diversity present in the germplasm bank of taro is fundamental to better manage, conserve and utilize the genetic resources of this species. In this study, the genetic diversity of 234 taro accessions from 16 provinces of China was assessed using 132,869 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers identified by specific length amplified fragment-sequencing (SLAF-seq). Population structure and principal component analysis permitted the accessions to be categorized into eight groups. The genetic diversity and population differentiation of the eight groups were evaluated using the characterized SNPs. Analysis of molecular variance showed that the variation among eight inferred groups was higher than that within groups, while a relatively small variance was found among the two morphological types and 16 collection regions. Further, a core germplasm set comprising 41 taro accessions that maintained the genetic diversity of the entire collection was developed based on the genotype. This research is expected to be valuable for genetic characterization, germplasm conservation, and breeding of taro.

Nutritional, physicochemical, and functional properties of Hawaiian taro (Colocasia esculenta) flours: A comparative study

“…The different WAC of the five taro varieties may be attributed to their varying amounts of starch, which is confirmed by a significant ( p < 0.001) correlation between WAC and total starch content (Table 4). When the starch molecules are in excess water, the crystalline structure is disrupted, and water molecules become linked by hydrogen bonding to the exposed hydroxyl groups of amylose and amylopectin, which causes an increase in granule swelling and solubility (Wang et al., 2020). The taro varieties with high WAC may have more hydrophilic food components, such as polysaccharides (Kaushal et al., 2012).…”

“…The present study, with all taro varieties cultivated in the same field ( lo'i ), suggests that genetic factors may contribute to the observed starch variation. Research on taro varieties in China utilizing single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers revealed distinct genetic compositions even among taro plants from the same geographical location (Wang et al., 2020). Understanding the genetic variations among taro is crucial for developing new food industry products, as well as exploring the influence starch has on the overall texture, stability, and taste of food products.…”

Assessment of ethnobotanical uses, household, and regional genetic diversity of aroid species grown in northeastern India

“…aquatilis through natural differentiation and human selection in tropical areas from northeast India to Australia/ New Guinea. However, comparatively least differentiation has been observed in the core set having multi-corm, and cormel genotypes of different geographical origin in China (55).…”

Complete mitochondrial genome assembly and comparative analysis of Colocasia esculenta

“…C. esculenta varieties are distributed throughout various parts of the world through trade and human migration. Selecting superior varieties based solely on morphological characteristics can be challenging [4]. However, in this study, the abundance of highly polymorphic repetitive sequences served as a source of molecular markers for the evolutionary analysis of C. esculenta.…”

“…Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ethiopia, and China are the major producing countries of C. esculenta, contributing to 81.9% of the global production [3]. China is the world's second-largest producer and largest exporter of C. esculenta, with a cultivation history of more than 2000 years [4]. It is cultivated and exported internationally [5], enabling millions of farmers to achieve food security and economic prosperity [6].…”