Taxonomic Status and Genetic Variation of Korean Endemic Plants, Eranthis byunsanensis and Eranthis pungdoensis (Ranunculaceae) based on nrDNA ITS and cpDNA Sequences

Abstract

To reappraise the taxonomic status of two Korean endemic plants, Eranthis byunsanensis and Eranthis pungdoensis, we analyzed five taxa of that genus plus three outgroup genera (Cimicifuga, Anemonopsis, and Anemone). In all, 52 representative accessions were examined for nrDNA (ITS) and 43 accessions for cpDNA (trnH-psbA, rps16, trnL, and trnLF). In the ITS region, all of the aligned sequences from E. byunsanensis had the same ribotype as from E. pungdoensis. For the ITS phylogeny, E. pungdoensis could not be distinguished from E. byunsanensis. However, the clade of E. byunsanensis, including E. pungdoensis, was separated from Eranthis pinnatifida of Japan, which has a distinct ribotype and forms a sister group. In our cpDNA analysis, E. byunsanensis showed paraphyly, and the clade of E. pungdoensis was nested within the E. byunsanensis clade. Haplotypes of each population of E. byunsanensis were highly variable, and TCS analysis of that species implied that the Jeju population is ancestral. Moreover, the cp-group of E. pungdoensis was separated from the other cp-groups by five substitutions and five indels. Therefore, based on these DNA data and TCS analysis, we advise that the taxonomic status of E. pungdoensis be treated as E. byunsanensis B. Sun var. pungdoensis (B.U. Oh) S.H. Yeau, C.S. Lee & N.S. Lee, stat. nov.

The speciation history of northern‐ and southern‐sourced Eranthis (Ranunculaceae) species on the Korean peninsula and surrounding areas

“…When assuming the speciation from an Eranthis species in eastern China, western sea of Korea, or East China Sea, even though we cannot conjecture the exact location of the speciation event, we can at least roughly infer that most probable site of speciation would have been near Jeju island. In the previous study, which analyzed genetic variation in E. byunsanensis , E. pungdoensis, and E. pinnatifida , (Lee et al, ) the TCS haplotype network revealed that Jeju was the likely center of differentiation for East Asian Eranthis species, and this conclusion is consistent with our results regarding the speciation of E. byunsanensis . In SAMOVA, Jeju population was differentiated from the other six populations, possibly due to its high genetic diversity.…”

“…In this study, most of the analyses, including phylogenetic reconstructions, indicate that E. pungdoensis is genetically very similar to E. byunsanensis (Figure ; Supporting information Figure S2 and S3 in Appendix ), and is nested within E. byunsanensis in the phylogenies (Figure ; Supporting information Figure S2 in Appendix ). A previous study also reported a similarity between the two species using cpDNA sequences and ITS regions (Lee et al, ). This may clearly suggest E. pungdoensis speciated from E. byunsanensis .…”

“…For example, previous research has investigated the genetic variation of the populations of the Korean endemic Eranthis byunsanensis (Figure 1) and the environmental characteristics of its habitat (Kim et al, 2012;So, Lee, & Park, 2012). E. byunsanensis and its closely related species Eranthis pungdoensis were compared based on their genetic variation, and taxonomic analysis was conducted for these two species (Lee, Yeau, & Lee, 2012). In addition, the seeds of E. byunsanensis and E. stellata have been compared morphologically (Jung, Shin, & Heo, 2010), the flowering rate and pollen release of E. hyemalis, which inhabits Europe (Rysiak & Żuraw, 2011), have been analyzed, and cytological studies on E. stellata and E. pinnatifida have been conducted (Kurita, 1955;Yuan & Yang, 2006).…”

Genetic variation in populations of the Korean endemic Eranthis byunsanensis (Ranunculaceae)

“…Naro-do Mai-san Byunsan Naejang-san Jeju-do ADH-2 1.000* 1.000* 1.000* 1.000* -GA3PD minor (Chung, 1994). In addition to isozyme data, Lee et al (2012) reported high genetic variation of E. byunsanensis on the basis of nrDNA ITS and cpDNA sequences. Historical factors might provide one possible explanation for the high genetic variation and low levels of genetic differentiation detected in E. byunsanensis.…”

An integrative taxonomic approach reveals a new species of Eranthis (Ranunculaceae) in North Asia

“…The genus Eranthis L. (Ranunculaceae) consists of eight to ten species distributed in southern Europe and temperate Asia (Lee et al 2012;Park et al 2019). Most species have narrow distributions and only one European species, E. hyemalis (L.) Salisb., has been widely cultivated in gardens and become naturalised in Britain (Boens 2014) and North America (Parfitt 1997).…”