AUTHOR=Zhou Xuan , Zhang Zhi-Cheng , Huang Yan-Bo , Xiao Han-Wen , Wu Jun-Jie , Qi Zhe-Chen , Wei Yu-Kun 

TITLE=Conservation Genomics of Wild Red Sage (Salvia miltiorrhiza) and Its Endangered Relatives in China: Population Structure and Interspecific Relationships Revealed From 2b-RAD Data

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2021.688323

DOI=10.3389/fgene.2021.688323

ISSN=1664-8021

ABSTRACT=<p>Red sage (<italic>Salvia miltiorrhiza</italic>) is a widely used medicinal plant for treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Because of excessive excavation by huge market demand and habitat loss by human activities, the wild population resources of <italic>S. miltiorrhiza</italic> have reduced drastically in recent years. Meanwhile, population status of two closely related species <italic>S. bowleyana</italic> and <italic>S. paramiltiorrhiza</italic> were in a trend of decreasing due to their potential replacement of <italic>S. miltiorrhiza</italic>. Particularly, <italic>S. paramiltiorrhiza</italic> was threatened and endemic to a small region in eastern China. However, to date there has been no conservation genetic research reported for wild <italic>S. miltiorrhiza</italic> population and its endangered relatives. Assess the wild germplasm diversity for <italic>S. miltiorrhiza</italic> and its related species would provide fundamental genetic background for cultivation and molecular breeding of this medicinally important species. In the present study, we investigated the genetic diversity, population structure, and intra/inter-specific differentiation of <italic>S. miltiorrhiza</italic> and above two relatives using 2b-RAD genome-wide genotyping method. By investigating 81 individuals of <italic>S. miltiorrhiza</italic>, 55 individuals of <italic>S. bowleyana</italic> and 15 individuals of <italic>S. paramiltiorrhiza</italic> from 23 locations in China, we obtained 23,928 SNPs in total. A comparatively high genetic diversity was observed in <italic>S. miltiorrhiza</italic> (π = 0.0788, <italic>H</italic><sub><italic>e</italic></sub> = 0.0783 ± 0.0007). The observed and expected heterozygosity in populations of these three species ranged from 0.0297 to 0.1481 and 0.0251 to 0.831, respectively. Two major lineage groups were detected in the examined <italic>S. miltiorrhiza</italic> populations. The results indicated that Dabie Mountain as a genetic diversity center of <italic>S. miltiorrhiza</italic> and possible complex inter-specific genetic exchange/hybridization occurred between <italic>S. miltiorrhiza</italic> and the two relatives. We suggest that strategic conservation and germplasm preservation should be considered not only for wild populations of <italic>S. miltiorrhiza</italic>, but also for its related <italic>S. bowleyana</italic> and <italic>S. paramiltiorrhiza.</italic></p>