AUTHOR=Shi Naixing , Yang Zefen , Miao Ke , Tang Lilei , Zhou Nian , Xie Pingxuan , Wen Guosong 

TITLE=Comparative analysis of the medicinal plant Polygonatum kingianum (Asparagaceae) with related verticillate leaf types of the Polygonatum species based on chloroplast genomes

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1202634

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2023.1202634

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p><italic>Polygonatum kingianum</italic> has been widely used as a traditional Chinese medicine as well as a healthy food. Because of its highly variable morphology, this medicinal plant is often difficult to distinguish from other related verticillate leaf types of the <italic>Polygonatum</italic> species. The contaminants in <italic>P. kingianum</italic> products not only decrease the products’ quality but also threaten consumer safety, seriously inhibiting the industrial application of <italic>P. kingianum</italic>.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>Nine complete chloroplast (cp) genomes of six verticillate leaf types of the <italic>Polygonatum</italic> species were <italic>de novo</italic> assembled and systematically analyzed.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>The total lengths of newly sequenced cp genomes ranged from 155,437 to 155,977 bp, including 86/87 protein-coding, 38 tRNA, and 8 rRNA genes, which all exhibited well-conserved genomic structures and gene orders. The differences in the IR/SC (inverted repeats/single-copy) boundary regions and simple sequence repeats were detected among the verticillate leaf types of the <italic>Polygonatum</italic> cp genomes. Comparative cp genomes analyses revealed that a higher similarity was conserved in the IR regions than in the SC regions. In addition, 11 divergent hotspot regions were selected, providing potential molecular markers for the identification of the <italic>Polygonatum</italic> species with verticillate leaf types. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that, as a super barcode, plastids realized a fast and efficient identification that clearly characterized the relationships within the verticillate leaf types of the <italic>Polygonatum</italic> species. In brief, our results not only enrich the data on the cp genomes of the genus <italic>Polygonatum</italic> but also provide references for the <italic>P. kingianum</italic> germplasm resource protection, herbal cultivation, and drug production.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>This study not only accurately identifies <italic>P. kingianum</italic> species, but also provides valuable information for the development of molecular markers and phylogenetic analyses of the <italic>Polygonatum</italic> species with verticillate leaf types.</p></sec>