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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Systematics and Evolution
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1498543
This article is part of the Research Topic Plant Diversification Driven by Genome and Chromosome Evolution and Its Reproductive and Environmental Correlates View all 5 articles

Complete chloroplast genome data reveal the existence of the Solidago canadensis L. complex and its potential introduction pathways into China

Provisionally accepted
Yu-Tian Tao Yu-Tian Tao 1Luxi Chen Luxi Chen 1Ming Jiang Ming Jiang 1Jie Jin Jie Jin 1Zhong-Shuai Sun Zhong-Shuai Sun 1Chaonan Cai Chaonan Cai 1Han-Yang Lin Han-Yang Lin 1Allison Kwok Allison Kwok 2Junmin Li Junmin Li 1*Mark Van Kleunen Mark Van Kleunen 3
  • 1 Taizhou University, Taizhou, China
  • 2 Trent University, Peterborough, Canada
  • 3 University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Solidago canadensis, native to North America, is an invasive species in many areas of the world, where it causes serious damage to natural ecosystems and economic losses. However, a dearth of genetic resources and molecular markers has hampered our understanding of its invasion history. Here, we de novo assembled 40 complete chloroplast genomes of Solidago species, including 21 S. canadensis individuals, 15 S. altissima individuals, and four S. decurrens individuals, the sizes of which ranged from 152,412 bp to 153,170 bp. The phylogenetic trees based on the complete chloroplast genome sequences and nuclear genome-wide SNP data showed that S. canadensis and S. altissima cluster together and form a monophyletic pair, as sister to S. decurrens, indicating the existence of the S. canadensis L. complex in China. Three potential introduction pathways were identified. The chloroplast-genome structure and gene contents are conservative in the genomes of the S. canadensis L. complex and S. decurrens. The analysis of sequence divergence indicated five variable regions, and 10 chloroplast protein-coding genes that underwent positive selection were identified. Our findings shed new light on the invasion history of S. canadensis and the data sets generated in this study will facilitate future research on its chloroplast genome evolution.

    Keywords: Solidago, Chloroplast genome, phylogenetic analysis, Introduction pathways, molecular marker

    Received: 19 Sep 2024; Accepted: 02 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Tao, Chen, Jiang, Jin, Sun, Cai, Lin, Kwok, Li and Van Kleunen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Junmin Li, Taizhou University, Taizhou, China

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