Genetic and Epigenetic Diversities Shed Light on Domestication of Cultivated Ginseng (Panax ginseng).
Chinese ginseng (Panax ginseng) is a medically important herb within Panax and has crucial cultural values in East Asia. As the symbol of traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese ginseng has been used as a herbal remedy to restore stamina and capacity in East Asia for thousands of years. To address the evolutionary origin and domestication history of cultivated ginseng, we employed multiple molecular approaches to investigate the genetic structures of cultivated and wild ginseng across their distribution ranges in northeastern Asia. Phylogenetic and population genetic analyses revealed that the four cultivated ginseng landraces, COMMON, BIANTIAO, SHIZHU, and GAOLI (also known as Korean ginseng), were not domesticated independently and Fusong Town is likely one of the primary domestication centers. In addition, our results from population genetic and epigenetic analyses demonstrated that cultivated ginseng maintained high levels of genetic and epigenetic diversity, but showed distinct cytosine methylation patterns compared with wild ginseng. The patterns of genetic and epigenetic variation revealed by this study have shed light on the domestication history of cultivated ginseng, which may serve as a framework for future genetic improvements.
Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, #5268 Renmin Street, Changchun 130024, China; Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun 130024, China.
Ming-Rui
MR
Li
Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, #5268 Renmin Street, Changchun 130024, China; Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun 130024, China.
Feng-Xue
FX
Shi
Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, #5268 Renmin Street, Changchun 130024, China; Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun 130024, China.
Yu-Xin
YX
Zhou
Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, #5268 Renmin Street, Changchun 130024, China.
Ya-Ling
YL
Li
Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, #5268 Renmin Street, Changchun 130024, China; Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun 130024, China.
Xin-Feng
XF
Wang
Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, #5268 Renmin Street, Changchun 130024, China; Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun 130024, China.
Cui
C
Zhang
Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, #5268 Renmin Street, Changchun 130024, China.
Xu-Tong
XT
Wang
Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, #5268 Renmin Street, Changchun 130024, China.
Bao
B
Liu
Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun 130024, China. Electronic address: xiaohx771@nenu.edu.cn.
Hong-Xing
HX
Xiao
Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, #5268 Renmin Street, Changchun 130024, China. Electronic address: lilf241@nenu.edu.cn.
Lin-Feng
LF
Li
D001208:Asia; D002736:Chloroplasts / Q000235:genetics; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000235:genetics; D003596:Cytosine / Q000378:metabolism; D019175:DNA Methylation; D018744:DNA, Plant; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D014644:Genetic Variation; D018745:Genome, Plant; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D005894:Panax / Q000235:genetics*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D018744:DNA, Plant; D003596:Cytosine
Panax ginseng; cytosine methylation; domestication; genetic and epigenetic diversity; traditional Chinese medicine