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. 2024 Jun 3;19(6):e0302313.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0302313. eCollection 2024.

Assessment of phylogenetic relationships and genetic diversity of Sagittaria trifolia using phenotypic traits and SNP markers

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Assessment of phylogenetic relationships and genetic diversity of Sagittaria trifolia using phenotypic traits and SNP markers

Qun Ji et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

The aquatic perennial herb Sagittaria trifolia L. commonly known as arrowhead, has been utilized in China both as a culinary vegetable and in traditional medicines. Characterizing the phylogenetic relationships and genetic diversity of arrowheads is crucial for improved management, conservation, and efficient utilization of the germplasm resources associated with this species. Herein, we presented the phenotypic traits and genome-wide DNA marker-based analyses of 111 arrowhead accessions, most of which were from China. Cluster analysis revealed that arrowhead could be categorized into two clusters based on 11 phenotypic traits, with Cluster 1 comprising two subclusters. All accessions were clustered into three sub-clusters based primarily on leaf shape and tuber weight. A set of 759,237 high-quality single-nucleotide polymorphisms was identified and used to assess the phylogenetic relationships. Population structure and phylogenetic tree analyses suggested that the accessions could be classified into two major groups, Group I was further subdivided into two subgroups, aligning with the clusters identified through morphological classification. By employing Sagittaria lichuanensis as an outgroup, the rooted tree revealed that the evolutionary relationships within the three groups followed a progression from Group I-1 to Group I-2 and finally to Group II. The landraces were clustered into one group along with the remaining wild accessions. The level of genetic diversity for Group I (π = 0.26) was slightly lower than that which was estimated for Group II (π = 0.29). The lowest pairwise differentiation levels (Fst, 0.008) were obtained from the comparison between groups I-2 and II, indicating that the two groups were the most closely related. This study provides novel insights into germplasm classification, evolutionary relationships, genomics and arrowhead breeding.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Sagittaria trifolia plants.
From left to right: plants in clusters 1.1, 1.2, and 2.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Sagittaria trifolia tuber phenotypes.
From left to right: tubers of clusters 1.1, 1.2, and 2.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Different leaf shapes.
(A) Narrowly sagittate leaf (0.17). (B) Sagittate leaf (0.30). (C) Sagittate leaf (0.39). (D) Broadly sagittate leaf (0.45). (E) Hastate leaf. The middle lobe and lateral lobes are indicated by numbers 1 and 2, respectively. Values in brackets are the lateral lobe width:length ratios of the arrow-shaped leaves.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Population structure of 111 Sagittaria trifolia accessions generated using ADMIXTURE.
Each color represents one population. The vertical bars represent individual accessions. The ratio of each colored component in each vertical bar represents the membership probability of accessions belonging to different populations.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Population structure of 111 Sagittaria trifolia accessions.
(A) Phylogenetic analysis of 111 S. trifolia accessions. Group I-1 accessions are in blue, Group I-2 accessions are in light blue, and Group II accessions are in green. (B) PCA plots of the first two components of the 111 S. trifolia accessions. The subpopulations defined by the PCA include Pop 1.1 (Group I-1), Pop 1.2 (Group I-2), and Pop 2 (Group II).

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References

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Grants and funding

This research was supported by the earmarked fund for China Agriculture Research System (CARS-24-A-02), and the Crop Germplasms Protection Program of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China (19230829). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.