Abstract
BackgroundAngelica dahurica (Apiaceae) is an important herb in traditional Chinese medicine. Because of its important medicinal and economic values, its wild resources were over-exploited and increasingly reduced. Meanwhile, the diversity of cultivars of A. dahurica has decreased as a result of long-term artificial cultivation. However, there are no population genetics studies of natural A. dahurica reported yet, especially for using microsatellite markers (SSRs) to investigate population genetics of the species.ResultsSixteen polymorphic EST-SSR loci were isolated from A. dahurica with transcriptome sequencing technology (RNA-Seq). The number of alleles varied from 2 to 15 per polymorphic locus over populations with the observed and expected heterozygosities ranging from 0.000 to 1.000 and from 0.000 to 0.829, respectively. Significant deviations from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium were observed at 8 loci. Tests of linkage disequilibrium showed 11 informative locus pairs were significant across all populations. Cross-species amplification showed that 14 out of 16 SSR loci have the transferability in cultivar-A. dahurica cv. ‘Hangbaizhi’ and A. decursiva.ConclusionsThe 16 newly developed loci microsatellite primers with RNA-Seq will be useful for further investigating population genetics of A. dahurica, cultivars and other members of this genus.
Highlights
Angelica dahurica (Apiaceae) is an important herb in traditional Chinese medicine
Gene flow between two cultivars from different producing areas might lead to out-breeding depression, and the depressed gene flow goes into the adjacent natural populations of A. dahurica which might cause its decline in the adaptability to local environment [6]
In order to ensure the sustainable utilization of Angelica dahurica resources, conservation genetics research should be strengthened to protect the genetic diversity of this species as much as possible
Summary
Angelica dahurica (Apiaceae) is an important herb in traditional Chinese medicine. Because of its important medicinal and economic values, its wild resources were over-exploited and increasingly reduced. The diversity of cultivars of A. dahurica has decreased as a result of long-term artificial cultivation. & Sav., is an important medicinal plant, whose roots (Angelicae Dahuricae Radix) have been used as the important traditional Chinese medicine “bai zhi” for thousands of years [1]. In order to ensure the sustainable utilization of Angelica dahurica resources, conservation genetics research should be strengthened to protect the genetic diversity of this species as much as possible. The assessment of genetic diversity and population genetic structure in A. dahruica could help to formulate scientific and effective protection strategies
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