Abstract
Glycyrrhiza uralensis is a valuable medicinal legume, which occurs widely in arid and semi-arid regions. G. uralensis demand has risen steeply due to its high medical and commercial value. Interpret genome-wide information can stimulate the G. uralensis development as far as its increased bioactive compound levels, and plant yield are concerned. In this study, leaf nutrient concentration and photosynthetic chlorophyll index of G. uralensis were evaluated to determine the G. uralensis growth physiology in three habitats. We observed that G. uralensis nutrient levels and photosynthesis differed significantly in three regions (p < 0.05). Whole-genome re-sequencing of the sixty G. uralensis populations samples from different habitats was performed using an Illumina HiSeq sequencing platform to elucidate the distribution patterns, population evolution, and genetic diversity of G. uralensis. 150.06 Gb high-quality clean data was obtained after strict filtering. The 895237686 reads were mapped against the reference genome, with an average 89.7% mapping rate and 87.02% average sample coverage rate. A total of 6985987 SNPs were identified, and 117970 high-quality SNPs were obtained after filtering, which were subjected to subsequent analysis. Principal component analysis (PCA) based on interindividual SNPs and phylogenetic analysis based on interindividual SNPs showed that the G. uralensis samples could be categorized into central, southern, and eastern populations, which reflected strong genetic differentiation due to long periods of geographic isolation. In this study, a total of 131 candidate regions were screened, and 145 candidate genes (such as Glyur001802s00036258, Glyur003702s00044485, Glyur001802s00036257, Glyur007364s00047495, Glyur000028s00003476, and Glyur000398s00034457) were identified by selective clearance analysis based on Fst and θπ values. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis showed significant enrichment of 110 GO terms including carbohydrate metabolic process, carbohydrate biosynthetic process, carbohydrate derivative biosynthetic process, and glucose catabolic process (p < 0.05). Alpha-linolenic acid metabolism, biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, and fatty acid degradation pathways were significantly enriched (p < 0.05). This study provides information on the genetic diversity, genetic structure, and population adaptability of the medicinal legumes, G. uralensis. The data obtained in this study provide valuable information for plant development and future optimization of breeding programs for functional genes.
Highlights
The liquorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis) is a widely consumed medicinal plant
The content of bioactive components extracted from G. uralensis leaves is lower than that from roots, it is rich in fat, proteins, and trace elements, which enables it to meet the nutritional requirements of ruminants (Liu et al, 2013)
Ne in G. uralensis population from different geographical locations was evaluated through the pairwise sequentially markovian coalescent (PSMC) method (Li and Durbin, 2011) after determining the Linkage disequilibrium (LD) between single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)
Summary
The liquorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis) is a widely consumed medicinal plant. It is a type of leguminous perennial herb that is widely distributed in many arid and semi-arid regions of the world, including China (Liu et al, 2020). G. uralensis dried roots contain a myriad of bioactive compounds, including triterpenoid saponins, polysaccharides, and flavonoids (Niu et al, 2009; Wang et al, 2015). They are widely used in clinical medicine due to their antiinflammatory, immunomodulatory, and antiviral activities (Liu et al, 2010; Hosseinzadeh and Nassiri-Asl, 2015). G. uralensis leaves can be used as feed or feed additives as they do not have toxic side effects and drug resistance Their high nutritional composition improves animal health, promotes growth, enhances animal immunity, and improves animal production performance, making them good forage grass resources in animal husbandry with considerable economic benefits (Su et al, 2010)
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