Genetic structure and genetic diversity of single-variety Lonicera macranthoides populations in China, as indicated by SCoT markers

Lonicera macranthoides is an important traditional Chinese herb. The lack of information regarding the genetic structure and genetic relationships among its cultivars has hindered the conservation and utilization of this resource. This study used start codon targeted markers to assess the genetic diversity and other genetic characteristics of five single-variety L. macranthoides populations in China. Using 22 primers produced a total of 266 bands, of which 227 were polymorphic, indicating a high level of polymorphism. At the species level, genetic diversity was high: percentage of polymorphic loci (PPB) = 85.34%, effective number of alleles (N-E) = 1.3479, Nei's gene diversity (H) = 0.2075, and Shannon's information index (H-sp, species level) = 0.3198. However, at the varietal population level, genetic diversity was lower, with averages of: PPB = 19.74%, N-E = 1.0946, H = 0.0561, H-pop = 0.0850 (population level). Nei's genetic differentiation coefficient was 0.7319, which is consistent with Shannon's population genetic differentiation coefficient (0.7324). This indicates that most of the genetic variation in this species exists among the varietal populations. The differentiation among varieties may have been caused by artificial selection, mode of reproduction, and barriers to gene flow (0.1831). The genetic similarity coefficient ranged from 0.7222 to 0.9419. Phylogenetic analysis showed the five varieties to form two major clades. Results suggest that cultivar breeders should strengthen the exchange of germplasm and increase the mutual penetration of useful genes, which would broaden the hereditary basis of L. macranthoides.