SCoT Markers Analysis of Genetic Diversity of Polygonatum, A Medicinal and Edible Plant

Abstract Background: As a traditional Chinese medicine, Polygonatum has been demonstrated to have immunomodulatory, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, anti-cancer, hypoglycemic and other pharmacological effects. However, the germplasm resources of Polygonatum have been destroyed in recent years and the research on its genetic diversity is extremely scarce. In this study, the genetic diversity of 28 Polygonatum germplasms from 11 different provinces in China was evaluated by Start codon targeted (SCoT) marker. Results: A total of 365 bands were generated by 15 SCoT primers, of which 355 were polymorphic, with a high polymorphism of 97.3%. And the genetic similarity coefficient is between 0.59 and 0.75, indicating a high genetic diversity. UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean) dendrogram, PCoA (Principal Coordinate Analysis) and Structure analysis have similar results in grouping Polygonatum germplasm and they are all divided into two populations. We found that there was a certain correlation between the genetic distance and geographical distance of Polygonatum germplasm. By analyzing other valid genetic diversity parameters (Na, Ne, H, I), it is clarified that Polygonatum has abundant alleles and abundant genetic diversity among populations. Conclusions: This study suggests that Polygonatum germplasm resources from different provenances have rich genetic diversity. The SCoT molecular marker is a valuable marker system and can be used for genetic analysis of Polygonatum resources. This will be helpful to further study the preservation and genetic improvement of Polygonatum germplasm.