Geographical Variation in Morphological Traits of Catharanthus Roseus: A Comparative Study Across Five Distinct Ecological Niches From Southern Tamil Nadu, India

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Rosy This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5574070/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Medicinal plants have been vital in human history for their therapeutic benefits, offering a sustainable and accessible alternative to synthetic drugs. Among these, Catharanthus roseus [L.] G. Don stands out for its pharmacological significance, producing bioactive compounds such as vincristine and vinblastine, which are critical in cancer treatment. This plant's adaptability across diverse ecological zones highlights its resilience and underscores the influence of environmental factors on its morphology and physiology. Morphological variations in plants, particularly those growing across altitudinal and climatic gradients, can reveal insights into their adaptive strategies and evolutionary trends. However, limited research has been conducted on the relationship between environmental gradients and the phenotypic diversity of C. roseus . This study focuses on the morphological characterization of C. roseus collected from five distinct agro-climatic zones in the Kanyakumari district. By analyzing variations in traits such as leaf dimensions, stem structure, and inflorescence, this research aims to understand how environmental conditions influence morphological expressions. Exploring these variations not only aids in species identification but also enhances our understanding of how environmental and genetic factors interact to shape plant adaptability. Such insights can further inform the conservation and optimized cultivation of medicinal plants, emphasizing their role in traditional medicine and modern pharmacology. Agricultural Economics & Policy Forestry Conservation Biology Behavioral Ecology Biogeography Evolutionary Developmental Biology Population Biology Terrestrial Ecology Environmental Policy Agronomy Taxonomy Aquaculture and Mariculture Botany botany Medicinal plants pharmacological impact Catharanthus roseus Plant drug research morphological patterns and function morphological change INTRODUCTION Plants may change their morphological and physiological properties in response to environmental changes [Sultan, 1995 & Robakowski et al. , 2003], and they can also regulate the expression of these traits to accommodate their adaptability across diverse settings [McIntyre, 2009]. Plant development, structure, function, and metabolism are all affected by altitude [Berli et al. , 2013 & Dogra et al. , 2013]. Environmental adaptation is reflected in a species' morphological and physiological properties over particular altitudinal gradients [Pellissier et al. , 2013]. As a result, current plant ecologists have focused on these plant features in various biological and ecological zones in order to better understand their adaptation mechanisms [Wright et al. , 2004; He et al. , 2006]. The visual identification of plants is aided by plant architecture. Recent molecular biology research has begun to look at the molecular processes involved in influencing plant morphology conservation and diversity. Cai et al. , 2012; Grytnes and Vetaas, 2002 & Schmidt et al. , 2008] suggest that plant species have an optimum altitude for biomass production and net photosynthetic rate, and that deviation from this optimum altitude can cause enzymatic activity to increase or decrease [Cai et al. , 2012; Grytnes and Vetaas, 2002 & Schmidt et al. , 2008]. However, [Jump and Penuelas, 2005] the adaptation process in response to altitude variation and climate change is little unclear. Since the birth of medicine, natural products, particularly those derived from plants, have been employed to aid in the maintenance of human health. Traditional medicine has existed since the beginning of time, and it has been widely acknowledged and used by people throughout history. Plants have been used as a source of medicine since the dawn of humanity. For many years, plant-derived therapeutic medicines have piqued the interest of experts all over the world due to their low risk of side effects and good impacts on human health. Plants having a long history of ethnomedicine usage can be a rich source of chemicals for the treatment of a variety of maladies and infectious diseases in the pharmaceutical environment. Medicinal plants are thought to be a storehouse of a variety of bioactive chemicals with various medicinal qualities. Anti-inflammatory, antiviral, anticancer, antimalarial, and analgesic activities are among the therapeutic effects linked with medicinal plants [Mya et al. , 2019]. Catharanthus roseus L. [G.] Don is a dicotyledonous angiosperm that produces the terpene indole alkaloids vinblastine and vincristine, which are used to combat cancer [Ajaib et al. , 2010]. It's one of the most well-researched medicinal herbs [Van Der Heijden et al. , 2004 & Verpoorte et al. , 2007]. It's an upright, bushy herb that's evergreen and blooms all year. It generates essential alkaloids such as vincristine and vinblastine, which are mostly found in the leaves, and antihypertensive alkaloids like as ajmalicine, serpentine, and reserpine, which are mostly found in the roots [Mishra et al. , 2001]. Menorrhagia, rheumatism, dyspepsia, indigestion, dysmenorrhea, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, menstrual problems, skin illnesses, bleeding, diarrhoea, and antiviral qualities are all treated using C. roseus leaves [Farnsworth et al. , 1968 & Holdsworth, 1990]. Plant taxonomy and identification rely primarily on morphological features. The bulk of the measured attributes showed significant differences in the analysis of variance, showing that there was heterogeneity among the taro accessions [Pitoyo et al. , 2018]. Changes in shape, anatomy, gene expression, cell metabolism, and growth and productivity are all triggered by environmental factors [Anjum et al. , 2011 & Pantilu et al. , 2012]. The impact of several ecological factors in terms of latitude and longitude on a few morphological features of the medicinal plant Catharanthus roseus were investigated in this study. Objectives The objectives of the present investigation were The collection and identification of the selected medicinal plant from the five different locations. To carry out the variation in the morphological parameters from the selected study areas. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Geographical diversity in morphological features may indicate evolutionary patterns of morphological adaptation along environmental gradients, according to [Miaoli et al. , 2020]. To investigate morphological diversity and evolutionary trends in widespread bermudagrass, comprehensive information on longitudinal patterns of morphological trait variation is essential. They discovered that physical features varied significantly between longitudes, and that within-population variation was smaller than between-population variance for the majority of the traits studied. Various combinations and interactions of environmental conditions along a longitudinal gradient may have a significant impact on one or more morphological features of bermudagrass. [Aaron et al. , 2020] found that seedling leaves were bigger and fine root networks were thicker with fewer root points in older, unlogged rainforest on Hainan Island, China, than in historically logged regions. They discovered that root morphological features were more conservative in primary forest than secondary forest, but leaf morphologies were more acquisitive. There was no difference in leaf thickness or root tissue density. Root and leaf morphological changes between forest types were constant throughout the examined plant groups. & at the end Root and leaf morphological variation within the lineage displayed distinct patterns. Intraspecific variation in root diameter and individual root length was influenced by local-scale variations in soil phosphorus and base saturation. The morphology and inheritance of the double-flowered phenotype in the periwinkle Catharanthus roseus mutant TYV1 were examined by [Chin et al. , 2012]. TYV1 features an outer salver-shaped whorl of petals and an inner funnel-shaped whorl of petals that emerges from the corolla's apex. The corolla tube's tip generates a tiny aperture. Hairs are seen under the apex aperture. This mutant's stigma is located below the anthers. The single flowered trait was caused by a single dominant gene expressed in homozygous or heterozygous form. Before the sixth pair of leaves developed, all immature seedlings of self-pollinated TYV1 and double-flowered offspring exhibited deformed leaves. [Naser et al. , 2020] investigated the morphological features of C. roseus, including the length and dry weight of rootlets, plumules, and seedlings, as well as the leaf relative water content [RWC]. The results showed that different priming approaches had a positive effect on C. roseus development under natural salt stress. Rootlet dry weight rose as salinity increased, indicating that more carbon was allocated to the roots under stress. The priming procedures used in their research can be used to grow C. roseus in salty regions. [Alexandra et al. , 2021] Microscopy methods were used to analyse the morphological and anatomical characteristics of the Vinca leaf. Interspecific differences were found in both outdoor Vinca minor and V. herbacea plants and greenhouse-grown Vinca major and V. major var. variegata plants. The leaves of all Vinca species are hypostomatic. Only a few stomata were found on the top epidermis, with the exception of the V. minor leaf. The greatest stomatal index was found on V. minor leaves, while the lowest was found on V. major leaves, and the distribution of trichomes on the top epidermis was species-specific. This might be a response to the unpredictability of climatic circumstances, but it could still have an impact on plant chemical composition. [Siti et al. , 2019] explored Catharanthus roseus variability using morphological and anatomical features, as well as chlorophyll content. Their goal was to evaluate the variability of C. roseus based on morphological, anatomical, and chlorophyll content, as well as to learn about the variations in morphological, anatomical, and chlorophyll content of C. roseus discovered in Banyumas Regency. A survey approach was employed in conjunction with a purposive sample methodology in this study. C. roseus in Banyumas Regency was divided into eight kinds, according to the findings. There were 21 morphological characteristics detected, 8 quantitative characters, and 13 qualitative characters. The majority of the quantitative morphological and anatomical features have a wide range of variation. [Mya et al. , 2019] chosen 15 medicinal plants from Myanmar, including Dalbergia cultrata, Eriosema chinense, Erythrina suberosa, Millettia pendula, Sesbania grandiflora, Tadehagi triquetrum, Andrographis echioides, Barleria cristata, Justicia gendarussa, Premna integrifolia, The phytochemical components, biological, and pharmacological properties of a number of therapeutic plants have been studied. The goal of this research is to compile a collection of publications on the species of chosen medicinal plants found in Myanmar, as well as a critical analysis of the literature data. Myanmar looks to be a source of traditional medicines that have yet to be properly explored as a country. This assessment will serve as a foundation for future research into the pharmacological activity of Myanmar's medicinal plant species. [Shal and Deng, 2018] assessed the morphological and anatomical alterations in periwinkle seedlings caused by induced polyploidy. Colchicine was used at four different doses for seedling treatment: 0.0, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 percent. The findings revealed that increasing colchicine dosages resulted in an increase in survival percentage and the number of tetraploid plants. When compared to diploid plants, polyploids demonstrated an increase in leaf thickness, stomatal size, pollen diameter, and pollen viability. Flow cytometry confirmed the presence of tetraploids and mixoploids in various colchicine-treated plants, with the 0.2 percent concentration being the most effective in inducing polyploidy in the plants, followed by the 0.1 percent concentration. By assessing photosynthetic physiology, nutritional content, and growth related with adaptation of plants to circumstances at different altitudes above sea level on the plateau, [Juan et al. , 2020] discovered the change in morphological and physiological properties. Elymus nutans, the dominating grass, was obtained from these heights and grew at a test location of 2950 metres. Altitude had no influence on plant height or root depth, according to the findings. Plants originating from 2950 and 3300 m, on the other hand, displayed a parabolic response, with leaf area and total root surface area bigger than those produced from the lowest [2450 m] and highest [3300 m]. Ayurveda is an Indian traditional system of medicine that focuses on the medicinal potential of plants, according to [Jai and Navneet, 2017]. They demonstrated that Catharanthus roseus is a well-known herb in Ayurveda. Its antitumor, anti-diabetic, anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, and antimutagenic properties are well-known. The blooms can be pink to purple in colour, and the leaves are arranged in opposing pairs. Ajmalcine, vinceine, resperine, vincristine, vinblastine, and raubasin are among the almost 130 alkaloids produced. Hodgkin's disease, breast cancer, skin cancer, and lymphoblastic leukaemia are among the cancers that vincristine and vinblastine are used to treat. It is a threatened species that requires conservation strategies such as micropropagation. It has a lot of therapeutic potential that has to be investigated further. MATERIALS AND METHODS Catharanthus roseus [L.] G. Don Catharanthus roseus is a 1 m tall evergreen subshrub or herbaceous plant. The leaves are grouped in opposite pairs and are oval to oblong, wide, glossy green, hairless, with a light midrib and a short petiole. The blooms have a basal tube and a corolla with five petal-like lobes, and are white to dark pink with a deeper red centre. A pair of follicles make up the fruit. Morphological Studies A total of five accessions, geographically separate genotypes of Catharanthus roseus [L.] G. Don, were obtained from various agro climatic zones in Kanyakumari district for the study. The morphological characteristics of mature leaf length, mature leaf width, number of leaves in a plant, stem length, stem width, number of branches, root length, root width, inflorescence length, and number of flowers were tabulated for all ten plants and the average was computed in excel. RESULT AND DISCUSSION Because a minimum of 10 samples of a specific plant component are needed to explain the current differences in the population for a given agro-ecological zone, ten plants were randomly collected in each research region. All the morphological parameters are measured using a scale. Using Excel software, the analysis of variance [ANOVA] is used to compare the variation in mature leaf length, mature leaf width, number of leaves in a plant, stem length, stem width, number of branches, root length, root width, inflorescence length, and number of flowers between the five study areas. The analysis of variances revealed a significant difference [p ≤ 0.05] between the five distinct Catharanthus roseus plant sites in terms of morphological features. Table .1 Morphological variations between Catharanthus roseus from five Altitudes Location Mature leaf length [cm] Mature leaf width [cm] No of leaves Stem length [cm] Stem width [cm] No of branches Root length [cm] Root width [cm] Inflorescence length [cm] No of flowers Ramanputhur 4.06 ± 0.72 2.49 ± 0.73 32.6 ± 5.44 49.7 ± 7.04 0.43 ± 0.11 3.1 ± 0.83 19.27 ± 3.34 0.33 ± 0.11 6.76 ± 1.83 12 ± 4.09 Duraikudiyruppu 6.91 ± 0.52 2.54 ± 0.33 39.4 ± 14.20 30.01 ± 7.69 0.41 ± 0.07 5.1 ± 3.44 7.99 ± 2.72 0.29 ± 0.07 4.35 ± 0.64 3.9 ± 1.51 Mangalakuntu 5.9 ± 1.33 2.62 ± 0.65 15.3 ± 4.98 14.7 ± 4.05 0.43 ± 0.11 3.3 ± 1.1 7.9 ± 1.92 0.37 ± 0.09 3.5 ± 1.02 3 ± 1.34 Vyrakudy 5.2 ± 0.69 1.92 ± 0.38 13.1 ± 3.53 19.34 ± 1.28 0.29 ± 0.10 3.1 ± 0.94 4.27 ± 0.35 0.26 ± 0.04 5.04 ± 0.60 2.2 ± 0.83 Kannakurichi 4.3 ± 0.80 2.44 ± 0.63 37.9 ± 9.42 52.2 ± 9.24 0.5 ± 0.18 7.2 ± 3.15 10.15 ± 1.66 0.42 ± 0.12 2.39 ± 0.29 16.8 ± 4.50 Changes in Mature Leaf Length: The present study's morphological characterization of Catharanthus roseus revealed considerable differences in mature leaf length across the species under varied growing conditions. The location of Duraikudiyruppu [6.91 ± 0.52 cm] has the longest leaf, followed by Mangalakuntu [5.9 ± 1.33 cm], Vyrakudy [5.2 ± 0.69 cm], Ramanputhur [4.06 ± 0.72 cm], and Kannakurichi [4.3 ± 0.64 cm] [Graph 1]. In all of the tested sites, mature leaf colour was found as light green, dark green, and glossy dark green. [Siti et al. , 2019] conducted similar research, with leaf lengths ranging from 4.26 to 6.2 cm. Changes in Mature Leaf Width: Observable morphological variation existed in the width of the Catharanthus leaf studied from five different locations along the various latitudinal and longitudinal gradient, and the five populations showed moderate morphological variation in its width. The term “population” means that all individuals of the same species occupy a certain space in a certain period of time. We considered the samples collected in each site as representative of 10 populations in this study [Graph 2]. Changes in the number of leaves: The variation in the number of leaves among populations could be related to differences in latitude, longitude, and environmental conditions. Within populations, Vyrakudy had the lowest variance component [13.1 ± 3.53] and Duraikudiyruppu had the highest variance component [39.4 ± 14.20]. [15.3 ± 4.98 and 32.6 ± 5.44] [Graph 3] were the variance components of the other populations. This demonstrates that morphological features can be utilised to distinguish C. roseus diversity. Leaf characteristics have been genetically enhanced in order to be used as taxonomic tools [Masungsong et al. , 2019]. Changes in the Length of the Stem: It was found that the longest stem in the selected species was found in Kannakurichi [52.2 ± 9.24 cm], followed by Ramanputhur [49.7 ± 7.04 cm], Duraikudiyruppu [30.01 ± 7.69 cm] and Vyrakudy [19.34 ± 1.28 cm] whereas the shortest stem was found in Mangalakuntu [14.7 ± 4.05 cm]. Morphological features are still commonly utilised for early evaluation because they are quick, easy, and inexpensive, and they can be used to assess plant genetic diversity in a broad sense [Jingura and Kamusoko, 2015]. According to [Pitoyo et al. , 2018], various accessions had a wide range of morphological characteristics. As a result, morphological characteristics can be utilised to distinguish across varieties. Changes in the width of the Stem: According to the results, changes in stem width may be the consequence of latitude, longitude, and climatic conditions of the selected study areas. The stem width wasn't much different between the various populations studied. At Kannakurichi [0.5 ± 0.18 cm], it was the greatest, while at Vyrakudi it was the smallest [Graph 5]. Changes in branch number: C. roseus is known to be resilient of abiotic conditions such as dryness and salinity, and it may thrive in a variety of environments including sand, shrubs, dryland, vineyards, roadsides, and beaches. This plant can grow anywhere in the world, regardless of latitude or longitude. The number of branches on the investigated plants was high in those gathered from Kannakurichi [7.2 ± 3.15] and very low in those collected from Ramanputhur [3.1 ± 0.83]. This finding might be owing to the different latitudes and longitudes of the areas surveyed, as well as the environmental circumstances. [Siti et al. , 2019], conducted a study that was similar to this one. Changes in the length of the Root: The root length of the plant taken from the Ramanputhur areas was extremely long [19.27 ± 3.34 ± cm]. The root length of the plants taken from the Vyrakudy areas, on the other hand, was very short. [Naser et al. , 2020] conducted a similar study in which the length of the root showed substantial differences in the plants investigated. Changes in the width of the Root: The plants studied from the regions of Kannakurichi had the largest root width [0.42 ± 0.12 cm], followed by the plants examined from the regions of Mangalakuntu [0.37 ± 0.09 cm], Ramanputhur [0.33 ± 0.11 cm], Duraikudiyruppu [0.29 ± 0.07 cm], and Vyrakudy [0.26 ± 0.04cm]. [Aaron et al. , 2020] investigated the morphological variability of fine root systems and leaves on Hainan Island's primary and secondary tropical forests. Changes in the length of the inflorescence: The inflorescence measured 6.76 ± 1.83 cm in length, which was longer than the inflorescence recovered from Ramanputhur's regions. Plants gathered from Vyrakudy locations were evaluated for the next largest length [5.04 ± 0.60 cm] of the inflorescence. The plants gathered from the Duraikudiyruppu districts had the next longest inflorescence [4.35 ± 0.64 cm]. The inflorescences of the plants obtained from Mangalakuntu's locations were somewhat long [3.5 ± 1.02 cm]. The shortest inflorescence length [2.39 ± 0.29 cm] was found in the Kannakurichi region. If environmental variables are not favourable, plants have the potential to respond to their demands, especially during their life cycle. This response might lead to the formation of morphological, anatomical or physiological features. According to [Maghsoudi and Moud, 2008], external conditions that impact alterations include light intensity, air humidity, and CO2 concentration. As a consequence, differences in inflorescence length across places may be linked to climatic conditions such as air, humidity, and CO2 levels in the atmosphere. Changes in the number of Flowers: The plants investigated from the Kannakurichi districts produced a higher number of blooms [16.8 ± 4.50]. The plants taken from the Vyrakudy districts have the fewest blooms. The number of blooms in all other sites ranged between [3 ± 1.34-12 ± 4.09]. Changes in climatic circumstances like as solar light, soil fertility, and water may cause variations in the quantity of blooms. For effective species identification, morphological features of all plant organs are employed [Chen et al. , 2017; Csiky et al. , 2013; Ochirova et al. , 2013 and Petra et al. , 2020]. According to [Adams et al. , 2012], maintaining the rate of transpiration is the most effective adaptation of plants in reacting to the effects of environmental conditions. The results revealed that C. roseus had minimal variability in features such stem width, root width, and leaf, stem, and flower colour. Leaf length, leaf breadth, number of leaves, stem length, number of branches, root length, inflorescence length, and flower number were all highly variable morphological characters. This demonstrates that morphological characteristics may be utilised to differentiate C. roseus diversity. Table 2 Collection data of Catharanthus roseus L. from five Locations Sl.no Location Latitude Longitude Date of collection 1. Ramanputhur 8.1737 77.4212 25/01/2022 2. Duraikudiyruppu 8.300154 77.81437 27/01/2022 3. Mangalakuntu 8.220476 77.22434 27/01/2022 4. Vyrakudy 8.088306 77.53845 27/01/2022 5. Kannakurichi 8.133292 77.33478 25/01/2022 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION Medicinal plants have been used to create a variety of unique medicinal compounds that have a strong pharmacological impact on humans. Instead than utilising chemical pharmaceuticals that have adverse effects, ancient medicine might be investigated to find unique drug compositions that are more effective, have less side effects, and are also less expensive. One of the most significant therapeutic herbs identified is Catharanthus roseus . It's used to treat a variety of ailments, including diabetes, sore mouth, oral ulcers, and leukaemia. Many alkaloids are produced, including reserpine, vinceine, raubasin, and ajmalcine. Vinblastine and vincristine have anti-leukemic action. Plant drug research in connection to morphology would help researchers better grasp the link between morphological patterns and function. Drug measures might relate morphological changes to the pressures that plants actually face, allowing researchers to assess the true value of morphological change. Significant phenotypic connections were discovered between the morphological characters evaluated in Ramanputhur, Duraikudiyruppu, Mangalakuntu, Vyrakudy, and Kannakurichi, which are all located in Kanyakumari district. To conclude, diverse morphological features were observed in several Kanyakumari district locales. Almost all quantitative morphological features studied have a wide range of variation. 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Plasticity of morphological and physiological traits in response to different levels of irradiance in seedlings of silver fir [Abies alba Mill]. Trees. 17 [5]: 431–441. Schmidt S K, Reed S C and Nemergut D R. 2008. The earliest stages of ecosystem succession in high-elevation [5000 metres above sea level], recently deglaciated soils. Proceedings of the Journal of Sensors 9 Royal Society B: Biological Sciences . 275 [1653]: 2793–2802. Shala A Y and Deng Z. Investigation of Morphological and Anatomical Changes In Catharanthus roseus [L.] G. Don Due to Colchicine Induced Polyploidy. 2018. Scientific J. Flowers & Ornamental Plants . 5[3]:233–243. Siti Samiyarsih, Nettyani Naipospos and Dian Palupi. 2019. Variability of Catharanthus roseus based on morphological and anatomical characters, and chlorophyll contents. 20, [10]: 2986–2993. Sultan S E. 1995. Phenotypic plasticity and plant adaptation. Acta Botanica Neerlandica . 44 [4]: 363–383. Van Der Heijden R, Jacobs DI, Snoeijer W, Hallard D and Verpoorte R. 2004. The Catharanthus alkaloids: pharmacognosy and biotechnology. Current Medicinal Chemistry . 11: 607–628. Verpoorte R, Lata B, Sadowska A and Verpoorte R. 2007. Biology and biochemistry of Catharanthus roseus [L.] G. Don. Phytochemistry reviews . Springer . 6 [2–3] Wright I J, Groom P K and Lamont B B. 2004. Short communication: leaf trait relationships in Australian plant species. Functional Plant Biology . 31 [5]: 551–558. Graphs Graphs 1 to 10 are available in the Supplementary Files section Additional Declarations The authors declare potential competing interests as follows: This research work is completely based on self effort and ethics Supplementary Files project2graph.docx graphs and result interpretation Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5574070","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":385808085,"identity":"4c3d160a-3d9b-4c5f-914f-40dd85fa49bb","order_by":0,"name":"JERSHIA HADRIN J","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA+0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxgYGBmYGA4YEBiA6wFABFGJmbiBFyxmQFkb8WkCAmYEBooWBsQ1mDD7l7b2PPxcU2OXxt+c+PFw4rzaavx2o5UfFNtwO6zluJj3DILlY4sxzg8Mztx3PnXGYsYGx58xt3FpmpLEx8xgwJzbcSGM4zLvtWG4DUAszYxseLfOfMX/mMahPnA/WMudY7nyCWmawMUjzGBxO3ADW0lCTu4Gglp40NqCW44kbzzxjOMxz7EDuRqCWg/j8Yth+DOiwP9WJ846nARk1dbnzzh8++OBHBR4tDaj8w2DyAE71QCCPxq/Dp3gUjIJRMApGKAAAZIpdl3B3IpUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2232-9232","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"JERSHIA","middleName":"HADRIN","lastName":"J","suffix":""},{"id":385808086,"identity":"463b1ff5-a9a3-44a4-a92b-1aa2db1c9b39","order_by":1,"name":"Dr. Bojaxa A. Rosy","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"Dr.","firstName":"Bojaxa","middleName":"A.","lastName":"Rosy","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-12-03 16:55:41","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":true,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5574070/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5574070/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":70639534,"identity":"3bb8450f-1d28-4652-8811-6c7c1b9819f8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-12-05 07:03:26","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":531751,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5574070/v1/b43eea3d-6962-42ac-bc0d-a1865ec34297.pdf"},{"id":70637327,"identity":"43d52562-2a41-46b6-b366-41b7bfb4b8b4","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-12-05 06:39:21","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":99316,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003egraphs and result interpretation\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"project2graph.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5574070/v1/a06449afb6d8353a536d038f.docx"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare potential competing interests as follows: This research work is completely based on self effort and ethics ","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eGeographical Variation in Morphological Traits of Catharanthus Roseus: A Comparative Study Across Five Distinct Ecological Niches From Southern Tamil Nadu, India\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[{"header":"INTRODUCTION","content":"\u003cp\u003ePlants may change their morphological and physiological properties in response to environmental changes [Sultan, 1995 \u0026amp; Robakowski \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2003], and they can also regulate the expression of these traits to accommodate their adaptability across diverse settings [McIntyre, 2009]. Plant development, structure, function, and metabolism are all affected by altitude [Berli \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2013 \u0026amp; Dogra \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2013]. Environmental adaptation is reflected in a species' morphological and physiological properties over particular altitudinal gradients [Pellissier \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2013]. As a result, current plant ecologists have focused on these plant features in various biological and ecological zones in order to better understand their adaptation mechanisms [Wright \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2004; He \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2006]. The visual identification of plants is aided by plant architecture. Recent molecular biology research has begun to look at the molecular processes involved in influencing plant morphology conservation and diversity.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCai \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2012; Grytnes and Vetaas, 2002 \u0026amp; Schmidt \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2008] suggest that plant species have an optimum altitude for biomass production and net photosynthetic rate, and that deviation from this optimum altitude can cause enzymatic activity to increase or decrease [Cai \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2012; Grytnes and Vetaas, 2002 \u0026amp; Schmidt \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2008]. However, [Jump and Penuelas, 2005] the adaptation process in response to altitude variation and climate change is little unclear.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSince the birth of medicine, natural products, particularly those derived from plants, have been employed to aid in the maintenance of human health. Traditional medicine has existed since the beginning of time, and it has been widely acknowledged and used by people throughout history. Plants have been used as a source of medicine since the dawn of humanity. For many years, plant-derived therapeutic medicines have piqued the interest of experts all over the world due to their low risk of side effects and good impacts on human health.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePlants having a long history of ethnomedicine usage can be a rich source of chemicals for the treatment of a variety of maladies and infectious diseases in the pharmaceutical environment. Medicinal plants are thought to be a storehouse of a variety of bioactive chemicals with various medicinal qualities. Anti-inflammatory, antiviral, anticancer, antimalarial, and analgesic activities are among the therapeutic effects linked with medicinal plants [Mya \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2019].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eCatharanthus roseus\u003c/em\u003e L. [G.] Don is a dicotyledonous angiosperm that produces the terpene indole alkaloids vinblastine and vincristine, which are used to combat cancer [Ajaib \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2010]. It's one of the most well-researched medicinal herbs [Van Der Heijden \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2004 \u0026amp; Verpoorte \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2007]. It's an upright, bushy herb that's evergreen and blooms all year.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt generates essential alkaloids such as vincristine and vinblastine, which are mostly found in the leaves, and antihypertensive alkaloids like as ajmalicine, serpentine, and reserpine, which are mostly found in the roots [Mishra \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2001]. Menorrhagia, rheumatism, dyspepsia, indigestion, dysmenorrhea, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, menstrual problems, skin illnesses, bleeding, diarrhoea, and antiviral qualities are all treated using C. roseus leaves [Farnsworth \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 1968 \u0026amp; Holdsworth, 1990].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePlant taxonomy and identification rely primarily on morphological features. The bulk of the measured attributes showed significant differences in the analysis of variance, showing that there was heterogeneity among the taro accessions [Pitoyo \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2018]. Changes in shape, anatomy, gene expression, cell metabolism, and growth and productivity are all triggered by environmental factors [Anjum \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2011 \u0026amp; Pantilu \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2012].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe impact of several ecological factors in terms of latitude and longitude on a few morphological features of the medicinal plant \u003cem\u003eCatharanthus roseus\u003c/em\u003e were investigated in this study.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eObjectives\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe objectives of the present investigation were\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe collection and identification of the selected medicinal plant from the five different locations.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo carry out the variation in the morphological parameters from the selected study areas.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/ul\u003e \u003c/p\u003e "},{"header":"REVIEW OF LITERATURE","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGeographical diversity in morphological features may indicate evolutionary patterns of morphological adaptation along environmental gradients, according to [Miaoli \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2020]. To investigate morphological diversity and evolutionary trends in widespread bermudagrass, comprehensive information on longitudinal patterns of morphological trait variation is essential. They discovered that physical features varied significantly between longitudes, and that within-population variation was smaller than between-population variance for the majority of the traits studied. Various combinations and interactions of environmental conditions along a longitudinal gradient may have a significant impact on one or more morphological features of bermudagrass.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e[Aaron \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2020] found that seedling leaves were bigger and fine root networks were thicker with fewer root points in older, unlogged rainforest on Hainan Island, China, than in historically logged regions. They discovered that root morphological features were more conservative in primary forest than secondary forest, but leaf morphologies were more acquisitive. There was no difference in leaf thickness or root tissue density. Root and leaf morphological changes between forest types were constant throughout the examined plant groups. \u0026amp; at the end Root and leaf morphological variation within the lineage displayed distinct patterns. Intraspecific variation in root diameter and individual root length was influenced by local-scale variations in soil phosphorus and base saturation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe morphology and inheritance of the double-flowered phenotype in the periwinkle \u003cem\u003eCatharanthus roseus\u003c/em\u003e mutant TYV1 were examined by [Chin \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2012]. TYV1 features an outer salver-shaped whorl of petals and an inner funnel-shaped whorl of petals that emerges from the corolla's apex. The corolla tube's tip generates a tiny aperture. Hairs are seen under the apex aperture. This mutant's stigma is located below the anthers. The single flowered trait was caused by a single dominant gene expressed in homozygous or heterozygous form. Before the sixth pair of leaves developed, all immature seedlings of self-pollinated TYV1 and double-flowered offspring exhibited deformed leaves.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e[Naser \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2020] investigated the morphological features of C. roseus, including the length and dry weight of rootlets, plumules, and seedlings, as well as the leaf relative water content [RWC]. The results showed that different priming approaches had a positive effect on C. roseus development under natural salt stress. Rootlet dry weight rose as salinity increased, indicating that more carbon was allocated to the roots under stress. The priming procedures used in their research can be used to grow C. roseus in salty regions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e[Alexandra \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2021] Microscopy methods were used to analyse the morphological and anatomical characteristics of the Vinca leaf. Interspecific differences were found in both outdoor Vinca minor and V. herbacea plants and greenhouse-grown Vinca major and V. major var. variegata plants. The leaves of all Vinca species are hypostomatic. Only a few stomata were found on the top epidermis, with the exception of the V. minor leaf. The greatest stomatal index was found on V. minor leaves, while the lowest was found on V. major leaves, and the distribution of trichomes on the top epidermis was species-specific. This might be a response to the unpredictability of climatic circumstances, but it could still have an impact on plant chemical composition.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e[Siti \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2019] explored \u003cem\u003eCatharanthus roseus\u003c/em\u003e variability using morphological and anatomical features, as well as chlorophyll content. Their goal was to evaluate the variability of C. roseus based on morphological, anatomical, and chlorophyll content, as well as to learn about the variations in morphological, anatomical, and chlorophyll content of C. roseus discovered in Banyumas Regency. A survey approach was employed in conjunction with a purposive sample methodology in this study. C. roseus in Banyumas Regency was divided into eight kinds, according to the findings. There were 21 morphological characteristics detected, 8 quantitative characters, and 13 qualitative characters. The majority of the quantitative morphological and anatomical features have a wide range of variation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e[Mya \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2019] chosen 15 medicinal plants from Myanmar, including Dalbergia cultrata, Eriosema chinense, Erythrina suberosa, Millettia pendula, Sesbania grandiflora, Tadehagi triquetrum, Andrographis echioides, Barleria cristata, Justicia gendarussa, Premna integrifolia, The phytochemical components, biological, and pharmacological properties of a number of therapeutic plants have been studied. The goal of this research is to compile a collection of publications on the species of chosen medicinal plants found in Myanmar, as well as a critical analysis of the literature data. Myanmar looks to be a source of traditional medicines that have yet to be properly explored as a country. This assessment will serve as a foundation for future research into the pharmacological activity of Myanmar's medicinal plant species.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e[Shal and Deng, 2018] assessed the morphological and anatomical alterations in periwinkle seedlings caused by induced polyploidy. Colchicine was used at four different doses for seedling treatment: 0.0, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 percent. The findings revealed that increasing colchicine dosages resulted in an increase in survival percentage and the number of tetraploid plants. When compared to diploid plants, polyploids demonstrated an increase in leaf thickness, stomatal size, pollen diameter, and pollen viability. Flow cytometry confirmed the presence of tetraploids and mixoploids in various colchicine-treated plants, with the 0.2 percent concentration being the most effective in inducing polyploidy in the plants, followed by the 0.1 percent concentration.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBy assessing photosynthetic physiology, nutritional content, and growth related with adaptation of plants to circumstances at different altitudes above sea level on the plateau, [Juan \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2020] discovered the change in morphological and physiological properties. Elymus nutans, the dominating grass, was obtained from these heights and grew at a test location of 2950 metres. Altitude had no influence on plant height or root depth, according to the findings. Plants originating from 2950 and 3300 m, on the other hand, displayed a parabolic response, with leaf area and total root surface area bigger than those produced from the lowest [2450 m] and highest [3300 m].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e Ayurveda is an Indian traditional system of medicine that focuses on the medicinal potential of plants, according to [Jai and Navneet, 2017]. They demonstrated that \u003cem\u003eCatharanthus roseus\u003c/em\u003e is a well-known herb in Ayurveda. Its antitumor, anti-diabetic, anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, and antimutagenic properties are well-known. The blooms can be pink to purple in colour, and the leaves are arranged in opposing pairs. Ajmalcine, vinceine, resperine, vincristine, vinblastine, and raubasin are among the almost 130 alkaloids produced. Hodgkin's disease, breast cancer, skin cancer, and lymphoblastic leukaemia are among the cancers that vincristine and vinblastine are used to treat. It is a threatened species that requires conservation strategies such as micropropagation. It has a lot of therapeutic potential that has to be investigated further.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"MATERIALS AND METHODS","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eCatharanthus roseus\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003e[L.] G. Don\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eCatharanthus roseus\u003c/em\u003e is a 1 m tall evergreen subshrub or herbaceous plant. The leaves are grouped in opposite pairs and are oval to oblong, wide, glossy green, hairless, with a light midrib and a short petiole. The blooms have a basal tube and a corolla with five petal-like lobes, and are white to dark pink with a deeper red centre. A pair of follicles make up the fruit.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eMorphological Studies\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA total of five accessions, geographically separate genotypes of \u003cem\u003eCatharanthus roseus\u003c/em\u003e [L.] G. Don, were obtained from various agro climatic zones in Kanyakumari district for the study. The morphological characteristics of mature leaf length, mature leaf width, number of leaves in a plant, stem length, stem width, number of branches, root length, root width, inflorescence length, and number of flowers were tabulated for all ten plants and the average was computed in excel.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"RESULT AND DISCUSSION","content":"\u003cp\u003eBecause a minimum of 10 samples of a specific plant component are needed to explain the current differences in the population for a given agro-ecological zone, ten plants were randomly collected in each research region. All the morphological parameters are measured using a scale. Using Excel software, the analysis of variance [ANOVA] is used to compare the variation in mature leaf length, mature leaf width, number of leaves in a plant, stem length, stem width, number of branches, root length, root width, inflorescence length, and number of flowers between the five study areas.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe analysis of variances revealed a significant difference [p\u0026thinsp;\u0026le;\u0026thinsp;0.05] between the five distinct \u003cem\u003eCatharanthus roseus\u003c/em\u003e plant sites in terms of morphological features.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"No\" id=\"Taba\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"11\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c10\" colnum=\"10\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c11\" colnum=\"11\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"11\" nameend=\"c11\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTable .1 Morphological variations between \u003cem\u003eCatharanthus roseus\u003c/em\u003e from five Altitudes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLocation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMature leaf length [cm]\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMature leaf width [cm]\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo of leaves\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStem length [cm]\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStem width [cm]\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo of branches\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRoot length [cm]\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRoot width [cm]\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInflorescence length [cm]\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo of flowers\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRamanputhur\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.06\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.49\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.73\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32.6\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;5.44\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e49.7\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;7.04\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.43\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.1\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.83\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19.27\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;3.34\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.33\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.76\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1.83\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;4.09\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDuraikudiyruppu\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.91\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.52\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.54\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.33\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e39.4\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;14.20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30.01\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;7.69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.41\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.07\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.1\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;3.44\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.99\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;2.72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.29\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.07\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.35\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.64\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.9\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1.51\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMangalakuntu\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.9\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1.33\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.62\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.65\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.3\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;4.98\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.7\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;4.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.43\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.3\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.9\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1.92\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.37\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.09\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.5\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1.02\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1.34\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eVyrakudy\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.2\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.92\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.38\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.1\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;3.53\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19.34\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1.28\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.29\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.1\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.94\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.27\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.35\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.26\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.04\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.04\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.2\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.83\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eKannakurichi\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.3\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.80\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.44\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.63\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e37.9\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;9.42\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e52.2\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;9.24\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.5\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.2\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;3.15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.15\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1.66\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.42\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.39\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.29\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16.8\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;4.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eChanges in Mature Leaf Length:\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe present study's morphological characterization of \u003cem\u003eCatharanthus roseus\u003c/em\u003e revealed considerable differences in mature leaf length across the species under varied growing conditions. The location of Duraikudiyruppu [6.91\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.52 cm] has the longest leaf, followed by Mangalakuntu [5.9\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1.33 cm], Vyrakudy [5.2\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.69 cm], Ramanputhur [4.06\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.72 cm], and Kannakurichi [4.3\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.64 cm] [Graph 1]. In all of the tested sites, mature leaf colour was found as light green, dark green, and glossy dark green. [Siti \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2019] conducted similar research, with leaf lengths ranging from 4.26 to 6.2 cm.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eChanges in Mature Leaf Width:\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eObservable morphological variation existed in the width of the \u003cem\u003eCatharanthus\u003c/em\u003e leaf studied from five different locations along the various latitudinal and longitudinal gradient, and the five populations showed moderate morphological variation in its width. The term \u0026ldquo;population\u0026rdquo; means that all individuals of the same species occupy a certain space in a certain period of time. We considered the samples collected in each site as representative of 10 populations in this study [Graph 2].\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eChanges in the number of leaves:\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe variation in the number of leaves among populations could be related to differences in latitude, longitude, and environmental conditions. Within populations, Vyrakudy had the lowest variance component [13.1\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;3.53] and Duraikudiyruppu had the highest variance component [39.4\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;14.20]. [15.3\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;4.98 and 32.6\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;5.44] [Graph 3] were the variance components of the other populations. This demonstrates that morphological features can be utilised to distinguish \u003cem\u003eC. roseus\u003c/em\u003e diversity. Leaf characteristics have been genetically enhanced in order to be used as taxonomic tools [Masungsong \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2019].\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eChanges in the Length of the Stem:\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was found that the longest stem in the selected species was found in Kannakurichi [52.2\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;9.24 cm], followed by Ramanputhur [49.7\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;7.04 cm], Duraikudiyruppu [30.01\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;7.69 cm] and Vyrakudy [19.34\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1.28 cm] whereas the shortest stem was found in Mangalakuntu [14.7\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;4.05 cm]. Morphological features are still commonly utilised for early evaluation because they are quick, easy, and inexpensive, and they can be used to assess plant genetic diversity in a broad sense [Jingura and Kamusoko, 2015]. According to [Pitoyo \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2018], various accessions had a wide range of morphological characteristics. As a result, morphological characteristics can be utilised to distinguish across varieties.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eChanges in the width of the Stem:\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAccording to the results, changes in stem width may be the consequence of latitude, longitude, and climatic conditions of the selected study areas. The stem width wasn't much different between the various populations studied. At Kannakurichi [0.5\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.18 cm], it was the greatest, while at Vyrakudi it was the smallest [Graph 5].\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eChanges in branch number:\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eC. roseus\u003c/em\u003e is known to be resilient of abiotic conditions such as dryness and salinity, and it may thrive in a variety of environments including sand, shrubs, dryland, vineyards, roadsides, and beaches. This plant can grow anywhere in the world, regardless of latitude or longitude. The number of branches on the investigated plants was high in those gathered from Kannakurichi [7.2\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;3.15] and very low in those collected from Ramanputhur [3.1\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.83]. This finding might be owing to the different latitudes and longitudes of the areas surveyed, as well as the environmental circumstances. [Siti \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2019], conducted a study that was similar to this one.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eChanges in the length of the Root:\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe root length of the plant taken from the Ramanputhur areas was extremely long [19.27\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;3.34\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;cm]. The root length of the plants taken from the Vyrakudy areas, on the other hand, was very short. [Naser \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2020] conducted a similar study in which the length of the root showed substantial differences in the plants investigated.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eChanges in the width of the Root:\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe plants studied from the regions of Kannakurichi had the largest root width [0.42\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.12 cm], followed by the plants examined from the regions of Mangalakuntu [0.37\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.09 cm], Ramanputhur [0.33\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.11 cm], Duraikudiyruppu [0.29\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.07 cm], and Vyrakudy [0.26\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.04cm]. [Aaron \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2020] investigated the morphological variability of fine root systems and leaves on Hainan Island's primary and secondary tropical forests.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eChanges in the length of the inflorescence:\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe inflorescence measured 6.76\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1.83 cm in length, which was longer than the inflorescence recovered from Ramanputhur's regions. Plants gathered from Vyrakudy locations were evaluated for the next largest length [5.04\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.60 cm] of the inflorescence. The plants gathered from the Duraikudiyruppu districts had the next longest inflorescence [4.35\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.64 cm]. The inflorescences of the plants obtained from Mangalakuntu's locations were somewhat long [3.5\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1.02 cm]. The shortest inflorescence length [2.39\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.29 cm] was found in the Kannakurichi region. If environmental variables are not favourable, plants have the potential to respond to their demands, especially during their life cycle. This response might lead to the formation of morphological, anatomical or physiological features. According to [Maghsoudi and Moud, 2008], external conditions that impact alterations include light intensity, air humidity, and CO2 concentration. As a consequence, differences in inflorescence length across places may be linked to climatic conditions such as air, humidity, and CO2 levels in the atmosphere.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eChanges in the number of Flowers:\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe plants investigated from the Kannakurichi districts produced a higher number of blooms [16.8\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;4.50]. The plants taken from the Vyrakudy districts have the fewest blooms. The number of blooms in all other sites ranged between [3\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1.34-12\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;4.09]. Changes in climatic circumstances like as solar light, soil fertility, and water may cause variations in the quantity of blooms. For effective species identification, morphological features of all plant organs are employed [Chen \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2017; Csiky \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2013; Ochirova \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2013 and Petra \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2020].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAccording to [Adams \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e, 2012], maintaining the rate of transpiration is the most effective adaptation of plants in reacting to the effects of environmental conditions. The results revealed that \u003cem\u003eC. roseus\u003c/em\u003e had minimal variability in features such stem width, root width, and leaf, stem, and flower colour. Leaf length, leaf breadth, number of leaves, stem length, number of branches, root length, inflorescence length, and flower number were all highly variable morphological characters. This demonstrates that morphological characteristics may be utilised to differentiate \u003cem\u003eC. roseus\u003c/em\u003e diversity.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCollection data of Catharanthus roseus L. from five Locations\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSl.no\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLocation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLatitude\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLongitude\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDate of collection\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRamanputhur\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.1737\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77.4212\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25/01/2022\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDuraikudiyruppu\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.300154\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77.81437\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27/01/2022\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMangalakuntu\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.220476\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77.22434\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27/01/2022\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVyrakudy\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.088306\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77.53845\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27/01/2022\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eKannakurichi\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.133292\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77.33478\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25/01/2022\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e "},{"header":"SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec17\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMedicinal plants have been used to create a variety of unique medicinal compounds that have a strong pharmacological impact on humans. Instead than utilising chemical pharmaceuticals that have adverse effects, ancient medicine might be investigated to find unique drug compositions that are more effective, have less side effects, and are also less expensive. One of the most significant therapeutic herbs identified is \u003cem\u003eCatharanthus roseus\u003c/em\u003e. It's used to treat a variety of ailments, including diabetes, sore mouth, oral ulcers, and leukaemia. Many alkaloids are produced, including reserpine, vinceine, raubasin, and ajmalcine. Vinblastine and vincristine have anti-leukemic action.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePlant drug research in connection to morphology would help researchers better grasp the link between morphological patterns and function. Drug measures might relate morphological changes to the pressures that plants actually face, allowing researchers to assess the true value of morphological change.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSignificant phenotypic connections were discovered between the morphological characters evaluated in Ramanputhur, Duraikudiyruppu, Mangalakuntu, Vyrakudy, and Kannakurichi, which are all located in Kanyakumari district.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo conclude, diverse morphological features were observed in several Kanyakumari district locales. Almost all quantitative morphological features studied have a wide range of variation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Heading\"\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAaron Hogan J, Oscar Valverde-Barrantes J, Qiong Ding, Han Xu and Christopher Baraloto. 2020. 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Morphological, anatomical and isozyme variability among taro [\u003cem\u003eColocasia esculenta\u003c/em\u003e] accessions from south eastern part of Central Java, Indonesia. \u003cem\u003eBiodiversitas\u003c/em\u003e 19 [5]: 1811\u0026ndash;1819.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePitoyo A, Prameta A A, Marsusi, Suratman and Suranto. 2018. Morphological, anatomical and isozyme variability among taro [\u003cem\u003eColocasia esculenta\u003c/em\u003e] accessions from southeastern part of Central Java, Indonesia. \u003cem\u003eBiodiversitas\u003c/em\u003e 19 [5]: 1811\u0026ndash;1819.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRobakowski P, Montpied P and Dreyer E. 2003. 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Flowers \u0026amp; Ornamental Plants\u003c/em\u003e. 5[3]:233\u0026ndash;243.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSiti Samiyarsih, Nettyani Naipospos and Dian Palupi. 2019. Variability of \u003cem\u003eCatharanthus roseus\u003c/em\u003e based on morphological and anatomical characters, and chlorophyll contents. 20, [10]: 2986\u0026ndash;2993.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSultan S E. 1995. Phenotypic plasticity and plant adaptation. \u003cem\u003eActa Botanica Neerlandica\u003c/em\u003e. 44 [4]: 363\u0026ndash;383.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eVan Der Heijden R, Jacobs DI, Snoeijer W, Hallard D and Verpoorte R. 2004. The \u003cem\u003eCatharanthus\u003c/em\u003e alkaloids: pharmacognosy and biotechnology. \u003cem\u003eCurrent Medicinal Chemistry\u003c/em\u003e. 11: 607\u0026ndash;628.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eVerpoorte R, Lata B, Sadowska A and Verpoorte R. 2007. Biology and biochemistry of \u003cem\u003eCatharanthus roseus\u003c/em\u003e [L.] G. Don. \u003cem\u003ePhytochemistry reviews\u003c/em\u003e. \u003cem\u003eSpringer\u003c/em\u003e. 6 [2\u0026ndash;3]\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWright I J, Groom P K and Lamont B B. 2004. Short communication: leaf trait relationships in Australian plant species. \u003cem\u003eFunctional Plant Biology\u003c/em\u003e. 31 [5]: 551\u0026ndash;558.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"},{"header":"Graphs","content":"\u003cp\u003eGraphs 1 to 10 are available in the Supplementary Files section\u003c/p\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Holy Cross College","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"botany, Medicinal plants, pharmacological impact, Catharanthus roseus, Plant drug research, morphological patterns and function, morphological change","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5574070/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5574070/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eMedicinal plants have been vital in human history for their therapeutic benefits, offering a sustainable and accessible alternative to synthetic drugs. Among these, \u003cem\u003eCatharanthus roseus\u003c/em\u003e [L.] G. Don stands out for its pharmacological significance, producing bioactive compounds such as vincristine and vinblastine, which are critical in cancer treatment. This plant's adaptability across diverse ecological zones highlights its resilience and underscores the influence of environmental factors on its morphology and physiology. Morphological variations in plants, particularly those growing across altitudinal and climatic gradients, can reveal insights into their adaptive strategies and evolutionary trends. However, limited research has been conducted on the relationship between environmental gradients and the phenotypic diversity of \u003cem\u003eC. roseus\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study focuses on the morphological characterization of \u003cem\u003eC. roseus\u003c/em\u003e collected from five distinct agro-climatic zones in the Kanyakumari district. By analyzing variations in traits such as leaf dimensions, stem structure, and inflorescence, this research aims to understand how environmental conditions influence morphological expressions. Exploring these variations not only aids in species identification but also enhances our understanding of how environmental and genetic factors interact to shape plant adaptability. Such insights can further inform the conservation and optimized cultivation of medicinal plants, emphasizing their role in traditional medicine and modern pharmacology.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Geographical Variation in Morphological Traits of Catharanthus Roseus: A Comparative Study Across Five Distinct Ecological Niches From Southern Tamil Nadu, India","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-12-05 06:39:16","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5574070/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"471000ad-cc6a-4acb-82e9-964e5f68e0f4","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 5th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":41182058,"name":"Agricultural Economics \u0026 Policy"},{"id":41182059,"name":"Forestry"},{"id":41182060,"name":"Conservation Biology"},{"id":41182061,"name":"Behavioral Ecology"},{"id":41182062,"name":"Biogeography"},{"id":41182063,"name":"Evolutionary Developmental Biology"},{"id":41182064,"name":"Population Biology"},{"id":41182065,"name":"Terrestrial Ecology"},{"id":41182066,"name":"Environmental Policy"},{"id":41182067,"name":"Agronomy"},{"id":41182068,"name":"Taxonomy"},{"id":41182069,"name":"Aquaculture and Mariculture"},{"id":41182070,"name":"Botany"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-12-05T06:39:16+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-12-05 06:39:16","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-5574070","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-5574070","identity":"rs-5574070","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}