Chinese Bulletin of Botany ›› 2018, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (3): 305-312.DOI: 10.11983/CBB18027

Special Issue: 药用植物专辑 (2018年53卷3期)

• EXPERIMENTAL COMMUNICATIONS • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Genetic Relationship of Physalis Plants Revealed by Simple Sequence Repeat Markers

Zhu Yujia1, Jiao Kaili1, Luo Xiujun1, Feng Shangguo1,2,*(), Wang Huizhong1,2,*()   

  1. 1Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Genetic Improvement and Quality Control of Medicinal Plants, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China
    2College of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China;
  • Received:2018-01-28 Accepted:2018-05-09 Online:2018-05-01 Published:2018-06-05
  • Contact: Feng Shangguo,Wang Huizhong

Abstract: In recent years, Physalis plants have attracted increasing attention worldwide due to their high nutritional value, edible fruit, and potential medicinal value. In this study, simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were used to assess genetic relationships with 22 samples of four Physalis species mainly distributed in China. Twenty SSR primer pairs produced 118 loci, 90.7% (107) of which showed polymorphism. The average interspecies similarity coefficient was 0.501, which indicates a degree of genetic relationship among Physalis species. The results of UPGMA dendrography and PCoA plotting were similar, and all Physalis samples were grouped into two clusters. All P. alkekengi var. francheti samples, distant from any other Physalis species, constituted a separate cluster, which confirmed findings of previous studies. This study also indicated that SSR markers are rich in genetic information and could be used to assess the genetic diversity of Physalis species which provides rich useful information for protecting the Physalis germplasm resource and an important foundation for molecular assisted-breeding programs with Physalis.

Key words: Physalis, genetic relationship, SSR markers