Genetic and Epigenetic Diversities Shed Light on Domestication of Cultivated Ginseng （Panax ginseng）

• Published in: 分子植物：英文版 Vol. 8; no. 11; pp. 1612 - 1622
• Main Author: Ming-Rui Li Fena-Xue Shi Yu-Xin Zhou Ya-Ling Li Xin-Feng Wang Cui Zhang Xu-Tong Wang Bao Liu Hong-Xing Xiao Lin-Feng Li
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: 东亚地区; 分子生物学方法; 栽培品种; 表观; 西洋参; 遗传多样性; 野生人参; 驯化
• ISSN: 1674-2052; 1752-9867

Chinese ginseng （Panaxginseng） is a medically important herb within Panax and has crucial cultural values in East Asia. As the symbol of traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese ginseng has been used as a herbal remedy to restore stamina and capacity in East Asia for thousands of years. To address the evolutionary origin and domestication history of cultivated ginseng, we employed multiple molecular approaches to investigate the genetic structures of cultivated and wild ginseng across their distribution ranges in northeastern Asia. Phylogenetic and population genetic analyses revealed that the four cultivated ginseng landraces, COMMON, BIANTIAO, SHIZHU, and GAOLI （also known as Korean ginseng）, were not domesticated independently and Fusong Town is likely one of the primary domestication centers. In addition, our results from population genetic and epigenetic analyses demonstrated that cultivated ginseng maintained high levels of genetic and epigenetic diversity, but showed distinct cytosine methylation patterns compared with wild ginseng. The patterns of genetic and epigenetic variation revealed by this study have shed light on the domestication history of cultivated ginseng, which may serve as a framework for future genetic improvements.