Inbreeding and Genetic Differentiation Among Geographic Populations of <i>Lactarius hatsudake</i> in Southwest China

<i>Lactarius hatsudake</i> is an economically important wild edible fungus in sub-tropical and temperate Asia. At present, little is known about its genetic diversity, mode of reproduction, and population structure in natural environments. In this study, we collected 102 specimens from e...

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Main Authors: Kuan Zhao, Mingwei Mao, Xianghua Wang, Jianping Xu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Journal of Fungi
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/11/6/438
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author Kuan Zhao
Mingwei Mao
Xianghua Wang
Jianping Xu
author_facet Kuan Zhao
Mingwei Mao
Xianghua Wang
Jianping Xu
author_sort Kuan Zhao
collection DOAJ
description <i>Lactarius hatsudake</i> is an economically important wild edible fungus in sub-tropical and temperate Asia. At present, little is known about its genetic diversity, mode of reproduction, and population structure in natural environments. In this study, we collected 102 specimens from eight geographic locations across three provinces in southwest China. Five simple sequence repeat markers that demonstrated high polymorphism were developed and used to analyze the patterns of genetic variations within and among the eight geographic populations. Analyses of molecular variance revealed that 60% of the observed genetic variation occurred among populations, with the remaining 40% attributable to within populations, while inter-provincial variation was nonsignificant. Combined analyses based on discriminant analysis of principal components, STRUCTURE, and the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean identified two distinct genetic subpopulations with each genetic subpopulation showing a wide geographical distribution, a result consistent with ancient divergence and recent gene flow within this species in southwest China. Interestingly, excess homozygosity was observed at most loci in almost all of the eight geographic populations, consistent with inbreeding being common for this species in nature. Together, our results revealed the genetic diversity, mode of reproduction, and geographic structuring of this important wild mushroom in southwest China.
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spelling doaj-art-012bf925416c4e63bbc8c7a586c75fff2025-08-20T02:21:07ZengMDPI AGJournal of Fungi2309-608X2025-06-0111643810.3390/jof11060438Inbreeding and Genetic Differentiation Among Geographic Populations of <i>Lactarius hatsudake</i> in Southwest ChinaKuan Zhao0Mingwei Mao1Xianghua Wang2Jianping Xu3Key Laboratory of Natural Microbial Medicine Research of Jiangxi Province, College of Life Science, Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University, Nanchang 330013, ChinaKey Laboratory of Natural Microbial Medicine Research of Jiangxi Province, College of Life Science, Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University, Nanchang 330013, ChinaKey Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, ChinaDepartment of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada<i>Lactarius hatsudake</i> is an economically important wild edible fungus in sub-tropical and temperate Asia. At present, little is known about its genetic diversity, mode of reproduction, and population structure in natural environments. In this study, we collected 102 specimens from eight geographic locations across three provinces in southwest China. Five simple sequence repeat markers that demonstrated high polymorphism were developed and used to analyze the patterns of genetic variations within and among the eight geographic populations. Analyses of molecular variance revealed that 60% of the observed genetic variation occurred among populations, with the remaining 40% attributable to within populations, while inter-provincial variation was nonsignificant. Combined analyses based on discriminant analysis of principal components, STRUCTURE, and the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean identified two distinct genetic subpopulations with each genetic subpopulation showing a wide geographical distribution, a result consistent with ancient divergence and recent gene flow within this species in southwest China. Interestingly, excess homozygosity was observed at most loci in almost all of the eight geographic populations, consistent with inbreeding being common for this species in nature. Together, our results revealed the genetic diversity, mode of reproduction, and geographic structuring of this important wild mushroom in southwest China.https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/11/6/438milk cap mushroomsimple sequence repeatdivergencegene flowinbreeding
spellingShingle Kuan Zhao
Mingwei Mao
Xianghua Wang
Jianping Xu
Inbreeding and Genetic Differentiation Among Geographic Populations of <i>Lactarius hatsudake</i> in Southwest China
Journal of Fungi
milk cap mushroom
simple sequence repeat
divergence
gene flow
inbreeding
title Inbreeding and Genetic Differentiation Among Geographic Populations of <i>Lactarius hatsudake</i> in Southwest China
title_full Inbreeding and Genetic Differentiation Among Geographic Populations of <i>Lactarius hatsudake</i> in Southwest China
title_fullStr Inbreeding and Genetic Differentiation Among Geographic Populations of <i>Lactarius hatsudake</i> in Southwest China
title_full_unstemmed Inbreeding and Genetic Differentiation Among Geographic Populations of <i>Lactarius hatsudake</i> in Southwest China
title_short Inbreeding and Genetic Differentiation Among Geographic Populations of <i>Lactarius hatsudake</i> in Southwest China
title_sort inbreeding and genetic differentiation among geographic populations of i lactarius hatsudake i in southwest china
topic milk cap mushroom
simple sequence repeat
divergence
gene flow
inbreeding
url https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/11/6/438
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AT xianghuawang inbreedingandgeneticdifferentiationamonggeographicpopulationsofilactariushatsudakeiinsouthwestchina
AT jianpingxu inbreedingandgeneticdifferentiationamonggeographicpopulationsofilactariushatsudakeiinsouthwestchina