Comparative Study of <i>Phytolacca</i> Species Through Morphological, Chloroplast Genome, and Phylogenetic Analysis
<i>Phytolacca acinosa</i> Roxb. and <i>P. americana</i> L. are recognized as the primary sources of Phytolaccae Radix, which is traditionally utilized for various medicinal purposes. However, because of their potent toxicity, it is essential to distinguish these species. This...
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| author | Sumin Jeong Yeseul Kim Heewon Ji Jun-Ho Song Inkyu Park |
| author_facet | Sumin Jeong Yeseul Kim Heewon Ji Jun-Ho Song Inkyu Park |
| author_sort | Sumin Jeong |
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| description | <i>Phytolacca acinosa</i> Roxb. and <i>P. americana</i> L. are recognized as the primary sources of Phytolaccae Radix, which is traditionally utilized for various medicinal purposes. However, because of their potent toxicity, it is essential to distinguish these species. This study has aimed to clarify the classification of <i>Phytolacca</i> species based on their morphology and genetic differences. The chloroplast genome of <i>P. acinosa</i> was sequenced and comparative analyses were conducted to identify the regions of variation and nucleotide diversity among the species. The results revealed that <i>P. acinosa</i> shares more sequence similarity with other <i>Phytolacca</i> species than with <i>P. americana</i>. Additionally, the dN/dS analysis showed that the <i>ndhH</i> gene of <i>P. americana</i> had a value of 1.0871, indicating positive selection. The phylogenetic tree, supported by strong bootstrap values and posterior probabilities, confirmed that <i>P. acinosa</i> and <i>P. americana</i> formed distinct clusters. Furthermore, the estimated divergence time between <i>P. acinosa</i> and <i>P. americana</i> was approximately 15.07 million years ago, indicating that they diverged earlier than <i>P. insularis</i>, <i>P. polyandra</i>, <i>P. japonica</i>, and <i>P. latbenia</i>. These findings indicated that <i>P. acinosa</i> and <i>P. americana</i> are phylogenetically distinct species, highlighting the need for accurate species identification and taxonomic reassessment to ensure the safe use of these toxic medicinal plants. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-213a8dcba60a4b6abcdf0987e90715362025-01-24T13:19:57ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-01-0115259310.3390/app15020593Comparative Study of <i>Phytolacca</i> Species Through Morphological, Chloroplast Genome, and Phylogenetic AnalysisSumin Jeong0Yeseul Kim1Heewon Ji2Jun-Ho Song3Inkyu Park4Department of Biology and Chemistry, Changwon National University, Changwon 51140, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Biology and Chemistry, Changwon National University, Changwon 51140, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Biology, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Biology, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Biology and Chemistry, Changwon National University, Changwon 51140, Republic of Korea<i>Phytolacca acinosa</i> Roxb. and <i>P. americana</i> L. are recognized as the primary sources of Phytolaccae Radix, which is traditionally utilized for various medicinal purposes. However, because of their potent toxicity, it is essential to distinguish these species. This study has aimed to clarify the classification of <i>Phytolacca</i> species based on their morphology and genetic differences. The chloroplast genome of <i>P. acinosa</i> was sequenced and comparative analyses were conducted to identify the regions of variation and nucleotide diversity among the species. The results revealed that <i>P. acinosa</i> shares more sequence similarity with other <i>Phytolacca</i> species than with <i>P. americana</i>. Additionally, the dN/dS analysis showed that the <i>ndhH</i> gene of <i>P. americana</i> had a value of 1.0871, indicating positive selection. The phylogenetic tree, supported by strong bootstrap values and posterior probabilities, confirmed that <i>P. acinosa</i> and <i>P. americana</i> formed distinct clusters. Furthermore, the estimated divergence time between <i>P. acinosa</i> and <i>P. americana</i> was approximately 15.07 million years ago, indicating that they diverged earlier than <i>P. insularis</i>, <i>P. polyandra</i>, <i>P. japonica</i>, and <i>P. latbenia</i>. These findings indicated that <i>P. acinosa</i> and <i>P. americana</i> are phylogenetically distinct species, highlighting the need for accurate species identification and taxonomic reassessment to ensure the safe use of these toxic medicinal plants.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/2/593<i>Phytolacca acinosa</i>medicinal herbchloroplast genomeselective pressuredivergence phylogenetic tree |
| spellingShingle | Sumin Jeong Yeseul Kim Heewon Ji Jun-Ho Song Inkyu Park Comparative Study of <i>Phytolacca</i> Species Through Morphological, Chloroplast Genome, and Phylogenetic Analysis Applied Sciences <i>Phytolacca acinosa</i> medicinal herb chloroplast genome selective pressure divergence phylogenetic tree |
| title | Comparative Study of <i>Phytolacca</i> Species Through Morphological, Chloroplast Genome, and Phylogenetic Analysis |
| title_full | Comparative Study of <i>Phytolacca</i> Species Through Morphological, Chloroplast Genome, and Phylogenetic Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Comparative Study of <i>Phytolacca</i> Species Through Morphological, Chloroplast Genome, and Phylogenetic Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparative Study of <i>Phytolacca</i> Species Through Morphological, Chloroplast Genome, and Phylogenetic Analysis |
| title_short | Comparative Study of <i>Phytolacca</i> Species Through Morphological, Chloroplast Genome, and Phylogenetic Analysis |
| title_sort | comparative study of i phytolacca i species through morphological chloroplast genome and phylogenetic analysis |
| topic | <i>Phytolacca acinosa</i> medicinal herb chloroplast genome selective pressure divergence phylogenetic tree |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/2/593 |
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