Data from: Independent domestications of cultivated tree peonies from different wild peony species

An understanding of plant domestication history provides insights into
general mechanisms of plant adaptation and diversification and can guide
breeding programs that aim to improve cultivated species. Cultivated tree
peonies (genus Paeonia L.) are among the most popular ornamental plants in
the world, yet the history of their domestication is still unresolved.
Here, we explored whether the domestication in China of historically
cultivated peonies, i.e., the common and flare cultivated tree peonies,
was a single event or whether independent domestications occurred. We used
14 nuclear microsatellite markers and a comprehensive set of 553 tree
peonies collected across China, including common tree peonies, flare tree
peonies and the wild species or subspecies that are potential contributors
to the cultivated tree peonies, i.e., Paeonia rockii ssp. rockii, P.
rockii ssp. atava, P. jishanensis and P. decomposita. Assignment methods,
a principal component analysis and approximate Bayesian computations
provided clear evidence for independent domestications of these common
tree and flare tree peonies from two distinct and allopatric wild species,
P. jishanensis and P. rockii ssp. atava, respectively. This study provides
the first example of independent domestications of cultivated trees from
distinct species and locations. This work also yields crucial insight into
the history of domestication of one of the most popular woody ornamental
plants. The cultivated peonies represent an interesting case of parallel
and convergent evolution. The information obtained in this study will be
valuable both for improving current tree peony breeding strategies and for
understanding the mechanisms of domestication, diversification and
adaptation in plants.