Table 10_Genetic diversity and core collection of Polygonati Rhizoma in China via SSR markers.xls

IntroductionPolygonati Rhizoma is a Traditional Chinese medicine derived from three species of the Polygonatum Mill. (Polygonatum kingianum, Polygonatum sibiricum, and Polygonatum cyrtonema), renowned for its culinary and medicinal uses. Despite extensive research, comprehensive studies on the population genetic diversity and core collection construction of medicinal Polygonatum species remain scarce.
MethodsTo address this, we employed 18 highly polymorphic SSR markers to develop two machine learning models for species discrimination. Subsequently, we performed comprehensive population genetic analyses on 175 accessions, followed by core germplasm construction.
ResultsThe study demonstrated that the machine learning-based approach achieved consistently high discrimination accuracy, exceeding 81% for Polygonatum species identification. Among the four investigated Polygonati Rhizoma, significant variations in genetic diversity were observed. Cluster and population structure analyses identified three primary subgroups. A core collection was constructed through stepwise clustering based on genetic distance. The C78 primary core collection achieved an allele retention rate of 84.59%, with minimal genetic redundancy.
DiscussionThese findings provide a robust foundation for the conservation of medicinal Polygonatum spp. germplasm and offer potential resources for future genetic improvement and variety selection.

引言：黄精（Polygonati Rhizoma）是源自黄精属（Polygonatum Mill.）三个物种（滇黄精Polygonatum kingianum、黄精Polygonatum sibiricum以及多花黄精Polygonatum cyrtonema）的中药材，兼具药食两用价值。尽管已有大量相关研究，但针对药用黄精属物种的群体遗传多样性分析及核心种质构建的系统性研究仍较为匮乏。
材料与方法：为填补这一研究空白，本研究采用18个高多态性简单序列重复（Simple Sequence Repeat, SSR）标记，开发了两款用于物种鉴别的机器学习模型。随后，我们对175份种质材料开展了系统性的群体遗传分析，并完成了核心种质的构建工作。
结果：本研究表明，基于机器学习的鉴定方法始终保持较高的鉴别精度，黄精属物种识别准确率超过81%。在所研究的四种黄精中，其遗传多样性存在显著差异。聚类分析与群体结构分析共鉴定出三个主要类群。本研究通过基于遗传距离的逐步聚类法构建了核心种质，其中C78核心种质的等位基因保留率达84.59%，且遗传冗余度极低。
讨论：本研究结果为药用黄精属种质资源的保护提供了坚实的理论基础，同时也为后续的遗传改良与品种选育提供了潜在的优质资源。