Open AccessComplete chloroplast genome studies of different apple varieties indicated the origin of modern cultivated apples from Malus sieversii and Malus sylvestris
Author(s) -
Xueli Li,
Zhijie Ding,
Haoyu Miao,
Jinbo Bao,
Xiaoli Tian
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
peerj
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.927
H-Index - 70
ISSN - 2167-8359
DOI - 10.7717/peerj.13107
Subject(s) - malus , biology , genome , botany , genetics , gene
Background Apple is one of the most important temperate deciduous fruit trees worldwide, with a wide range of cultivation. In this study, we assessed the variations and phylogenetic relationships between the complete chloroplast genomes of wild and cultivated apples ( Malus spp.). Method We obtained the complete chloroplast genomes of 24 apple varieties using next-generation sequencing technology and compared them with genomes of (downloaded from NCBI) the wild species. Result The chloroplast genome of Malus is highly conserved, with a genome length of 160,067–160,290 bp, and all have a double-stranded circular tetrad structure. The gene content and sequences of genomes of wild species and cultivated apple were almost the same, but several mutation hotspot regions ( psb I- atp A, psb M- psb D, and ndh C- atp E) were detected in these genomes. These regions can provide valuable information for solving specific molecular markers in taxonomic research. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Malus formed a new clade and four cultivated varieties clustered into a branch with M. sylvestris and M. sieversii , which indicated that M. sylvestris and M. sieversii were the ancestor species of the cultivated apple.