Comparative chloroplast genomics reveal two new species of Primula sect. Auganthus (Primulaceae) from the karst regions of China: Primula shibingensis and P. longmenshanensis.
8 affiliations
- 1School of Pharmacy, Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, 550025, China.
- 2Germplasm Bank of Wild Species and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Crop Wild Relatives Omics, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China.
- 3Tianzhu County People's Hospital, Tianzhu, 556600, China.
- 4Sichuan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Mianyang, 621000, China.
- 5Mianyang News Media Center, Mianyang, 621000, China.
- 6School of Life Sciences, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, 550025, China.
- 7Germplasm Bank of Wild Species and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Crop Wild Relatives Omics, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China. [email protected].
- 8School of Pharmacy, Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, 550025, China. [email protected].
Abstract
Background
Strong habitat heterogeneity in karst regions is widely considered a crucial mechanism underlying species differentiation, particularly for rapidly radiating groups such as the Primulaceae, where habitat heterogeneity readily facilitates species divergence and formation. During field investigations in Sichuan Province and Guizhou Province in southwestern China, we discovered two morphologically distinct populations of Primula. Their deeply lobed leaves and distinctly inflated calyces with a flattened base suggest that they belong to sect. Auganthus, yet their morphology is conspicuously different from all known species of this section, highlighting the urgent need for comparative chloroplast genome analyses to elucidate their phylogenetic relationships.Purpose
Through morphological and comparative chloroplast genome analyses, we elucidated the phylogenetic relationships and revealed two new species.Methods
Combining morphological and comparative chloroplast genome analyses, we constructed a phylogenetic tree and performed comparative analyses using boundary contraction and expansion, mVISTA global comparison, and diversity site analysis.Results
In the phylogenetic analysis, the two new species clustered together with all known species of sect. Auganthus. The IR region lengths of the two putative new species are 25,403 bp and 25,710 bp, respectively. A total of seven highly variable hotspots were detected in the diversity site analysis, with intergenic regions including psbI-trnS-GCU, trnS-GCU-trnG-UCC, trnT-GGU-psbD, as well as the genes accD and ycf1, exhibiting high nucleotide diversity among species. Additionally, the two putative new species each possess distinct morphological characteristics.Conclusion
Based on morphological and phylogenetic evidence, both newly discovered species are recognized as new to science. They are named Primula longmenshanensis J.L.Gu & Z.K.Wu, sp. nov. and Primula shibingensis J.L.Gu & Z.K.Wu, sp. nov. according to their distribution localities. Their morphological comparisons with closely related species, distribution ranges, and conservation status are also provided in this paper.
Related
- Phylogeny and comparative chloroplast genomics reveal a rare new short-styled homostylous species of Primula (Primulaceae) from southwestern China
- The Complete Chloroplast Genome of Dioscorea hypoglauca: Comparative Genomics and Phylogenetic Insights
- Comparative Chloroplast and Mitochondrial Genomics of Sorbus L. Sensu Lato: Genome Diversity, Structural Variation, and Phylogeny
- Comparative Chloroplast Genomics Reveals Phylogenetic Relationships Among Korean Dioscorea Species
- Comparative Analysis of Complete Chloroplast Genomes of Penstemon digitalis Nutt. ex Sims and Insights into Phylogenetic Relationships of Penstemon.
BibTeX
@article{tan2026comparative,
title = {{Comparative chloroplast genomics reveal two new species of Primula sect. Auganthus (Primulaceae) from the karst regions of China: Primula shibingensis and P. longmenshanensis.}},
author = {Xin Tan and Yuanmi Wu and Xiaoqi Jiang and Jiulin Gu and Min Jiang and Li Yang and Qingqing Ye and Jie Liu and Wei Zhou and Zhikun Wu},
journal = {BMC plant biology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1186/s12870-026-10039-1},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42958021},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Comparative chloroplast genomics reveal two new species of Primula sect. Auganthus (Primulaceae) from the karst regions of China: Primula shibingensis and P. longmenshanensis.
AU - Xin Tan
AU - Yuanmi Wu
AU - Xiaoqi Jiang
AU - Jiulin Gu
AU - Min Jiang
AU - Li Yang
AU - Qingqing Ye
AU - Jie Liu
AU - Wei Zhou
AU - Zhikun Wu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/16
JO - BMC plant biology
DO - 10.1186/s12870-026-10039-1
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42958021
AB - Background Strong habitat heterogeneity in karst regions is widely considered a crucial mechanism underlying species differentiation, particularly for rapidly radiating groups such as the Primulaceae, where habitat heterogeneity readily facilitates species divergence and formation. During field investigations in Sichuan Province and Guizhou Province in southwestern China, we discovered two morphologically distinct populations of Primula. Their deeply lobed leaves and distinctly inflated calyces with a flattened base suggest that they belong to sect. Auganthus, yet their morphology is conspicuously different from all known species of this section, highlighting the urgent need for comparative chloroplast genome analyses to elucidate their phylogenetic relationships.Purpose Through morphological and comparative chloroplast genome analyses, we elucidated the phylogenetic relationships and revealed two new species.Methods Combining morphological and comparative chloroplast genome analyses, we constructed a phylogenetic tree and performed comparative analyses using boundary contraction and expansion, mVISTA global comparison, and diversity site analysis.Results In the phylogenetic analysis, the two new species clustered together with all known species of sect. Auganthus. The IR region lengths of the two putative new species are 25,403 bp and 25,710 bp, respectively. A total of seven highly variable hotspots were detected in the diversity site analysis, with intergenic regions including psbI-trnS-GCU, trnS-GCU-trnG-UCC, trnT-GGU-psbD, as well as the genes accD and ycf1, exhibiting high nucleotide diversity among species. Additionally, the two putative new species each possess distinct morphological characteristics.Conclusion Based on morphological and phylogenetic evidence, both newly discovered species are recognized as new to science. They are named Primula longmenshanensis J.L.Gu & Z.K.Wu, sp. nov. and Primula shibingensis J.L.Gu & Z.K.Wu, sp. nov. according to their distribution localities. Their morphological comparisons with closely related species, distribution ranges, and conservation status are also provided in this paper.
SN - 1471-2229
ER -