Phylogenetic Analysis of Polygonaceae Species

The Polygonaceae form a globally distributed family of herbaceous and woody plants that includes economically important taxa such as buckwheat, knotweeds and rhubarbs. Phylogenetic analysis has advanced from single‐gene approaches to genome‐scale investigations, employing chloroplast, nuclear and mitochondrial markers to resolve deep and recent divergences. Chloroplast genomes (plastomes) have proved particularly informative due to their conserved structure, uniparental inheritance and moderate mutation rates. Combined with nuclear ITS and low‐copy nuclear genes, these data have clarified relationships among subfamilies, genera and species, revealed instances of hybridisation and adaptive radiation, and produced time‐calibrated frameworks that trace dispersal routes and biogeographic histories. Such insights underpin taxonomic revisions, support conservation of wild germplasm and inform breeding programmes for food, medicinal and ornamental species across Asia, Europe, the Americas and beyond.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent work has characterised complete chloroplast genomes of six representative species in the subfamily Polygonoideae, confirming a conserved quadripartite architecture of around 163 kb. Comparative codon usage and repeat sequence analyses revealed strong genome stability, while phylogenetic reconstructions demarcated well supported clades, notably isolating Pteroxygonum denticulatum and clustering Pleuropterus ciliinervis with Fallopia taxa. Selective pressure analysis identified positively selected sites in 14 protein‐coding genes, and four highly variable intergenic regions were proposed as molecular markers for species discrimination. In a complementary study of four Fagopyrum species, full chloroplast genomes were compared alongside morphological traits, pinpointing ten hypervariable loci and simple sequence repeats. Phylogenetic trees based on complete plastomes placed Fagopyrum dibotrys closer to F. tataricum than to cultivated buckwheat, supporting refined taxonomic delimitation and providing resources for molecular breeding and germplasm management.

Phylogenetic Analysis of Polygonaceae Species publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in phylogenetic analysis of polygonaceae species across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Chloroplast genome: The complete circular DNA within the chloroplast organelle, commonly used for plant phylogenetics due to its conserved structure and inheritance.

Phylogenetic analysis: A computational approach to infer evolutionary relationships among organisms based on molecular or morphological characters.

Plastome: The full complement of genetic information encoded by a chloroplast genome, often spanning 120–200 kb.

Clade: A monophyletic group comprising an ancestor and all its descendants, identified by shared derived characters.

Molecular marker: A specific DNA sequence or locus used to detect genetic variation and distinguish taxa or populations.

References

1. Phylogenetic relationships, selective pressure and molecular markers development of six species in subfamily Polygonoideae based on complete chloroplast genomes. Scientific Reports (2024).
2. Comparative Analysis of Four Buckwheat Species Based on Morphology and Complete Chloroplast Genome Sequences. Scientific Reports (2017).
3. Genomics and resequencing of Fagopyrum dibotrys from different geographic regions reveals species evolution and genetic diversity. Frontiers in Plant Science (2024).
4. The pan-plastome of tartary buckwheat (fagopyrum tataricum): key insights into genetic diversity and the history of lineage divergence. BMC Plant Biology (2023).
5. Plastome phylogenomics and biogeography of the subfam. Polygonoideae (Polygonaceae). Frontiers in Plant Science (2022).