ddRAD sequencing of 1076 Camellia accessions reveals the genetic diversity and population introgression of the tea plant in China

作者：Xiaoyan Tong, Jianbing Hu, Huilin Wen, Chunlin Chen, Lingling Tao, Jun Wu, Yiping Tian, Huiping Jiang, Linbo Chen, Dahe Qiao, Mingtao Shu, Enhua Xia, Kun Dong, Yue Fei, Shengrui Liu, Chaoling Wei, Junyan Zhu · 发表于：Acta Botanica Yunnanica · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.pld.2025.09.002 · 被引用次数：7 · 研究领域：Genetic diversity and population structure、Plant Pathogens and Fungal Diseases、Plant and Fungal Interactions Research

The tea plant ( Camellia sinensis ) is a widely cultivated and economically significant crop that originated from southwestern China. Owing to its high heterozygosity and complex genetic diversity, the evolutionary history of the tea plant and its domestication remain unclear. In this study, we used 1076 Camellia accessions to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships and population structure of Camellia accessions across 16 major tea-producing provinces in China. Six species-specific populations were classified based on these SNPs through phylogenetic trees and population structure. We found that C. taliensis populations have undergone divergent evolution compared to other wild relatives, such as C. kwangsiensis and C. crassicoluma . Population structure and introgression analyses further revealed frequent interspecific genetic exchanges between C. sinensis and its wild relatives. Thus, a transitional C. sinensis population that shared a genetic background with C. taliensis was characterized. Distinct genetic divergence was observed within the two main varieties of C. sinensis . Contrary to the relatively exclusive genetic background within the C. sinensis var. assamica population in southwestern China, extensive regional introgression and gene flow were observed in the C. sinensis var. sinensis population between southwestern and eastern China. Finally, we developed a core collection comprising 160 accessions based on our genetic diversity analyses. Our findings not only pro...