Morphological Variation and Spatial Metabolic Variations in Rhodiola sachalinensis A.Bor. in Different Natural Distribution Areas

Abstract

To explore the genetic diversity and metabolic characteristics among different locations of wild Rhodiola sachalinensis A.Boriss., we collected specimens from two sites (DHL: 128°23′06″ N, 44°26′31″ E; FHS: 127°59′26″ N, 44°7′22″ E) and measured various biological traits, such as leaf length, leaf width, and plant height. We conducted metabolic analyses to investigate variations among different plant parts. Our study revealed that while the various plant parts of wild R. sachalinensis A.Boriss. from these two locations showed overall numerical similarities, they exhibited relatively high coefficients of variation in traits such as leaf length, leaf width, plant height, and stem thickness. Furthermore, utilizing gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GS-MS), we detected significant differences in primary metabolites among different plant parts from both locations. Using orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), we identified 42 and 34 different metabolites in the roots, stems, and leaves of plants from the DHL site and 62 and 50 different metabolites in the roots, stems, and leaves of plants from the FHS site. Metabolic heatmaps suggested that sugar metabolism was more active in the roots compared to other plant parts. Through KEGG pathway analysis, we determined that the primary metabolic differences were concentrated in the citric acid cycle (TCA cycle) and amino acid metabolism, including pathways related to glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism, as well as alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism. These findings indicate that wild R. sachalinensis A.Boriss. plants from different locations not only exhibit significant variations in biological traits but also demonstrate notable distinctions in the distribution of primary metabolites among different plant parts.