Comparative morphological and genetic analysis of <i>Corydalis bracteata</i> sensu lato (Papaveraceae) populations from Southern Siberia

Abstract

This article presents the results of the first study of the morphological and genetic diversity of 6 populations of Corydalis bracteata Pers. s. l., growing in plant communities of the Krasnoyarsk forest-steppe, Western Sayan, Kuznetsk Alatau, Altai. The morphological analysis shows the division of the populations into two groups. A large elongated tuber near basal scales, large bracts and flowers, a large height of the plants unites the from the Krasnoyarsk and Western Sayan populations with a recently described species C. talpina Stepanov. These results are also confirmed by the ISSR-PCR analysis of the genetic variability of Corydalis populations. A high subdivision coefficient (Gst = 37.58%) indicates the presence of different species in the total sample. The division into two groups is also demonstrated when clustering the genotypes using the Bayesian approach implemented in the STRUCTURE 2.3.4 software. Phylogenetic analysis based on comparison of the nucleotide polymorphism of the matK chloroplast gene sequences and the rpoB-trnC intergenic spacer also has revealed differences in three nucleotides in the plant with an additional tuber. These substitutions are absent in the sequenced plants without nodules and in sequences of other species with tufts of tubers published in GenBank. Similar results of morphological and genetic analyzes prove the differentiation of populations of yellow-flowered Corydalis in South Siberia, originally assigned to the species C. bracteata, and indicate the morphological and genetic isolation of C. talpina.