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Species subdivision of ramie (Boehmeria nivea; Urticaceae), a species with wild, domesticated and feral forms, based on integrative taxonomy
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  • Ying Zhao,
  • Richard I. Milne,
  • Zhi-Peng Li,
  • Xiao-Gang Fu,
  • Ke Li,
  • Amos Kipkoech,
  • Zeng-Yuan Wu,
  • Jie Liu
Ying Zhao
Kunming Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences

Corresponding Author:18468017154@163.com

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Richard I. Milne
University of Edinburgh Institute of Governance
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Zhi-Peng Li
Kunming Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Xiao-Gang Fu
Kunming Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Ke Li
Kunming Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Amos Kipkoech
Kunming Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Zeng-Yuan Wu
Kunming Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Jie Liu
Kunming Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Abstract

Feralization, the re-establishment of wild populations from domesticated ancestors, can involve multiple parallel character reversions, and potentially also rampant gene flow with cultivated and/or naturally wild material. It hence poses great challenges for infraspecific classification, which may impede crop development, but studies on these issues are rare. Ramie (Boehmeria nivea; Urticaceae) is an important fiber crop worldwide. It has been traditionally divided into 2-4 varieties, but these are controversial. Here, 78 wild and feral individuals were sampled from 12 Chinese provinces, plus 11 cultivated individuals from farmland. We employed an integrative taxonomy approach combining multiple lines of evidence from morphology, phylogenomics, and ecology to investigate the intraspecific subdivision of B. nivea. A chi-square test of qualitative morphological traits significantly distinguished three varieties within B. nivea: var. nivea, var. tenacissima and the recently described, var. strigosa, comprising respectively mainly cultivated, mainly feralized, and only naturally wild material. The morphological PCoA and random forest analyses both indicated differences between var. strigosa and the other two varieties. However, quantitative traits cannot distinguish the three varieties. No variety was monophyletic according to phylogenetic analysis of plastome data, whereas var. strigosa was weakly supported as monophyletic based on nuclear ribosomal DNA (18S-ITS1-5.8S-ITS2-26S). Ecological niche simulation showed overlap between the potential distribution areas of var. nivea and var. tenacissima, but neither overlapped with var. strigosa. These analyses collectively demonstrate the distinctiveness of var. strigosa, but mostly did not fully separate var. nivea from var. tenacissima. Hence var. strigosa is a biologically meaningful variety, but var. tenacissima should, be synonymised within var. nivea. These results should aid the breeding and improvement of new varieties of ramie, and highlights the value of integrative taxonomic methods in examining infraspecific subdivisions within species that include cultivated and feralized material.
11 May 2024Submitted to Ecology and Evolution
19 Sep 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
27 Sep 2024Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
26 Nov 20241st Revision Received
27 Nov 2024Assigned to Editor
27 Nov 2024Submission Checks Completed
27 Nov 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
29 Nov 2024Reviewer(s) Assigned