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Genome size, ploidy estimates, and leaf morphology of temperate Lindera (Lauraceae) cultivated in North America

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Abstract

The genus Lindera Thunb. (Lauraceae Juss., nom. cons.) consists of ca. 100 species of shrubs and trees with economic value for medicinal drugs as well as oils used in aromatics, soaps, and biodiesel. Only a few Lindera species have received attention as ornamental plants, but considerable interspecific diversity in habit, foliage, and fruit offer significant potential to plant breeders and horticulture. We used flow cytometry to determine genome sizes of 100 accessions representing 23 temperate Lindera taxa and estimated ploidy level for each sample. In addition, we assessed stomatal size, density, and specific leaf area among accessions. We found a nearly 12-fold difference in 2C DNA context among accessions. We confirmed previous reports of diploid and tetraploid Lindera taxa, and present evidence of triploid (L. glauca (Seibold & Succ.) Blume and L. neesiana (Wall. ex Nees) Kurz), hexaploid (L. angustifolia W.C. Cheng and L. umbellata Thunb.), and octoploid (L. angustifolia, L. angustifolia var. glabra (Nakai) J.M.H.Shaw, and L. salicifolia (Blume) Boerl.) taxa for the first time. Although most taxa sampled were diploid, our findings indicate multiple cytotypes exist for L. angustifolia (6× and 8×) and L. umbellata (2× and 6×). Ploidy level had a significant positive relationship with stomatal size, but not stomatal density nor specific leaf area. Overall, these findings provide insight for plant evolutionary biologists, taxonomists, and breeders interested in Lindera, which remains to be resolved phylogenetically and has not been utilized in ornamental breeding programs. In addition, these data are relevant to plant ecologists and conservationists, particularly in North America where the Laurel wilt pathogen is threatening Lauraceae taxa, including the endangered species Lindera melissifolia and L. subcoriacea.

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Data availability

The datasets generated and analyzed for the current study will be available on the USDA’s Ag Data Commons Repository: https://data.nal.usda.gov/

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Kristina Aguilar, Timothy Block, Andrew Bunting, Emily Coffey, Scott McMahan, Pam Morris Olshefski, Jason Smith, Mary Tipping, and Mark Weathington, who provided tissue samples and information for this study.

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The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.

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  1. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. National Arboretum, 10300 Baltimore Ave., Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA

    Emily K. Johnson, Margaret Pooler & Todd Rounsaville

  2. Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), P.O. Box 117, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA

    Emily K. Johnson

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  1. Emily K. Johnson
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation and data analysis was performed by Todd Rounsaville. Data collection of ploidy and leaf traits was performed by Emily Johnson. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Emily Johnson and Todd Rounsaville and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Todd Rounsaville.

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Johnson, E.K., Pooler, M. & Rounsaville, T. Genome size, ploidy estimates, and leaf morphology of temperate Lindera (Lauraceae) cultivated in North America. Genet Resour Crop Evol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-024-01964-x

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