Work

Analysis of the Genetic Diversity of Houttuynia cordata Thunb Germplasm and Associated Variations in Lead Content

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT Houttuynia cordata is an important medicinal and vegetable crop in Southwest China. Due to the accumulation of heavy metal ions such as lead ions (Pb2+) in H. cordata, consumption of this plant carries risks, such as ingestion of lead‐contaminated H. cordata, may lead to Pb2+ bioaccumulation, which is associated with developmental retardation, endocrine disruption, and impairments to immune and neurological functions. In order to screen H. cordata germplasm for low Pb2+ absorption and identify the Pb2+ adsorption‐related agronomic traits and molecular markers, the genetic diversity of a germplasm resource of H. cordata comprising collected 72 accessions was comprehensively evaluated based on agronomic traits and Pb2+ contents in the underground stems of the plant. Further, intersimple sequence repeats (ISSR) markers and generalized linear model (GLM) correlation analyses were performed to identify the ISSR loci related to the Pb2+ absorption. Ward clustering analysis grouped the 72 accessions of H. cordata into five major classes through analysis of morphological traits. Combined analysis of the Pb2+ contents of underground stems with the phenotypic traits revealed significant changes in members within the five classes, indicating that the Pb2+ content significantly affected the results of the evaluation of agronomic traits. Greyscale analysis and subsequent verification revealed that the underground stem thickness was closely related to the Pb2+ absorption. Based on ISSR markers and subsequent verification, two loci, namely, Locus 21 and Locus 29, were found to have better screening effects on germplasms with low Pb2+ adsorption. The accessions that did not carry these two loci in the genome generally exhibited low lead ion adsorption. This study presents a faster marker‐based screening for H. cordata plants that are safer for consumption.

Source: Plant Direct

DOI: 10.1002/pld3.70095