Sequence variation of non-coding regions of chloroplast DNA of soybean and related wild species and its implications for the evolution of different chloroplast haplotypes

Abstract 

Soybean chloroplast DNAs (cpDNAs) are classified into three types (I, II and III) based on RFLP profiles. Type I is mainly observed in cultivated soybean (Glycine max), while type II and type III are frequently found in both cultivated and wild soybean (Glycine soja), although type III is predominant in wild soybean. In order to evaluate the diversity of cpDNA and to determine the phylogenetic relationship among different chloroplast types, we sequenced nine non-coding regions of cpDNA for seven cultivated and 12 wild soybean accessions with different cpDNA types. Eleven single-base substitutions and a deletion of five bases were detected in a total of 3849 bases identified. Five mutations distinguished the accessions with types I and II from those with type III, and seven were found in the accessions with type III, independently of their taxa. Four species of the subgenus Glycine shared bases that were identical to those with types I and II at two of the five mutation sites and shared bases that were identical to those with type III at the remaining three sites. Therefore, the different cpDNA types may not have originated monophyletically, but rather may have differentiated from a common ancestor in different evolutionary directions. A neighbor-joining tree resulting from the sequence data revealed that the subgenus Soja connected with Glycine microphylla which formed a distinct clade from Clycine clandestina and the tetraploid cytotypes of Glycine tabacina and Glycine tomentella. Several informative length mutations of 54 to 202 bases, due to insertions or deletions, were also detected among the species of the genus Glycine.