Journal
BIOCHEMICAL SYSTEMATICS AND ECOLOGY
Volume 56, Issue -, Pages 88-94Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.bse.2014.05.002
Keywords
Coptis; Active alkaloid; Conservation genetics; Interspecific relationships; Species identification
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [81303168]
- Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education [20115132120014]
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The medicinal plants from the genus Coptis were widely applied in clinical treatment, but no stable and systemic methods have been established for species identification and quality evaluation. Although several analytical methods have been reported for the detection of alkaloids, so far no attempt has been made to analyze the interspecific relationships between molecular phylogeny and main alkaloids in Coptis. In this study, the phylogenetic relationships within the genus Coptis from China are resolved with high support. Coptis chinensis, Coptis deltoidea and Coptis omeiensis cluster together, and this clade ('clade III') is sister to Coptis teeta. Here, we provide evidences that the relationships inferred by chemical taxonomy are different to those of the present molecular phylogeny. Within clade III, C. deltoidea, C. omeiensis and C. chinensis are sister to C teeta, while C. teeta shares more similar metabolic compounds with C. deltoidea, and C omeiensis than with C. chinensis. Most likely, the metabolic components are mainly affected by environmental factors resulting in convergent evolution of alkaloid contents that do not reflect phylagenetic relationships. (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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