5
Genetic Diversity and DNA Barcoding
in the Duckweed Family
Jiaming Zhang and Azizullah Azizullah
Abstract
Lemnaceae is a globally distributed aquatic
plant family. This family is composed of 37
species with distinct ecological characteristics
and distribution patterns. The intra-specific
diversity in this family is relatively low
compared to other angiosperms, in which the
proposed primordial duckweed, Spirodela
polyrhiza, has the lowest intra-specific diversity. Due to simplified morphology, species
identification in this family is difficult without
the help of DNA barcoding.
5.1 Species Diversity
and Distribution
in the Duckweed Family
The duckweed family is comprised of five genera
and 37 species (Appenroth et al. 2013). They are
distributed in different areas of the planet with
some species distributed more globally, while
others are local to a small area (Table 5.1). For
global distribution maps of the species, please
also see Chap. 15, phylogenetic relationships.
The genus Spirodela contains two species,
including Spirodela polyrhiza and S. intermedia.
The widely studied S. polyrhiza is the more
globally distributed species, located in the tropical, subtropical, and temperate zones. It is found
in a wide range of habitats between 62°N and
35°S in Asia, Europe, North America, South
America, Africa, and Australia. It has been collected in high latitude regions such as Irkutsk,
Siberia (53°N), and Moscow (56°N) in Russia; it
has even been collected in Pukila, Finland, close
to the Arctic Circle. Interestingly, another species
in the genus Spirodela, S. intermedia, is local to
the tropical region in South America; however, it
was once collected at a botanical garden in Delhi,
India.
Landoltia punctata is the only species in the
genus Landoltia and is widely distributed in the
tropical and subtropical regions. The latitude of
its habitats is between 40°N and 40°S in South
America, North America, Asia, Oceania, and
Europe. However, it is not known whether it is
distributed in Africa.
The genus Lemna contains 13 species and is
collected all around the six human habituated
continents (Table 5.1). The species in this genus
are the most divergent in ecological characteristics. Lemna minor and L. gibba are probably
most widely distributed species in this genus.
They are located in the subtropical and temperate
zones and have been collected from as far south
J. Zhang (&)
Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology,
Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences,
Xueyuan Road 4, Haikou 571101, China
e-mail: zhangjiaming@itbb.org.cn
A. Azizullah
Department of Botany, Kohat University of Science
and Technology, 26000 Kohat, Pakistan
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
X. H. Cao et al. (eds.), The Duckweed Genomes, Compendium of Plant Genomes,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11045-1_5
59
Genetic Diversity and DNA Barcoding
in the Duckweed Family
Jiaming Zhang and Azizullah Azizullah
Abstract
Lemnaceae is a globally distributed aquatic
plant family. This family is composed of 37
species with distinct ecological characteristics
and distribution patterns. The intra-specific
diversity in this family is relatively low
compared to other angiosperms, in which the
proposed primordial duckweed, Spirodela
polyrhiza, has the lowest intra-specific diversity. Due to simplified morphology, species
identification in this family is difficult without
the help of DNA barcoding.
5.1 Species Diversity
and Distribution
in the Duckweed Family
The duckweed family is comprised of five genera
and 37 species (Appenroth et al. 2013). They are
distributed in different areas of the planet with
some species distributed more globally, while
others are local to a small area (Table 5.1). For
global distribution maps of the species, please
also see Chap. 15, phylogenetic relationships.
The genus Spirodela contains two species,
including Spirodela polyrhiza and S. intermedia.
The widely studied S. polyrhiza is the more
globally distributed species, located in the tropical, subtropical, and temperate zones. It is found
in a wide range of habitats between 62°N and
35°S in Asia, Europe, North America, South
America, Africa, and Australia. It has been collected in high latitude regions such as Irkutsk,
Siberia (53°N), and Moscow (56°N) in Russia; it
has even been collected in Pukila, Finland, close
to the Arctic Circle. Interestingly, another species
in the genus Spirodela, S. intermedia, is local to
the tropical region in South America; however, it
was once collected at a botanical garden in Delhi,
India.
Landoltia punctata is the only species in the
genus Landoltia and is widely distributed in the
tropical and subtropical regions. The latitude of
its habitats is between 40°N and 40°S in South
America, North America, Asia, Oceania, and
Europe. However, it is not known whether it is
distributed in Africa.
The genus Lemna contains 13 species and is
collected all around the six human habituated
continents (Table 5.1). The species in this genus
are the most divergent in ecological characteristics. Lemna minor and L. gibba are probably
most widely distributed species in this genus.
They are located in the subtropical and temperate
zones and have been collected from as far south
J. Zhang (&)
Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology,
Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences,
Xueyuan Road 4, Haikou 571101, China
e-mail: zhangjiaming@itbb.org.cn
A. Azizullah
Department of Botany, Kohat University of Science
and Technology, 26000 Kohat, Pakistan
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
X. H. Cao et al. (eds.), The Duckweed Genomes, Compendium of Plant Genomes,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11045-1_5
59