Kyeonghee Kim1P, Inkyu Park2, Jun-Ho Song3

1Herbal Medicine Resources Research Center, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine,

Naju 58245, Korea;

2Department of Biology, Changwon National University, Changwon 51140, Korea;

3Department of Biology, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Korea

The phylogenetic relationships among Korean Peucedanum taxa and other Peucedanum s.l. which comprises approximately 140 species, have not yet been thorougly investigated. In addition, it is necessary to re-evaluate the taxonomic validity of the genus Kitagawia which was defined by morphological evidences and partially included Korean Peucedanum taxa. From this study, we generated and annotated the chloroplast genome sequences of 11 Peucedanum taxa from Korea (excluding P. coreanum) and related species, Sillaphyton podagraria. Furthermore, we conducted codon usage bias analysis and identification of repetitive sequences to examine the molecular characteristics of each taxon. To assess the phylogenetic relationships between Korean Peucedanum and related taxonomic groups in family Apiaceae, we constructed phylogenetic trees using Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian Inference (BI) methods based on 49 taxa including 37 retrieved sequences and 12 newly obtained from this study. In addition, we estimated the divergence time for each node of the trees. As a consequence, Korean Peucedanum taxa were divided into two groups, one (clade A) included ten taxa resolved as a monophyletic and another (P. japonicum) was clustered with Sinopeucedanum group (clade B). Based on mericarp anatomy of representative species from each clade, clade A shared key characteristics of the genus Kitagawia having elongated, lignified cells on the mesocarp. According to the concept of the genus Kitagawia, which was well supported by morphological and molecular evidences, ten Peucedanum taxa from clade A were supported to be recognized as genus Kitagawia. Among them, five were newly transferred to the genus Kitagawia from this study. It is estimated Kitagawia diverged from Peucedanum s.l. at approximately 3.27 Ma, mainly during the Pilocene-Pleistocene interval.