Plastome comparison and phylogenomics of Fagopyrum (Polygonaceae): insights into sequence differences between Fagopyrum and its related taxa.

BACKGROUND: Fagopyrum (Polygonaceae) is a small plant lineage comprised of more than fifteen economically and medicinally important species. However, the phylogenetic relationships of the genus are not well explored, and the characteristics of Fagopyrum chloroplast genomes (plastomes) remain poorly understood so far. It restricts the comprehension of species diversity in Fagopyrum. Therefore, a comparative plastome analysis and comprehensive phylogenomic analyses are required to reveal the taxonomic relationship among species of Fagopyrum. RESULTS: In the current study, 12 plastomes were sequenced and assembled from eight species and two varieties of Fagopyrum. In the comparative analysis and phylogenetic analysis, eight previously published plastomes of Fagopyrum were also included. A total of 49 plastomes of other genera in Polygonaceae were retrieved from GenBank and used for comparative analysis with Fagopyrum. The variation of the Fagopyrum plastomes is mainly reflected in the size and boundaries of inverted repeat/single copy (IR/SC) regions. Fagopyrum is a relatively basal taxon in the phylogenomic framework of Polygonaceae comprising a relatively smaller plastome size (158,768-159,985 bp) than another genus of Polygonaceae (158,851-170,232 bp). A few genera of Polygonaceae have nested distribution of the IR/SC boundary variations. Although most species of Fagopyrum show the same IRb/SC boundary with species of Polygonaceae, only a few species show different IRa/SC boundaries. The phylogenomic analyses of Fagopyrum supported the cymosum and urophyllum groups and resolved the systematic position of subclades within the urophyllum group. Moreover, the repeat sequence types and numbers were found different between groups of Fagopyrum. The plastome sequence identity showed significant differences between intra-group and inter-group. CONCLUSIONS: The deletions of intergenic regions cause a short length of Fagopyrum plastomes, which may be the main reason for plastome size diversity in Polygonaceae species. The phylogenomic reconstruction combined with the characteristics comparison of plastomes supports grouping within Fagopyrum. The outcome of these genome resources may facilitate the taxonomy, germplasm resources identification as well as plant breeding of Fagopyrum.

Optimization of medium for one-step fermentation of inulin extract from Jerusalem artichoke tubers using Paenibacillus polymyxa ZJ-9 to produce R,R-2,3-butanediol.

The medium for one-step fermentation of raw inulin extract from Jerusalem artichoke tubers by Paenibacillus polymyxa ZJ-9 to produce R,R-2,3-butanediol (R,R-2,3-BD) was developed. Inulin, K(2)HPO(4) and NH(4)Cl were found to be the key factors in the fermentation according to the results obtained from the Plackett-Burman experimental design. The optimal concentration range of the three factors was examined by the steepest ascent path, and their optimal concentration was further investigated according to the Box-Behnken design and determined to be 77.14 g/L, 3.09 g/L and 0.93 g/L, respectively. Under the optimal conditions, the concentration of the obtained R,R-2,3-BD was 36.92 g/L, at more than 98% optical purity. Compared with other investigated carbon resources, fermentation of the raw inulin extract afforded the highest yield of R,R-2,3-BD. This process featured one-step fermentation of inulin without further hydrolyzing, which greatly decreased the raw material cost and thus facilitated its practical application.