SEQUENCE VARIATIONS OF CHLOROPLAST GENOME TRNS-TRNFM REGION IN SOME ORIENTAL PERSIMMON (DIOSPYROS KAKI THUNB.)

A universal primer pair was used to amplify the trnS-trnfM region in chloroplast genome of 9 persimmon cultivars from Diospyros kaki and 1 genotype of related species D. lotus. The nucleotide sequence of 1155-1160 bp was surveyed. A total of 17 mutations including 13 base substitutions, 3 insertions and 3 deletions were identified by using Clustal X software. Among persimmon cultivars from China, only two base substitutions were found, whereas 14 from Japan, which revealed discrepancy. The sequences were conserved and homology among centuries-old genotypes, such as ‘Mopanshi’, ‘Jirou’ and ‘Hiratanenashi’, which showed relatively little divergence from their furcation points. However, ‘Youhou’ showed a high amount of mutations similar to the female parent ‘Fuyu’. All persimmon genotypes were divided in two groups in Neighbor-Joining trees based on the site mutations data, which indicated persimmon cultivars from China and Japan formed a different group and suggested both of which may have a different origin. The chloroplast DNA homology sequence and phylogenetic branching revealed that an immediate common progenitor for ‘Baogai tianshi’ and ‘Eshi No.1’ was closely related with PCA persimmon ‘Mopanshi’.