The Population Genetics of Cultivation: Domestication of a Traditional Chinese Medicine, Scrophularia ningpoensis Hemsl. (Scrophulariaceae)

Abstract

These results suggest that cultivated S. ningpoensis has experienced dramatic loss of genetic diversity under anthropogenic influence. We postulate that strong artificial selection for medicinal quality has resulted in genetic differentiation between cultivated and wild populations. Furthermore, it appears that wild populations in Jiangxi-Hunan area were involved in the origin of cultivated S. ningpoensis.