Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42067797›Full record

ArticleBMC plant biology2026

Population structure, genetic diversity and core set construction of an international collection of 256 Melissa officinalis genotypes.

Daniel von Maydell, Johannes Schwerdt, Heike Lehnert, Yvonne Pöschl-Grau, Thomas Schmutzer, Frank Marthe

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Article in BMC plant biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Daniel von MaydellInstitute for Breeding Research On Horticultural Crops, Julius Kühn Institute, Quedlinburg, Germany. daniel.maydell@julius-kuehn.de.
Johannes SchwerdtInstitute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Chair of Plant Breeding, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany.
Heike LehnertInstitute for Biosafety in Plant Biotechnology, Julius Kühn Institute, Quedlinburg, Germany.
Yvonne Pöschl-GrauInstitute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Chair of Plant Breeding, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany.
Thomas SchmutzerInstitute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Chair of Plant Breeding, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany.
Frank MartheInstitute for Breeding Research On Horticultural Crops, Julius Kühn Institute, Quedlinburg, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMelissa officinalis (balm) is a perennial medicinal. Climate change and high cultivation costs necessitate the breeding of new cultivars with improved stress tolerance and high metabolite content. However, the high costs of phenotyping large collections limit breeding progress. This study characterized the genetic diversity and population structure of 256 genotypes from 215 international accessions using flow cytometry and genotyping by sequencing (GBS). The primary objective was to identify untapped genetic resources and establish core sets to streamline future breeding and research efforts.

resultsMorphological characterization and flow cytometry revealed a clear division by ploidy and subspecies. The collection comprised 209 diploid and three polyploid genotypes of ssp. officinalis (2C = 1.79 pg) and 44 tetraploid genotypes of ssp. altissima (4C = 3.57 pg). GBS generated 29,307 and 9,909 SNPs for the entire collection and a subset of ssp. officinalis genotypes, respectively. We identified significant genetic differentiation between the subspecies, as confirmed by PCA (PC1 = 69.9%), STRUCTURE, and hierarchical clustering. With 21,770 private alleles and H

conclusionsThis study provides a genomic characterization of a comprehensive M. officinalis collection. The identification of distinct genetic clusters and the development of optimized core sets significantly reduce the resources required for future evaluations. These core sets serve as a robust foundation for breeding programs aimed at enhancing agronomic traits such as drought tolerance, while increasing pharmaceutical quality.

Indexed as

Genetic VariationMelissaGenome, PlantGenotypePolymorphism, Single NucleotideGenetic variabilityGermplasmLemon balmMedicinal plantMolecular markers

Identifiers

PMID42067797
PMCPMC13135265

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.