Interpreting the chemodiversity in a phylogenetic context: a case study of the genus Nepeta

Abstract

Nepeta L. is the largest genus of the Lamiaceae family. The species of this genus are famous for their biopesticidal potential and medicinal properties. Within the genus, we found considerable variability in the qualitative and quantitative content of iridoid and phenolic compounds. Using state-of-the-art metabolomics techniques (UHPLC/LTQ-Orbitrap MS, GC/MS, UHPLC/DAD/(+/-)HESI-MS2), we comprehensively assessed the overall diversity of iridoids and phenolics in the selected chemodiverse Nepeta taxa at the intra-species level. To reconstruct phylogenetic relations among the selected chemodiverse taxa from across the Nepeta genus, genomic ITS molecular marker and two maternally inherited plastid DNA regions (trnL-trnF and rbcL) were analyzed. A consensus phylogenetic tree was constructed to interpret the distribution of the most abundant iridoid and phenolic compounds. It was not possible to uncover clear regularities between phylogenetic relationship and chemotype affiliation.