Medicinal Plant Research 2025, Vol.15, No.3, 99-109 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/mpr 108 environmental adaptability. Existing population structure analysis and core germplasm bank construction show that interspecific genetic variation is generally higher than intraspecific variation. Some of these species and populations, especially the Sapindus mukorossi, contain extremely rich genetic resources. Correlation and association analysis have identified several key genetic loci and candidate genes. Such as CYP716A, CAMTA, HD-ZIP related to saponin biosynthesis, as well as FATA, FAD2, DGAT3 related to oil-bearing traits, are all considered to determine important phenotypic characteristics. These achievements have laid a molecular foundation for trait selection. But, it also reveals certain trade-offs. For instance, in some materials, there is a negative correlation between saponin content and oil content. In other words, improving one trait may mean sacrificing another. It should be noted that, environmental heterogeneity and insufficient sampling in some areas can easily interfere with the determination of genotype-phenotypic associations, making it more complex to distinguish genetic effects from environmental influences. In addition, the scattered distribution and fragmented population of Sapindus pose challenges to resource collection and protection. Although EST-SSR and ISSR markers have been used for diversity assessment and trait mapping, compared with high-throughput genomics techniques, these methods have limited resolution and are difficult to capture rare alleles, fine population structures, and weak genotype-phenotypic associations. Future research should rely more on methods such as whole-genome resequencing, whole-genome association analysis (GWAS), and transcriptomics to locate gene loci related to traits with higher resolution and analyze the mechanisms of adaptive evolution. These measures can help discover new alleles and also accelerate the development of precision breeding tools. By integrating high-throughput genotyping, phenomics and environmental data, it is expected to establish a precise breeding platform for Sapindus. This platform can support marker-assisted selection and genomic selection, promote the aggregation of multiple traits, and facilitate the rapid breeding of superior varieties, that adapt to diverse environments and different utilization requirements. Acknowledgments The authors sincerely thank Dr. Wang for reviewing the manuscript and providing valuable suggestions, which contributed to its improvement. Additionally, heartfelt gratitude is extended to the two anonymous peer reviewers for their comprehensive evaluation of the manuscript. Conflict of Interest Disclosure The authors affirm that this research was conducted without any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. References Bahjat N., Yıldız M., Nadeem M., Morales A., Wohlfeiler J., Baloch F., Tunçtürk M., Koçak M., Chung Y., Grzebelus D., Sadık G., Kuzğun C., and Cavagnaro P., 2025, Population structure, genetic diversity, and GWAS analyses with GBS-derived SNPs and silicodart markers unveil genetic potential for breeding and candidate genes for agronomic and root quality traits in an international sugar beet germplasm collection, BMC Plant Biology, 25: 65. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06525-7 Li Y., Shao W., and Jiang J., 2021, Predicting the potential global distribution of Sapindus mukorossi under climate change based on MaxEnt modelling, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29(15): 21751-21768. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17294-9 Li Y., Shao W., Huang S., Zhang Y., Fang H., and Jiang J., 2022, Prediction of suitable habitats for Sapindus delavayi based on the MaxEnt model, Forests, 13(10): 1611. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13101611 Liu J., Gao S., Xu Y., Wang M., Ngiam J., Wen N., Yi J., Weng X., Jia L., and Salojärvi J., 2022, Genetic diversity analysis of Sapindus in China and extraction of a core germplasm collection using EST-SSR markers, Frontiers in Plant Science, 13: 857993. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.857993 Liu J., Wang L., Sun C., Xi B., Li D., Chen Z., He Q., Weng X., and Jia L., 2021, Global distribution of soapberries (Sapindus L.) habitats under current and future climate scenarios, Scientific Reports, 11(1): 19740. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-98389-8
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