Abstract: In order to study the genetic diversity of Fujian tea trees, the genetic structure and genetic differentiation of 51 cultivars of Fujian tea trees from 5 regions were analyzed. The results showed that the length of matK sequence of tea plants in Fujian was 833 bp, with 26 polymorphic sites (S) and 7 haplotypes (Hap1-Hap7), showing high haplotype diversity (0.525) and low nuclear glycoside diversity (0.001 89). The haploid phylogenetic tree formed 4 branches, and the self-expanding support rate was greater than 60%. The genetic distance between different tea populations was between 0.000 3 and 0.003 3, and the genetic distance within the population was between 0.000 0 and 0.003 7. The differentiation coefficient of Fujian tea tree population was Fst=-0.016 22-0.500 00 and gene flow was Nm=-15.663 07-15.210 73. The genetic diversity of 51 Fujian tea trees was low, and there was a certain degree of genetic differentiation between different groups. Neutral tests Tajima’s D, Fu and Li’D* and F* were significantly negative values, and the mismatch distribution curve was a unimodal pattern, indicating that expansion events occurred among the tea tree populations. The results of this study provided a reference for further development and utilization of this resource.

Key words: tea tree, matK partial sequence, genetic diversity