Multitrait Screening and SSR Fingerprinting of Calligonum Section Medusa Individuals for Desert Ecological Restoration

Calligonum sect. Medusa is an important resource for desert ecological restoration, but practical criteria for elite germplasm screening and reliable methods for identity verification remain limited. We evaluated 13 morphological, physiological, and biochemical traits in 121 individuals conserved ex situ at the Turpan Campus of Yili-Tupan National Botanical Garden (electable) using principal component analysis, membership-function evaluation, hierarchical clustering, and stepwise regression; 20 individuals were further genotyped at 13 simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci. Trait coefficients of variation ranged from 6.54% to 53.79%, and five principal components explained 68.40% of the total variation. Five candidate elite individuals (ZLY37, ZLY40, ZLY44, ZLY38, and ZLY01) were identified. A reduced six-trait model retained crown width, predawn water potential, plant height, soluble sugar content, plant-form integrity, and assimilating-branch length, from which preliminary empirical reference thresholds were derived. Of the 13 SSR loci, 10 were polymorphic (mean PIC = 0.357), and a candidate five-locus panel distinguished the same 20 individuals used for its selection and enabled fingerprint construction for the five candidates. This study provides a practical framework for preliminary elite germplasm screening and molecular identity verification in Calligonum sect. Medusa, supporting desert ecological restoration, germplasm management, and subsequent cultivar development.