Abstract Detail

Economic Botany Section

Schori, Melanie [1], Showalter, Allan [2].

DNA barcoding for authentication of medicinal plants from Pakistan.

DNA barcoding was conducted using rbcL, matK, and psbA-trnH from a variety of medicinal plant species that included both market and voucher samples. Most market material was from Pakistan, but several market samples from the US were included. Voucher samples came from Pakistan and Kew’s DNA bank, with the latter supplying sister taxa for comparison. The material comprised 163 species, including one fern and two gymnosperms, representing 114 genera, 51 families, and 27 orders of angiosperms. Ninety-eight samples (88 species) were from market material while 115 samples (97 species) were vouchers. Twenty-three market samples and thirteen vouchers did not yield DNA that could be successfully amplified and sequenced using standard primers. Twenty-two market samples were not correctly identified, and another sample included two different plants that were indistinguishable morphologically. Low-level contamination was common and included fruits of Atriplex and Carex, grass leaves, and other debris that could be sorted out of the samples. Six voucher samples were not correctly identified, and four others contained mixtures of DNA and could not be sequenced for all three gene regions. Full barcodes (all three gene regions) were obtained for 40 voucher samples and 18 market samples. Overall, psbA-trnH was sequenced most successfully, followed by rbcL and matK. However, the utility of the barcoding regions for discriminating among congeners varied substantially from one genus to the next. Our results indicate that DNA barcoding is generally successful with market samples of medicinal plants, and rbcL and psbA-trnH are suitable for genus-level identification over a wide range of plant families.

1 - Ohio University, 315 Porter Hall, Athens, OH, 45701, USA
2 - Ohio University, Environmental & Plant Biology, Porter Hall 315, Athens, OH, 45701, USA

Keywords:
DNA Barcoding
Medicinal and aromatic plants.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 5
Location: River Fork/Grove
Date: Monday, July 28th, 2014
Time: 10:45 AM
Number: 5009
Abstract ID:573
Candidate for Awards:None