Potential use of restriction analysis of PCR-amplified DNA fragments in construction of molecular data-based identification keys of lichens

Abstract

Identification of lichen species solely on the basis of morphological and anatomical features of samples is often difficult. Molecular biology techniques provide many opportunities in taxonomy, but these techniques are usually used for determination of phylogenetic relationships at different levels rather than for identification of particular specimens. Here we asked whether restriction analysis of PCR-amplified DNA fragments can be used as a diagnostic test for identification of particular taxa. PCR amplification and rDNA restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) were used to examine variability among species of the genus Melanelia. Restriction patterns were found to be characteristic for particular species, though in some cases more than one pattern occurred in one species. Therefore, we propose that restriction patterns of PCR-amplified DNA fragments may be used for identification of lichens, especially for taxa difficult to distinguish on the basis of morphological and anatomical features. Possible usefulness of identification keys based on DNA restriction patterns is discussed.