Testing Potential DNA Barcoding Regions in the Labiatae Medicinal Plants

Abstract

DNA barcoding has been proposed as a novel and powerful taxonomic tool [1, 2]. The universal primer COI has been widely applied in animals, but there is no such universal barcode for plants [3]. In this study, we examined the possibility of utilizing DNA barcode markers to identify labiatae medicinal herbs. First, we compared sequences of eight potential barcodes (AccD, rpoB, rpoC1, ycf5, rbcL, PsbA-trnH, ITS, and matk) among different species of labiatae. Our findings were as follows: (1) PsbA-trnH was amplified much easier than the other seven; (2) PsbA-trnH spacer is one of the most variable non-coding regions of the plastid genome in labiatae; and (3) Different species of labiatae can be differentiated effectively by comparing the PsbA-trnH intergenic region. Comparison of PsbAtrnH intergenic region among 71 species of 30 genus has provided solid and practical evidence for applying DNA barcoding on species identification. In summary, DNA barcoding was proven to be useful in identifying different species of labiatae medicinal herbs. Acknowledgements: Thanks go to the International Cooperation Program of Science and Technology (No. 2007DFA30990) and the Special Founding for Healthy Field (No. 200802043), for supporting the study.