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Applying plant DNA barcodes to identify species of Parnassia (Parnassiaceae)
Author(s) -
YANG JUNBO,
WANG YIPING,
MÖLLER MICHAEL,
GAO LIANMING,
WU DING
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
molecular ecology resources
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.96
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1755-0998
pISSN - 1755-098X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-0998.2011.03095.x
Subject(s) - dna barcoding , biology , barcode , dna , dna sequencing , primer (cosmetics) , species identification , taxonomy (biology) , genetics , genetic marker , botany , evolutionary biology , gene , chemistry , organic chemistry , computer science , operating system
DNA barcoding is a technique to identify species by using standardized DNA sequences. In this study, a total of 105 samples, representing 30 Parnassia species, were collected to test the effectiveness of four proposed DNA barcodes ( rbc L, mat K, trn H ‐psb A and ITS) for species identification. Our results demonstrated that all four candidate DNA markers have a maximum level of primer universality and sequencing success. As a single DNA marker, the ITS region provided the highest species resolution with 86.7%, followed by trn H ‐psb A with 73.3%. The combination of the core barcode regions, mat K+ rbc L, gave the lowest species identification success (63.3%) among any combination of multiple markers and was found unsuitable as DNA barcode for Parnassia . The combination of ITS+ trn H ‐psb A achieved the highest species discrimination with 90.0% resolution (27 of 30 sampled species), equal to the four‐marker combination and higher than any two or three marker combination including rbc L or mat K. Therefore, mat K and rbc L should not be used as DNA barcodes for the species identification of Parnassia . Based on the overall performance, the combination of ITS+ trn H ‐psb A is proposed as the most suitable DNA barcode for identifying Parnassia species. DNA barcoding is a useful technique and provides a reliable and effective mean for the discrimination of Parnassia species, and in combination with morphology‐based taxonomy, will be a robust approach for tackling taxonomically complex groups. In the light of our findings, we found among the three species not identified a possible cryptic speciation event in Parnassia .