Testing four barcoding markers for species identification of Potamogetonaceae

• Published in: Journal of systematics and evolution : JSE Vol. 49; no. 3; pp. 246 - 251
• Main Authors: DU, Zhi-Yuan, QIMIKE, Alitong, YANG, Chun-Feng, CHEN, Jin-Ming, WANG, Qing-Feng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden, USA Blackwell Publishing Inc 01.05.2011; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc; Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China; Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China%Xinjiang Bazhou Normal College, Kuerle 841000, China
• Subjects: Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA barcoding; internal transcribed spacer (ITS); matK; matK基因; Potamogeton; Potamogetonaceae; psbA基因; rbcL; trnH-psbA; 条形码; 标记; 测试; 物种鉴定; 菜种; 识别; China, People's Rep; internal transcribed spacer (ITS); matK; Potamogetonaceae; rbcL; trnH-psbA; DNA barcoding
• ISSN: 1674-4918; 1759-6831
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1759-6831.2011.00131.x

The pondweeds （Potamogetonaceae） are among the most important plant groups in the aquatic envi- ronment. Owing to their high morphological and ecological diversity, species identification of this aquatic family remains problematic. DNA barcoding involves sequencing a standard DNA region and has been shown to be a powerful tool for species identification. In the present study, we tested four barcoding markers （rbcL, matK, internal transcribed spacer （ITS）, and trnH-psbA） in 15 Potamogeton species and two Stuckenia species, representing most species of the Potamogetonaceae in China. The results show that all four regions can distinguish and support the newly proposed genera of Stuckenia from Potamogeton. Using ITS and trnH-psbA, significant interspecific genetic variability was shown. However, intraspecific genetic variability of trnH-psbA is high and so it is not suitable for barcoding in Potamogetonaceae. The ITS and matK regions showed good discrimination. However, matK was not easy to sequence using universal primers. The best performing single locus was ITS, making it a potentially useful DNA barcode in Potamogetonaceae.