DNA barcoding evaluation and implications for phylogenetic relationships in Lauraceae from China

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 12; no. 4; p. e0175788
• Main Authors: Liu, Zhi-Fang, Ci, Xiu-Qin, Li, Lang, Li, Hsi-Wen, Conran, John G., Li, Jie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 17.04.2017; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Biology and life sciences; China; Classification; Clear cutting; Clearcutting; Computer and information sciences; Conservation; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA barcoding; DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic; DNA, Plant - genetics; Gene sequencing; Genetic aspects; Geobiology; Identification; Lauraceae; Lauraceae - classification; Lauraceae - genetics; Loci; Morphology; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Rare species; Research and analysis methods; Species; Species Specificity; Taxonomy; Tropical forests; Vocabularies & taxonomies; Wildlife conservation; China; Beijing China
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175788

Lauraceae are an important component of tropical and subtropical forests and have major ecological and economic significance. Owing to lack of clear-cut morphological differences between genera and species, this family is an ideal case for testing the efficacy of DNA barcoding in the identification and discrimination of species and genera. In this study, we evaluated five widely recommended plant DNA barcode loci matK, rbcL, trnH-psbA, ITS2 and the entire ITS region for 409 individuals representing 133 species, 12 genera from China. We tested the ability of DNA barcoding to distinguish species and as an alternative tool for correcting species misidentification. We also used the rbcL+matK+trnH-psbA+ITS loci to investigate the phylogenetic relationships of the species examined. Among the gene regions and their combinations, ITS was the most efficient for identifying species (57.5%) and genera (70%). DNA barcoding also had a positive role for correcting species misidentification (10.8%). Furthermore, based on the results of the phylogenetic analyses, Chinese Lauraceae species formed three supported monophyletic clades, with the Cryptocarya group strongly supported (PP = 1.00, BS = 100%) and the clade including the Persea group, Laureae and Cinnamomum also receiving strong support (PP = 1.00, BS = 98%), whereas the Caryodaphnopsis-Neocinnamomum received only moderate support (PP = 1.00 and BS = 85%). This study indicates that molecular barcoding can assist in screening difficult to identify families like Lauraceae, detecting errors of species identification, as well as helping to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships. DNA barcoding can thus help with large-scale biodiversity inventories and rare species conservation by improving accuracy, as well as reducing time and costs associated with species identification.