Testing DNA barcodes in closely related species of Curcuma (Zingiberaceae) from Myanmar and China

The genus Curcuma L. is commonly used as spices, medicines, dyes and ornamentals. Owing to its economic significance and lack of clear‐cut morphological differences between species, this genus is an ideal case for developing DNA barcodes. In this study, four chloroplast DNA regions (matK, rbcL, trnH‐psbA and trnL‐F) and one nuclear region (ITS2) were generated for 44 Curcuma species and five species from closely related genera, represented by 96 samples. PCR amplification success rate, intra‐ and inter‐specific genetic distance variation and the correct identification percentage were taken into account to assess candidate barcode regions. PCR and sequence success rate were high in matK (89.7%), rbcL (100%), trnH‐psbA (100%), trnL‐F (95.7%) and ITS2 (82.6%) regions. The results further showed that four candidate chloroplast barcoding regions (matK, rbcL, trnH‐psbA and trnL‐F) yield no barcode gaps, indicating that the genus Curcuma represents a challenging group for DNA barcoding. The ITS2 region presented large interspecific variation and provided the highest correct identification rates (46.7%) based on BLASTClust method among the five regions. However, the ITS2 only provided 7.9% based on NJ tree method. An increase in discriminatory power needs the development of more variable markers.