Molecular authentication of ginseng cultivars by comparison of internal transcribed spacer and 5.8S rDNA sequences

Molecular authentication among three Panax species and within cultivars and accessions of P. ginseng was investigated using the DNA sequence in the ribosomal ITS1–5.8S–ITS2 region. Four single-nucleotide polymorphisms were identified between P. ginseng and other Panax species. In the electrophoresis profile, obtained after digestion with the enzyme TaqI, three fingerprinting patterns were obtained from cultivars and accessions of Panax species. Consequently, this authentication procedure based upon the restriction fragment length polymorphism in the ribosomal ITS1–5.8S–ITS2 region can now be utilized to differentiate these Panax species as well as major Korean cultivars such as Gopoong and Kumpoong from other cultivars and accessions in Panax species at the DNA level. O. T. Kim and K. H. Bang contributed equally to this paper.     

A phylogenetic analysis ofPanax (Araliaceae): Integrating cpDNA restriction site and nuclear rDNA ITS sequence data

A phylogenetic analysis ofPanax was performed using restriction site variations of eight PCR-amplified chloroplast regions. Twenty populations were examined, representing 13 of the 14 species ofPanax. Aralia cordata was used as the outgroup. The 11 restriction endonucleases produced a total of 105 restriction sites and length variations from the large single-copy region of cpDNA. Forty restriction variations are polymorphic. The cpDNA tree is largely congruent with the nuclear ribosomal ITS phylogeny. Similar to the ITS tree, the cpDNA dataset suggests the following relationships: (1)P. trifolius from eastern North America is sister to the clade consisting of all otherPanax species; (2)P. ginseng andP. japonicus from eastern Asia form a clade withP. quinquefolius from eastern North America; (3) the HimalayanP. pseudoginseng is most closely related toP. stipuleanatus of southwestern China; and (4) the medicinally importantP. notoginseng forms a clade with the closely relatedP. bipinnatifidus, P. ginseng, P. japonicus, P. major, P. quinquefolius, P. sinensis, P. wangianus, andP. zingiberensis. Two biogeographic disjunctions are detectable withinPanax. One is the connection of the eastern North AmericanP. trifolius with the rest ofPanax species. The other is the more recent disjunction between the North AmericanP. quinquefolius and the eastern AsianP. ginseng andP. japonicus. The active orogenies caused by the collision of the Indian Plate with Asia may have facilitated the diversification ofPanax taxa in Asia in the late Tertiary.     

Wild Panax vietnamensis and Panax stipuleanatus markedly increase the genetic diversity of Panax notoginseng (Araliaceae) revealed by start codon targeted (SCoT) markers and ITS DNA barcode

In order to evaluate whether the two wild species, Panax vietnamensis (from Vietnam) and Panax stipuleanatus (from primeval forest, Yunan Province) could markedly increase the genetic diversity of cultivated Panax notoginseng (Wenshan, Yunnan Province), both start codon targeted (SCoT) markers and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) DNA barcode were firstly employed in this genus. A total of 173 amplification bands were generated by 16 selected SCoT primers, in which 153 (89.5%) were polymorphic. Nei's gene-diversity indicated that the genetic diversity of three species (h = 0.16 and I = 0.27) was obviously higher than that of P. notoginseng (h = 0.09). Similarly, 38 different ITS sites out of 639 (5.9%) were detected among three species, but only one was different within 22 samples of P. notoginseng. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed a greater proportion of genetic diversity existed within (61.3%) rather than among (38.7%) groups at genus level. In addition, P. vietnamensis had a closer relationship with P. notoginseng than P. stipuleanatus. These results would be significant for increasing the genetic diversity of P. notoginseng population by hybridization with P. vietnamensis and P. stipuleanatus, thus obtaining more varieties for future cultivar breeding and germplasm resources management.     

New scenario for speciation in the benthic dinoflagellate genus Coolia (Dinophyceae)

In this study, inter- and intraspecific genetic diversity within the marine harmful dinoflagellate genus Coolia Meunier was evaluated using isolates obtained from the tropics to subtropics in both Pacific and Atlantic Ocean basins. The aim was to assess the phylogeographic history of the genus and to clarify the validity of established species including Coolia malayensis. Phylogenetic analysis of the D1-D2 LSU rDNA sequences identified six major lineages (L1–L6) corresponding to the morphospecies Coolia malayensis (L1), C. monotis (L2), C. santacroce (L3), C. palmyrensis (L4), C. tropicalis (L5), and C. canariensis (L6). A median joining network (MJN) of C. malayensis ITS2 rDNA sequences revealed a total of 16 haplotypes; however, no spatial genetic differentiation among populations was observed. These MJN results in conjunction with CBC analysis, rDNA phylogenies and geographical distribution analyses confirm C. malayensis as a distinct species which is globally distributed in the tropical to warm-temperate regions. A molecular clock analysis using ITS2 rDNA revealed the evolutionary history of Coolia dated back to the Mesozoic, and supports the hypothesis that historical vicariant events in the early Cenozoic drove the allopatric differentiation of C. malayensis and C. monotis.     

FISH and GISH analysis of the genomic relationships amongPanax species

Ginseng is a well-known medicinal plant that has been used as an anti-aging agent for many years in East Asia. In the genusPanax, only three species,P. ginseng (Oriental ginseng),P. quinquefolius (American ginseng) andP. notoginseng (Chinese ginseng), are currently considered to be important medicinal herbs. Despite the increase in their breeding value, molecular cytogenetic information on the species is not available. To analyze the genomic relationships among thePanax species, FISH (fluorescencein situ hybridization) and GISH (genomicin situ hybridization) techniques were applied. FISH analysis revealed that the 45S and 5S rRNA genes ofP. notoginseng (2n=2x=24) andP. ginseng (2n=4x=48) cluster on a single locus on different chromosomes, whileP. quinquefolius (2n=4x=48),P. japonicus (2n=4x=48), and Korean wild ginseng (2n =4x= 48) had one locus of the 45S rRNA gene and two loci of the 5S rRNA gene, respectively. GISH analysis using genomic DNA as a probe detected strong cross-hybridization of genomes betweenP. ginseng andP. quinquefolius. GISH analysis of other species showed weak or no distinct signals on the chromosomes. Our data revealed thatP. ginseng andP. quinquefolius showed the highest degree of homology, indicating that these species diverged in most recent years.     

大白口蘑分离菌株的DNA鉴定

以松口蘑Tricholoma matsutake子实体为外类群,对大白口蘑T.giganteum野生子实体及其组织分离菌丝进行ITS序列测序,通过DNAStar软件进行比较分析。结果表明大白口蘑ITS序列长度为589bp,松口蘑ITS序列长度为601bp,ITS1和ITS2呈现不同程度的种间多态性;ITS序列测定证实了大白口蘑野生子实体及其组织分离菌丝的同质性,并且ITS区序列在大白口蘑种内不同菌株间的变异程度很小,表明使用通用引物ITS4和ITS5,通过PCR扩增测序即可用于大白口蘑的种质鉴定。     

大白口蘑分离菌株的DNA鉴定

以松口蘑Tricholoma matsutake子实体为外类群,对大白口蘑T. giganteum 野生子实体及其组织分离菌丝进行ITS序列测序,通过DNAStar软件进行比较分析。结果表明大白口蘑ITS序列长度为589bp,松口蘑ITS序列长度为601bp,ITS1和ITS2呈现不同程度的种间多态性;ITS序列测定证实了大白口蘑野生子实体及其组织分离菌丝的同质性,并且ITS区序列在大白口蘑种内不同菌株间的变异程度很小,表明使用通用引物ITS4和ITS5,通过PCR扩增测序即可用于大白口蘑的种质鉴定。     

Phylogenetic analysis of the genus Hexachlamys (Myrtaceae) based on plastid and nuclear DNA sequences and their taxonomic implications

Myrtaceae are one of the most species‐rich families of flowering plants in the Neotropics. They include several complex genera and species; Hexachlamys is one of the complex genera. It has not been recognized as a distinct genus and has been included in Eugenia, based on morphological grounds. Therefore, molecular systematic studies may be useful to understand and to help to solve these relationships. Here, we performed a molecular phylogenetic analysis using plastid and nuclear data in order to check the inclusion of Hexachlamys in Eugenia. Plastid (accD, rpoB, rpoC1, trnH‐psbA) and nuclear (ITS2) sequence data were analysed using Bayesian and maximum parsimony methods. The trees constructed using ITS2 and trnH‐psbA were the best able to resolve the relationships between species and genera, revealing the non‐monophyly of Hexachlamys. The molecular phylogenetic analyses were in agreement with previous morphological revisions that have included Hexachlamys in Eugenia. These results reinforce the importance of uniting knowledge and strategies to understand better issues of delimitation of genera and species in groups of plants with taxonomic problems. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2013, 172 , 532–543.     

Cell culture system versus adventitious root culture system in Asian and American ginseng: a collation

Panax ginseng and Panax quinquefolius of Panax genus are valuable as health foods as well as pharmaceuticals for the treatment of cancer, diabetes and ageing as these plants possess saponins. In the current study, Cell and adventitious root cultures of P. ginseng and P. quinquefolius were investigated for the biomass, cell division, saponin content and ginsenosides profile from four lines namely P. quinquefolius (AM), P. ginseng mountain (Mt.) Baekdu line, P. ginseng Cheong-sol line (CS) and P. ginseng CBN line (CBN) with the objective of comparing cell and adventitious root systems to check their efficacy for the production of ginseng saponins. Additionally, genes related to ginsenoside biosynthesis were also analyzed concerning to cell and adventitious root lines. The results indicated that various cell lines were better in multiplication and growth compared to adventitious root lines. However, adventitious root lines showed higher accumulation of dry biomass (1.5–2 fold) than that of cell lines. CS adventitious root line showed higher saponin content and ginsenoside productivity (10.48 mg·g^?1 DW, 12.88 mg·L^?1, respectively) than that of CS cell line (9.50 mg·g^?1 DW, 2.39 mg·L^?1, respectively). Especially, Rd ginsenoside productivity of CS adventitious root line recorded fourfold higher than CS cell line. Genes which are related to ginsenoside biosynthesis such as P. ginseng squalene synthase (PgSS2), P. ginseng squalene epoxidase (PgSE2), P. ginseng protopanaxadial synthase (PgPPDS) and P. ginseng protopanaxatriol synthase (PgPPTS) were analyzed by real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction to support ginsenoside production. The adventitious root culture system described in this study is useful system for biomass and ginsenoside production.     

ITS-2 secondary structures and phylogeny of Anopheles culicifacies species

Background: Second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) has proven to contain useful biological information at higher taxonomic levels. Objectives: This study was carried out to unravel the biological information in the ITS2 region of An. culicifacies and the internal relationships between the five species of Anopheles culicifacies. Methodology: In achieving these objectives, twenty two ITS2 sequences (~370bp) of An. culicifacies species were retrieved from GenBank and secondary structures were generated. For the refinement of the primary structures, i.e. nucleotide sequence of ITS2 sequences, generated secondary structures were used. The improved ITS2 primary structures sequences were then aligned and used for the construction of phylogenetic trees. Results and discussions: ITS2 secondary structures of culicifacies closely resembled near universal eukaryotes secondary structure and had three helices, and the structures of helix II and distal region of helix III of ITS2 of An. culicifacies were strikingly similar to those regions of other organisms strengthening possible involvement of these regions in rRNA biogenesis. Phylogenetic analysis of improved ITS2 sequences revealed two main clades one representing sibling B, C and E and A and D in the other. Conclusions: Near sequence identity of ITS2 regions of the members in a particular clade indicate that this region is undergoing parallel evolution to perform clade specific RNA biogenesis. The divergence of certain isolates of An. culicifacies from main clades in phylogenetic analyses suggests the possible existence of camouflaged sub-species within the complex of culicifacies. Using the fixed nucleotide differences, we estimate that these two clades have diverged nearly 3.3 million years ago, while the sibling species in clade 2 are under less evolutionary pressure, which may have evolved much later than the members in clade 1.     

CAPS markers using mitochondrial consensus primers for molecular identification of Panax species and Korean ginseng cultivars (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer)

Cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) marker system using mitochondrial consensus primers was applied for molecular identification of Korean ginseng cultivars (Panax ginseng). Initially, a total of 34 primers were tested to six Korean ginseng cultivars and two foreign Panax species, P. quinquefolius and P. notoginseng. In the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification results, four primers (mt7, mt11, mt13, and mt18) generated co-dominant polymorphic banding patterns discriminating the Korean ginseng cultivars from P. quinquefolius and P. notoginseng. In the CAPS analysis results, the majority of the cleaved PCR products also yielded additional latent polymorphisms between the Korean ginseng cultivars and two foreign Panax species. Specific latent CAPS polymorphisms for cultivar Gopoong and Chunpoong were detected from internal region amplified with mt9 primer by treating HinfI and Tsp509I endonucleases, respectively. Sequencing analysis revealed that the length of amplified region of Korean ginseng cultivars was 2,179 bp, and those of P. quinquefolius and P. notoginseng were 2,178 and 2,185 bp, respectively. Blast search revealed that the amplified region was a mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 2 (cox2) gene intron II region. Nineteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) including each specific SNP for Gopoong and Chunpoong, and three insertion and deletion (InDel) polymorphisms were detected by sequence alignment. The CAPS markers developed in this study, which are specific to Gopoong and Chunpoong, and between the Korean ginseng cultivars and two foreign Panax species, will serve as a practical and reliable tool for their identification, purity maintenance, and selection of candidate lines and cultivars.     

基于ITS序列探讨杜鹃属的亚属和组间系统关系

首次报道了15种杜鹃属(Rhododendron)植物、1种杜香属(Ledum)植物和Cassiope fastigiata的内转录间隔区(ITS) (包括5.8S)序列.加上从GenBank下载的13种杜鹃属植物和Bajiaria racemosa的ITS序列,以C. fastigiata和B. racemosa为外类群,用最大简约法对杜鹃属的亚属和组间的系统关系进行了分析.结果表明: 1)杜鹃属是一个单系类群,叶状苞亚属为杜鹃属的基部类群; 2)杜香属确应归并到杜鹃属中,且与有鳞杜鹃亚属有较近的亲缘关系; 3)有鳞杜鹃亚属和杜香构成一个单系分支,该分支是其余无鳞杜鹃花的姐妹群; 4)由无鳞杜鹃花组成的一个分支的内部支持率较低,其中常绿杜鹃亚属和映山红亚属均为内部支持率很高的单系类群,而羊踯躅亚属和马银花亚属均为多系类群; 5)在马银花亚属中,长蕊杜鹃组和马银花组均分别得到强烈支持,马银花组与异蕊杜鹃亚属可能构成姐妹群关系,异蕊杜鹃亚属和马银花组组成的一个分支可能与映山红亚属构成姐妹群关系.     

DNA barcodes for discriminating the medicinal plant Isatis indigotica Fort. (Cruciferae) and its adulterants

Isatis indigotica Fort. (Cruciferae) is a biennial medicinal plant. In order to protect the decreasing natural genetic resources of I. indigotica, three candidate DNA barcodes (ITS2, trnL-F and rbcL) were employed to establish an accurate and effective identification system for I. indigotica. The results demonstrated that all three candidate DNA barcodes have performed very well in I. indigotica. The interspecific genetic distances were obviously greater than the intraspecific distance among I. indigotica as indicated by ITS2, trnL-F and rbcL. Sequence alignment analysis of I. indigotica genotypes revealed that four SNPs (54, 108, 146 and 181 bp) located in ITS2, three (2, 30, 709 bp) in trnL-F and one (531 bp) in rbcL, respectively. UPGMA phylogenetic tree constructed from trnL-F and rbcL could allote I. indigotica to the correct corresponding genus, whereas rbcL could not distinguish I. indigotica from its adulterants. Meanwhile, UPGMA tree of ITS2 could accurately identify I. indigotica from its adulterants according to the corresponding species. Consequently, it can be concluded that ITS2 is a more suitable and accurate DNA barcode for identifying I. Indigotica and its adulterants than trnL-F and rbcL.     

Testing four candidate barcoding markers in temperate woody bamboos (Poaceae: Bambusoideae)

Abstract Bambusoideae is an important subfamily of the grass family Poaceae that has considerable economic, ecologic and cultural value. In addition, Bambusoideae species are important constituents of the forest vegetation in China. Because of the paucity of flower‐bearing specimens and homoplasies of morphological characters, it is difficult to identify species of Bambusoideae using morphology alone, especially in the case of temperate woody bamboos (i.e. Arundinarieae). To this end, DNA barcoding has shown great potential in identifying species. The present study is the first attempt to test the feasibility of four proposed DNA barcoding markers (matK, rbcL, trnH–psbA, and internal transcribed spacer [ITS]) in identifying 27 species of the temperate woody bamboos. Three plastid markers showed high levels of universality, whereas the universality of ITS was comparatively low. A single plastid marker provided low levels of discrimination success at both the genus and species levels (<12%). Among the combinations of plastid markers, the highest discriminatory power was obtained using the combination of rbcL+matK (14.8%). Using a combination of three markers did not increase species discrimination. The nuclear region ITS alone could identify 66.7% of species, although fewer taxa were included in the ITS analyses than in the plastid analyses. When ITS was integrated with a single or combination of plastid markers, the species discriminatory power was significantly improved. We suggest that a combination of rbcL+ ITS, which exhibited the highest species identification power of all combinations in the present study, could be used as a potential DNA barcode for temperate woody bamboos.     

Molecular analyses of the IGS & ITS regions of rDNA of the psychrophilic yeasts in the genus Mrakia

Species of the genus Mrakia are currently classified as synonyms based on molecular sequence analyses of the large sub-unit ribosomal DNA (LrDNA). Physiological and protein electrophoretic studies, however, reveal possible species differences. To clarify this discrepancy, we undertook molecular sequence analyses of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and intergenic spacer (IGS) regions of rDNA from the four psychrophilic Mrakia species and the psychrophilic yeast, Cryptococcus curiosus. Identical ITS sequences were found between C. curiosus, M. nivalis and M. frigida. Although, M. stokesii and M. gelida displayed identical ITS and IGS sequences, their sequences differed from the other three species by 2.3% and 38%, respectively. The results suggest that M. stokesii is a synonym of M. gelida, whereas M. nivalis is a synonym of M. frigida. Sequence differences (1.9%) observed in the IGS region indicates that C. curiosus is a distinct strain of M. frigida.     

基于ITS序列探讨杜鹃属的亚属和组间系统关系

首次报道了 15种杜鹃属 (Rhododendron)植物、1种杜香属 (Ledum)植物和Cassiopefastigiata的内转录间隔区(ITS) (包括 5 .8S)序列。加上从GenBank下载的 13种杜鹃属植物和Bajiariaracemosa的ITS序列 ,以C .fastigiata和B .racemosa为外类群 ,用最大简约法对杜鹃属的亚属和组间的系统关系进行了分析。结果表明 :1)杜鹃属是一个单系类群 ,叶状苞亚属为杜鹃属的基部类群 ;2 )杜香属确应归并到杜鹃属中 ,且与有鳞杜鹃亚属有较近的亲缘关系 ;3)有鳞杜鹃亚属和杜香构成一个单系分支 ,该分支是其余无鳞杜鹃花的姐妹群 ;4 )由无鳞杜鹃花组成的一个分支的内部支持率较低 ,其中常绿杜鹃亚属和映山红亚属均为内部支持率很高的单系类群 ,而羊踯躅亚属和马银花亚属均为多系类群 ;5 )在马银花亚属中 ,长蕊杜鹃组和马银花组均分别得到强烈支持 ,马银花组与异蕊杜鹃亚属可能构成姐妹群关系 ,异蕊杜鹃亚属和马银花组组成的一个分支可能与映山红亚属构成姐妹群关系。     

Potential use of DNA barcoding for the identification of Salvia based on cpDNA and nrDNA sequences

An effective DNA marker for authenticating the genus Salvia was screened using seven DNA regions (rbcL, matK, trnL–F, and psbA–trnH from the chloroplast genome, and ITS, ITS1, and ITS2 from the nuclear genome) and three combinations (rbcL + matK, psbA–trnH + ITS1, and trnL–F + ITS1). The present study collected 232 sequences from 27 Salvia species through DNA sequencing and 77 sequences within the same taxa from the GenBank. The discriminatory capabilities of these regions were evaluated in terms of PCR amplification success, intraspecific and interspecific divergence, DNA barcoding gaps, and identification efficiency via a tree-based method. ITS1 was superior to the other marker for discriminating between species, with an accuracy of 81.48%. The three combinations did not increase species discrimination. Finally, we found that ITS1 is a powerful barcode for identifying Salvia species, especially Salvia miltiorrhiza.     

Evolutionary divergence of ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 2 in lizards

Internal transcribed spacers 1 and 2 (ITS1 and ITS2) are known to play an important role in rRNA maturation, yet the mechanism of their action is still not completely understood. Comparison of the ITS1 and ITS2 nucleotide sequences for various organisms reveals conserved regions, which are potentially involved in rRNA biogenesis, and yields new information about the evolutionary divergence of the corresponding region of the genome. The rDNA fragments containing ITS2 were amplified, cloned, and sequenced for three lizard species: Darevskia armeniaca, Lacerta strigata (Lacertidae), and Agama caucasia (Agamidae). The lizard ITS2 sequences were compared with their counterparts from other organisms and proved to contain not only universally conserved elements characteristic of the consensus secondary structure of vertebrate ITS2, but also lizard-specific regions. Comparison of the ITS2 size and the distribution of homologous regions for the two lizard families made it possible to assume that evolution of the modern species involved duplication of ITS2 in the genome of their common ancestor.     

Development of peptide nucleic acid (PNA) microarray for identification of Panax species based on the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and 5.8S rDNA regions

This study describes the identification of Panax species using a peptide nucleic acid (PNA) microarray. P. ginseng, P. quienquefolius, and P. japonicus were distinguished from each other using 5 PNA probes designed based on three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) detected in internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and 5.8S rDNA regions. Signal intensity comparison between PNA and DNA microarrays revealed that the PNA microarray provides a significantly more stable and specific fluorescent signal intensity than the DNA microarray. Three Panax species identified by the PNA microarray were denoted as barcode numbers depending on their fluorescent signal patterns of each species using 5 PNA probes (PG-ITS-116, PG-ITS-414-1, PG-ITS-414-2, PG-ITS-425-1, and PG-ITS-425-2). P. ginseng, P. quinquefolius, and P. japonicus were denoted as ‘11010’, ‘00202’ and ‘00000’, respectively. The PNA microarray developed in this study will be useful for legitimizing the distribution of ginseng in domestic and foreign ginseng markets.