Potential DNA barcodes for Melilotus species based on five single loci and their combinations

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182693
• Publication Date: 2017-09-14T13:28:53Z
• Authors: Fan Wu; Jinxing Ma; Yuqin Meng; Daiyu Zhang; Blaise Pascal Muv...; Kai Luo; Hongyan Di; Wenli Guo; Yanrong Wang; Baochang Feng; Jiyu Zhang
• Keywords: Melilotus; Barcode; DNA Barcoding

Melilotus, an annual or biennial herb, belongs to the tribe Trifolieae (Leguminosae) and consists of 19 species. As important green manure crop, diverse Melilotus species have different values as feed medicine. To identify species, we examined efficiency five candidate regions barcodes, including internal transcribed spacer (ITS) two chloroplast loci, rbcL matK, non-coding trnH-psbA trnL-F. In total, 198 individuals from 98 accessions representing 18 were sequenced for these potential barcodes. Based on inter-specific divergence, analysed sequences confirmed that each barcode was able some The resolution a single its combinations ranged 33.33% 88.89%. Analysis pairwise distances showed matK+rbcL+trnL-F+trnH-psbA+ITS (MRTPI) had greatest value least. Barcode gap similarity analyses trends. results indicated ITS region, successfully identifying 13 most appropriate combination all barcodes identified 16 We conclude MRTPI is effective tool identification. Taking full advantage system, clear taxonomic relationship can be applied enhance their practical production.