Molecular Identification of Korean Polygonaceae: Weed Species

Gyeong-Jong Heo1   Jeongran Lee1,*   Jin-Won Kim1   In-Yong Lee1   

1National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Rural Development Administration, Wanju 55365, Korea

Abstract

DNA barcode is a powerful tool for species identification. It is especially useful when identification is difficult due to lack of taxonomic knowledge. Plant DNA barcode employs two markers, rbcL + matK. There were 619 taxa, 81 families in agricultural fields in Korea and Polygonaceae is the fifth dominant among them and usually seven to eight species are commonly found. In this study, we tried to catalog 30 individuals of 7 species in Polygonaceae occurring in Korean agricultural fields using partial sequences of rbcL and matK. Both the barcode markers revealed a good PCR and sequencing success with 100%. Barcoding gap and resolving power were 100% as well. Interspecific variations were 3.23% and 7.87% in rbcL and matK, respectively. No intraspecific variations were found in Persicaria vulgaris and Rumex japonicus in both markers. Both standard markers were found to be useful for identification of Polygonaceae weeds in Korea. The barcode data were deposited in Genbank for public use.

Figures & Tables

Fig. 1. Plot of minimum interspecific distance versus maximum intraspecific distances. Each data point represents a species for which two or more individuals were sampled. Species, which fall above the line, exhibit a barcoding gap.