DNA barcoding in native plants of the Labiatae (Lamiaceae) family from Chios Island (Greece) and the adjacent Çeşme‐Karaburun Peninsula (Turkey)

Abstract

The plant family Labiatae (Lamiaceae) is known for its fine medicinal and aromatic herbs like lavender, mint, oregano, sage and thyme and is a rich source of essential oils for the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry. Besides its great economic importance, the Labiatae family contributes significantly to the endemic flora of Greece and Turkey. Owing to its economic and biological significance and to the difficult identification based on morphological characters of several of its taxa, the Labiatae family is an ideal case for developing DNA barcodes. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the utility of DNA barcoding on a local scale in discriminating Labiatae species in Chios Island (Greece) and the adjacent Çeşme-Karaburun Peninsula (Turkey). We chose three cpDNA regions (matK, rbcL, trnH-psbA) that were proposed by previous studies and tested them either as single region or as multiregion barcodes based on the criteria determined by Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL). Our results show that matK and trnH-psbA taken as useful in discriminating species of the Labiatae, for the species we examined, as any multiregion combination. matK and trnH-psbA could serve as single-region barcodes for Labiatae species contributing to the conservation and the trade control of valuable plant resources.

A test of four candidate barcoding markers for the identification of geographically widespreadChimaphilaspecies (Pyroleae, Ericaceae)

“…Based on the high level of universality in PCR and sequencing aspects, and high species discrimination ability (Figure 2; Figure 3c), we think that ITS should be used as a supplementary barcode on the basis of core barcode matK and rbcL in Chimaphila. The psbA-trnH is an intergenic spacer, both rapidly evolving and variable in length, that has been widely used as a plant barcode, distinguishing among the largest number of plant species for barcoding purposes (Theodoridis et al 2012). In this study, we found that the length of the psbA-trnH is short, ranging from 236 to 245 bp.…”

Evaluation of 11 single‐locus and seven multilocusDNAbarcodes inLamiumL. (Lamiaceae)

“…; Theodoridis et al . ). Lamium is an interesting object of phylogenetic studies and taxonomic discussion, which among other things concerns infrageneric taxa.…”

“…; Theodoridis et al . ). The two‐locus combination of matK and rbcL is recommended as the core plant barcode (CBOL Plant Working Group et al .…”

Utility of DNA barcoding to identify rare endemic vascular plant species in Trinidad

“…are used in the Caribbean for their proposed medicinal properties (Mahabir & Gulliford, 1997). Preservation of indigenous knowledge concerning medical ethno‐botany is a key aspect of bioprospecting with the proviso of accurate species identification (Harvey & Gericke, 2011; Kumar, Sharma, & Chattopadhyay, 2013; Theodoridis et al., 2012). …”