Molecular identification of six medicinal Curcuma plants produced in Sichuan: evidence from plastid trnK gene...

To establish a rapid and simple molecular identification method for six medicinals: Curcuma: C. longa, C. phaeocaulis, C. sichuanensis, C. chuanyujin, C. chuanhuangjiang, and C. chuanezhu in Sichuan Province.

A molecular approach (trnK nucleotide sequencing) was used in this study.

The sequenced entire chloroplast trnK gene region spanned 2,699-2,705 bp. The matK gene (an intron embodied in trnK gene) sequence and the intron spacer region of the trnK gene have great diversity within these six medicinal Curcuma species. There were six single bases substitutions between trnK coding region and matK region, the 9-bp deletion and 4-bp or 14-bp insertion repeat at some sites of matK region in each taxon.

These relatively variable sequences were potentially informative in the identification for these six Curcuma species at the DNA level.