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Sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) analysis on DNA from the three medicinal Echinacea species
Barbara Adinolfi1, Andrea Chicca, Enrica Martinotti
1Department of Psychiatry, Neurobiology, Pharmacology and Biotechnology, University of Pisa, Italy. badinolfi@yahoo.it
Abstract:
In our previous study, RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) analysis revealed species-specific markers for three medicinal Echinacea species (Asteraceae): E. angustifolia DC., E. pallida (Nutt.) Nutt. and E. purpurea (L.) Moench. In the present work, we have converted a RAPD marker (750 bp) for E. purpurea into a SCAR (Sequence Characterized Amplified Region) marker. SCAR-PCR, in fact, revealed the expected amplicon (330 bp) only in E. purpurea and not in the other two species, giving further evidence for differences in medicinal Echinacea spp. genome and confirming a greater similarity between E. pallida and angustifolia.
