Authentication of medicinal plants by SNP-based multiplex PCR

Area of Science:

• Molecular Biology
• Botany
• Pharmacognosy

Background:

• Accurate identification of medicinal plants is crucial for quality control and therapeutic efficacy.
• Traditional methods often fall short in distinguishing closely related species.
• Molecular markers offer precise tools for plant authentication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the utility of noncoding DNA regions for medicinal plant species identification.
• To assess the effectiveness of internal transcribed spacers (ITSs) and specific intron regions.
• To demonstrate the application of multiplex PCR for simultaneous amplification and verification.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of highly variable intergenic spacer and intron regions from nuclear and cytoplasmic DNA.
• Targeting noncoding internal transcribed spacers (ITSs) of ribosomal RNA genes (rDNAs).
• Utilizing chloroplast DNA (trnT-F intergenic spacer) and mitochondrial DNA (nad7 gene intron).
• Employing single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) detection via multiplex PCR.

Main Results:

• Noncoding regions, including ITSs and specific intron regions, are suitable for medicinal plant authentication.
• Chloroplast and mitochondrial DNA regions (trnT-F spacer, nad7 intron) also proved effective for identification.
• Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites within these regions facilitate species-level verification.
• Multiplex PCR enables simultaneous amplification of multiple loci for efficient verification.

Conclusions:

• Noncoding DNA regions represent valuable molecular markers for authenticating medicinal plant species.
• Multiplex PCR combined with SNP analysis provides a robust and efficient method for plant identification.
• This approach enhances the reliability of medicinal plant resources.