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Updated: Nov 26, 2025

Optimization and Comparative Analysis of Plant Organellar DNA Enrichment Methods Suitable for Next-generation Sequencing
Published on: July 28, 2017
Utility of the Mitochondrial Genome in Plant Taxonomic Studies
Jérôme Duminil1, Guillaume Besnard2
1DIADE, University of Montpellier, IRD, Montpellier, France. jerome.duminil@ird.fr.
Abstract:
Size, structure, and sequence content lability of plant mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) across species has sharply limited its use in taxonomic studies. Historically, mtDNA variation has been first investigated with RFLPs, while the development of universal primers then allowed studying sequence polymorphisms within short genomic regions (<3 kb). The recent advent of NGS technologies now offers new opportunities by greatly facilitating the assembly of longer mtDNA regions, and even full mitogenomes. Phylogenetic works aiming at comparing signals from different genomic compartments (i.e., nucleus, chloroplast, and mitochondria) have been developed on a few plant lineages, and have been shown especially relevant in groups with contrasted inheritance of organelle genomes. This chapter first reviews the main characteristics of mtDNA and the application offered in taxonomic studies. It then presents tips for best sequencing protocol based on NGS data to be routinely used in mtDNA-based phylogenetic studies.
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