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DNA Barcoding in Endangered Mesoamerican Groups of Plants

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Abstract

Among the applications of DNA barcoding for plant conservation is the identification of illegally traded endangered species from small samples or vegetative specimens. DNA barcoding offers an important tool for the phytosanitary authorities to identify species belonging to groups such as the bamboos and orchids, which command high prices in the horticultural trade. In this study we created a DNA barcode library for 20 endangered Orchidaceae species and 36 species of bamboo (Bambusoideae, Poaceae) distributed in Mexico. We applied several metrics to evaluate the efficiency of the barcodes matK and rbcL and, for bamboos, that of the plastid spacer psbI-K. Our results coincide with those of previous barcoding projects in which alone matK allowed for the identification of the most orchid species. For bamboos, the psbI-K spacer retrieved more polymorphic sites and in combination with matK we were able to identify bamboos to at least the generic level.

Resumen

Una de las aplicaciones del código de barras genético en la conservación de plantas es la de identificar especies amenazadas e ilegalmente comerciadas. El código de barras genético puede constituir una herramienta importante para las autoridades fitosanitarias para determinar especímenes de grupos como bambúes y orquídeas, que alcanzan precios elevados en horticultura. En este trabajo se creó una biblioteca de ADN para 20 especies amenazadas de Orchidaceae y 36 especies de bambúes de la subfamilia Bambusoideae distribuidas en México. Se aplicaron varios métodos para evaluar la eficiencia de los códigos de barras matK y rbcL y para los bambúes también se secuenció el espaciador psbI-K. Los resultados coinciden con proyectos previos, en que utilizando únicamente matK es posible identificar más especies de orquídeas. Se encontró una gran variación en las secuencias de psbI-K para bambúes y en combinación con matK fue posible identificar un mayor número de géneros.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Javier Francisco Ortega and Angélica Cibrián for inviting us to the “ADN y la conservación de la diversidad vegetal en América Latina” symposium, part of the “X Congreso Latinoamericano de Botánica” in La Serena, Chile (October, 2010). We acknowledge funding from CONABIO (HB004 “Barcode de bambúes nativos de México”). We thank Arith Pérez and Claudia Navarro for assisting with the lab work. Bianca Delfosse improved the English. Ismael Guzmán-Valdivieso and José M. Pech helped with the analyses. Eduardo Ruiz Sanchez helped collect the bamboos and Milton Díaz helped collect the orchids. Sequencing the Orchidaceae was part of the B.Sc. thesis project carried out at the Universidad Veracruzana by the third author of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología, A. C., Apartado Postal 63, 91000, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico

    Victoria Sosa, Teresa Mejía-Saules, Manuel A. Cuéllar & Andrew P. Vovides

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  1. Victoria Sosa
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  2. Teresa Mejía-Saules
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  3. Manuel A. Cuéllar
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  4. Andrew P. Vovides
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Correspondence to Victoria Sosa.

Appendix 1

Appendix 1

Table 4 Vouchers of species studied
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Sosa, V., Mejía-Saules, T., Cuéllar, M.A. et al. DNA Barcoding in Endangered Mesoamerican Groups of Plants. Bot. Rev. 79, 469–482 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12229-013-9129-4

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