@Article{phyton.2020.010952,
AUTHOR = {Abdulrahman Alasmari},
TITLE = {DNA-Barcoding of Some Medicinal Plant Species in Saudi Arabia Using <i>rbcL</i> and <i>matK</i> Genes},
JOURNAL = {Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany},
VOLUME = {89},
YEAR = {2020},
NUMBER = {4},
PAGES = {1059--1081},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/phyton/v89n4/40521},
ISSN = {1851-5657},
ABSTRACT = {In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), thousands of plants are considered to have therapeutic value. The ambiguous use of identification mainly
morphological characteristics of many plants has resulted in the adulteration
and displacement of plant products which undermine their therapeutic value
and weak documentation of plant resources. The aims of this study were therefore
to evaluate genetic variability and explore the phylogeographic architecture for
Saudi medicinal plant samples using <i>rbcL</i> and <i>matK</i> genes as barcodes for genomic identification. The <i>matK</i> and <i>rbcL</i> sequences collected for these samples were
used as key markers for examining the relationship between Saudi medicinal plant
species based on genetic diversity. During our study we were successful in identifying and documenting 4 different species (<i>Foeniculum vulgare, Nitraria retusa,
Dodonaea viscosa, and Rumex nervosus</i>) located in Saudi Arabia using DNA barcoding technique. A total number of 8 sequences were obtained with a total
sequence length of 6176 bp, where it ranged from 617 bp to 878 bp with an average length of 772 bp. The total number of rbcL sequences length is 2801 bp,
where it ranges from 617 bp to 807 bp with an average length of 700.2 bp.
Out of the 4 plant samples used, only three samples were identified correctly
on the species level with an identity percentage higher than 95% using <i>rbcL</i> gene.
Additionally, 4 <i>matK</i> sequences have been retrieved belong to 4 species. The total
number of matK sequences length is 3375 bp, where it ranges from 819 bp to
878 bp with an average length of 843.8 bp. Out of the 4 plant samples used, only
two samples were identified correctly on the species level with an identity percentage higher than 98% using <i>matK</i> gene. Both <i>rbcL</i> and <i>matK</i> have been able to
identify most of our collected plant samples by genus, and some by species. Using
only one DNA-barcoding technique was not reliable for plant identification,
where <i>matK</i> and <i>rbcL</i> must be used as a dual DNA-barcoding procedure.},
DOI = {10.32604/phyton.2020.010952}
}