Identification and phylogenetic analysis of the genus Syringa based on chloroplast genomic DNA barcoding

PLoS One. 2022 Jul 19;17(7):e0271633. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0271633. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

DNA barcoding is a supplementary tool in plant systematics that is extensively used to resolve species-level controversies. This study assesses the significance of using two DNA barcoding loci (e.g., psbA-trnH and trnC-petN) in distinguishing 33 plant samples of the genus Syringa. Results showed that the average genetic distance K2P of psbA-trnH DNA marker was 0.0521, which is much higher than that of trnC-petN, which is 0.0171. A neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree based on psbA-trnH and trnC-petN indicated that the identification rate of psbA-trnH and trnC-petN alone were 75% and 62.5%, respectively. The barcode combination of psbA-trnH+trnC-petN could identify 33 samples of the genus Syringa accurately and effectively with an identification rate of 87.5%. The 33 Syringa samples were divided into four groups: Group I is series Syringa represented by Syringa oblata; Group II is series Villosae represented by Syringa villosa; Group III is series Pubescentes represented by Syringa meyeri; and Group IV is section Ligustrina represented by Syringa reticulata subsp. pekinensis. These research results provided strong evidence that the combinatorial barcode of psbA-trnH+trnC-petN had high-efficiency identification ability and application prospects in species of the genus Syringa.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Chloroplasts / genetics
  • DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic / methods
  • DNA, Chloroplast* / genetics
  • DNA, Plant / genetics
  • Genomics
  • Phylogeny
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Syringa* / genetics

Substances

  • DNA, Chloroplast
  • DNA, Plant

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Key R & D projects of Hebei Province, China (No.19226367D). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.