DNA barcoding, a robust tool for species identification, holds significant promise for enhancing authenticity and quality control in herbal and Ayurvedic medicines. The traditional methods, often time-consuming and impractical for industrial-scale applications, are complemented by DNA barcoding, which offers efficient and reliable plant species identification. However, the identification of the subspecies or variants within species is a difficult task and has challenges due to higher sequence similarity for marker genes and correct identification of variants. This research presents a comprehensive methodology for DNA barcoding in three variants of common medicinal plants, namely, Bougainvillea, Dianthus, and Plumeria, using the maturase K (matK) as a molecular marker. The sequenced matK regions with 500–700 bp size have a variability of approximately 1% to 2.7% among inter and intra-species variants, facilitating the easy identification of the species through high-quality barcodes. The sequence and phylogenetic analysis revealed that our sequences were clustered with the matK genes of closely related species. The two-dimensional barcodes generated for the nine inter and intra-species variants can be scanned easily. Our findings underscore the potential of DNA barcoding as a powerful tool for the identification and authentication of inter and intra-species variants over conventional means.
Key words: Bougainvillea, Dianthus, Plumeria, matK, DNA barcode
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