Event Title
Using DNA Barcoding for Plant Identification in a Long
Presentation Type
Poster/Portfolio
Presenter Major(s)
Natural Resource Management
Mentor Information
Neil MacDonald
Department
Biology
Location
Henry Hall Atrium 70
Start Date
10-4-2013 4:00 PM
End Date
10-4-2013 5:00 PM
Keywords
Environment, Life Science
Abstract
As part of a native plant community restoration study, plants needed to be identified to species to perform Floristic Quality Assessments. At times, identification can be difficult using taxonomic keys because of subtle differences among species. We selected 19 plants that had uncertain identifications to conduct a genetic barcoding study to help identify these specimens. Chloroplast DNA was extracted, amplified to sequence the rbcL+matK plastid coding regions, and the gene sequences were compared to those of species within the National Center for Biotechnology Information database. Of the specimens sequenced, the genera found included Carex, Lespedeza, Panicum, and Elymus. Preliminary results showed that DNA sequencing facilitated plant identification to genus. Compared to traditional taxonomic keys, however, it may be more time consuming and a large degree of uncertainty still remains when trying to identify plants to species using the available information in the public database.
Using DNA Barcoding for Plant Identification in a Long
Henry Hall Atrium 70
As part of a native plant community restoration study, plants needed to be identified to species to perform Floristic Quality Assessments. At times, identification can be difficult using taxonomic keys because of subtle differences among species. We selected 19 plants that had uncertain identifications to conduct a genetic barcoding study to help identify these specimens. Chloroplast DNA was extracted, amplified to sequence the rbcL+matK plastid coding regions, and the gene sequences were compared to those of species within the National Center for Biotechnology Information database. Of the specimens sequenced, the genera found included Carex, Lespedeza, Panicum, and Elymus. Preliminary results showed that DNA sequencing facilitated plant identification to genus. Compared to traditional taxonomic keys, however, it may be more time consuming and a large degree of uncertainty still remains when trying to identify plants to species using the available information in the public database.