The Euphorbiaceae family features some of the most economically important plants that are sources of foods, oils, waxes, and medicines. The accurate identification of Euphorbiaceae species is critical in sustainable utilization of plant resources. We ...
The Euphorbiaceae family features some of the most economically important plants that are sources of foods, oils, waxes, and medicines. The accurate identification of Euphorbiaceae species is critical in sustainable utilization of plant resources. We examined 234 sequences of nrDNA ITS, cpDNA rbcL and matK loci from 20 species in Euphorbiaceae in Korea and three outgroup taxa to develop efficient DNA barcodes. The three barcode loci were successfully amplified and sequenced for all Euphorbiaceae species. nrDNA ITS locus showed the highest mean interspecific K2P distance (0.3034), followed by cpDNA matK (0.0830), and rbcL (0.0352) locus. The degree of species resolution for individual barcode loci ranged from 75% (rbcL and matK) to 80% (ITS). The degree of species resolution was not enhanced with the different combinations of three barcode loci. The combined data set of the three loci(ITS+rbcL+matK) provided 80% of species resolution. These results confirm that ITS locus, as a single barcode, is the best option for barcoding of the Euphorbiaceae in Korea.