A Systematic Study on DNA Barcoding of Medicinally Important Genus Epimedium L. (Berberidaceae).

Mengyue Guo,Xiaohui Pang,Shunzhi He,Li Ren,Yanqin Xu

doi:10.3390/genes9120637

Abstract

Genus Epimedium consists of approximately 50 species in China, and more than half of them possess medicinal properties. The high similarity of species’ morphological characteristics complicates the identification accuracy, leading to potential risks in herbal efficacy and medical safety. In this study, we tested the applicability of four single loci, namely, rbcL, psbA-trnH, internal transcribed spacer (ITS), and ITS2, and their combinations as DNA barcodes to identify 37 Epimedium species on the basis of the analyses, including the success rates of PCR amplifications and sequencing, specific genetic divergence, distance-based method, and character-based method. Among them, character-based method showed the best applicability for identifying Epimedium species. As for the DNA barcodes, psbA-trnH showed the best performance among the four single loci with nine species being correctly differentiated. Moreover, psbA-trnH + ITS and psbA-trnH + ITS + rbcL exhibited the highest identification ability among all the multilocus combinations, and 17 species, of which 12 are medicinally used, could be efficiently discriminated. The DNA barcode data set developed in our study contributes valuable information to Chinese resources of Epimedium. It provides a new means for discrimination of the species within this medicinally important genus, thus guaranteeing correct and safe usage of Herba Epimedii.

Highlights

Over 200 million people suffer from osteoporosis around the world, and the prevalence of osteoporosis keeps rising with the increasing elderly population [1]
We systematically evaluated the feasibility and identification efficiency of four generally acknowledged single loci, namely, rbcL, psbA-trnH, internal transcribed spacer (ITS), and ITS2, and their combinations to discriminate the Epimedium species distributed in China to identify the most suitable barcodes for genus Epimedium and provide effective information for the species identification of this genus
The psbA-trnH intergenic spacer was reported as one of the most variable plastid regions in the angiosperms [35]. It demonstrated the highest interspecific divergence between species of Epimedium. It exhibited better identification capability than the other regions for Epimedium species based on both distance (TaxonDNA and NJ tree) and character (BLOG) analyses

Summary

Introduction

Over 200 million people suffer from osteoporosis around the world, and the prevalence of osteoporosis keeps rising with the increasing elderly population [1]. In 2005, the total fractures were more than 2 million, costing nearly $17 billion in the United States. Chinese herbal medicine has been used to treat fractures and joint diseases in China. Herba Epimedii (Yinyanghuo) is one of the most widely used herbs that are prescribed in formulas to treat osteoporosis [3], and its extract can reduce the occurrence of osteoporosis both in experimental models and clinical studies [4]. The term Yinyanghuo was first listed in Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing as a middle-grade herb during 200–300 B.C., and many species in genus Epimedium L. (Berberidaceae) have been used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) The term Yinyanghuo was first listed in Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing as a middle-grade herb during 200–300 B.C., and many species in genus Epimedium L. (Berberidaceae) have been used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)

Methods

Results

Conclusion