Development of Species-Specific SCAR Markers, Based on a SCoT Analysis, to Authenticate Physalis (Solanaceae) Species.

Shangguo Feng,Yujia Zhu,Chenjia Shen,Mengying Jiang,Kaili Jiao,Chenliang Yu,Huizhong Wang,Jiangjie Lu,Qicai Ying

doi:10.3389/fgene.2018.00192

Shangguo Feng, Yujia Zhu + Show 7 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2018.00192

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Abstract

Physalis is an important genus in the Solanaceae family. It includes many species of significant medicinal value, edible value, and ornamental value. However, many Physalis species are easily confused because of their similar morphological traits, which hinder the utilization and protection of Physalis resources. Therefore, it is necessary to create fast, sensitive, and reliable methods for the Physalis species authentication. Intended for that, in this study, species-specific sequence-characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers were developed for accurate identification of the closely related Physalis species P. angulata, P. minima, P. pubescens, and P. alkekengi var. franchetii, based on a simple and novel marker system, start codon targeted (SCoT) marker. A total of 34 selected SCoT primers yielded 289 reliable SCoT loci, of which 265 were polymorphic. Four species-specific SCoT fragments (SCoT3-1404, SCoT3-1589, SCoT5-550, and SCoT36-520) from Physalis species were successfully identified, cloned, and sequenced. Based on these selected specific DNA fragments, four SCAR primers pairs were developed and named ST3KZ, ST3MSJ, ST5SJ, and ST36XSJ. PCR analysis of each of these primer pairs clearly demonstrated a specific amplified band in all samples of the target Physalis species, but no amplification was observed in other Physalis species. Therefore, the species-specific SCAR primer pairs developed in this study could be used as powerful tools that can rapidly, effectively, and reliably identify and differentiate Physalis species.

Highlights

The genus Physalis (Solanaceae family) consists of 75–120 species, which are mainly distributed in American tropical and temperate regions (Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1978; Whitson and Manos, 2005; Wei et al, 2012; Feng et al, 2016b)
The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) tree showed that all of the samples from the same species were grouped into one group and that an obvious boundary existed between species (Figure 2)
Physalis species have attracted the attention of many different scientists because of their significant nutritional value, edible fruit, and potential medicinal value

Summary

Introduction

The genus Physalis (Solanaceae family) consists of 75–120 species, which are mainly distributed in American tropical and temperate regions (Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1978; Whitson and Manos, 2005; Wei et al, 2012; Feng et al, 2016b). Franchetii are mainly distributed in China (Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1978) They have a variety of pharmacological activities, such as anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects, and most of these species have been used as Chinese medicinal herbs for the treatment of malaria, rheumatism, hepatitis, asthma, and cancer for Species-Specific SCAR Markers of Physalis (Solanaceae) Species a long time (Ji et al, 2013; Ding et al, 2014; Continuing Professional Education Committee, 2015; Xu et al, 2016). Owing to overexploitation and increased urbanization, the natural Physalis resources have become endangered, in many areas of China (Feng et al, 2016b). It is necessary to establish a quick and effective species identification method for the utilization and protection of Physalis resources

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