Identification of Swertia mussotii and its adulterant Swertia species by 5S rRNA gene spacer.
OBJECTIVE
This research focused on analyzing the differences of 5S rRNA gene spacer sequences on Swertia mussotii and its commonly used adulterants, including S. franchetiana, S. wolfangiana and S. chirayita.


METHODS
DNA was extracted from the collected Swertia samples. 5S rRNA intergenic spacers were amplified by PCR, sequenced and analyzed.


RESULTS
5S rRNA gene spacer sequences were different between S. mussotii and its other three adulterants. Sequence divergence among species ranged from 30.6% to 65.0%.


CONCLUSIONS
5S rRNA spacers may be used as molecular authentication markers to differentiate S. mussotii and other commonly used Swertia adulterants. This result provides reliable and simple reference for the authentication of Swertia genus species.
Yu
Man-Tang
MT
Qinghai High Altitude Academy of Medicine and Science, Xining 810012, China.
Wong
Ka-Lok
KL
Zong
Yu-Ying
YY
Shaw
Pang-Chui
PC
Che
Chun-Tao
CT
D001483:Base Sequence; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012341:RNA, Ribosomal, 5S / Q000235:genetics*; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D029967:Swertia / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*
D012341:RNA, Ribosomal, 5S