title: DNA barcoding in Atlantic Forest plants: What is the best marker for Sapotaceae species identification?
abstract: The Atlantic Forest is a phytogeographic domain with a high rate of endemism and large species diversity. The Sapotaceae is a botanical family for which species identification in the Atlantic Forest is difficult. An approach that facilitates species identification in the Sapotaceae is urgently needed because this family includes threatened species and valuable timber species. In this context, DNA barcoding could provide an important tool for identifying species in the Atlantic Forest. In this work, we evaluated four plant barcode markers (matK, rbcL, trnH-psbA and the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region - ITS) in 80 samples from 26 species of Sapotaceae that occur in the Atlantic Forest. ITS yielded the highest average interspecific distance (0.122), followed by trnH-psbA (0.019), matK (0.008) and rbcL (0.002). For species discrimination, ITS provided the best results, followed by matK, trnH-psbA and rbcL. Furthermore, the combined analysis of two, three or four markers did not result in higher rates of discrimination than obtained with ITS alone. These results indicate that the ITS region is the best option for molecular identification of Sapotaceae species from the Atlantic Forest.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências Biológicas , Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz , Ilhéus, BA , Brazil .
authors.forename: Caio Vinicius
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Vivas
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências Biológicas , Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz , Ilhéus, BA , Brazil .
authors.forename: Ramiris César Souza
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Moraes
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências Agrárias e Biológicas , Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo , São Mateus, ES , Brazil .
authors.forename: Anderson
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alves-Araújo
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Botânica , Universidade Federal de Pernambuco , Recife, PE , Brazil .
authors.forename: Marccus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biologia , Universidade Federal da Bahia , Salvador, BA , Brazil .
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mariano-Neto
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências Biológicas , Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana , Feira de Santana, BA , Brazil .
authors.forename: Cássio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: van den Berg
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências Biológicas , Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz , Ilhéus, BA , Brazil .
authors.forename: Fernanda Amato
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Gaiotto
keywords: internal transcribed spacer; taxonomy; tree species; tropical forest