title: Development of intron polymorphism markers inmajor latex-like proteingene for locality-level and cultivar identification ofSalvia miltiorrhiza.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Salvia miltiorrhiza(Danshen) is one of the most widely used medicinal herbs in traditional Chinese medicine. Locality-level and cultivar identification is of great importance not only for protecting highest therapeutic effectiveness of Daodi Danshen, but also for the genetic conservation and utilization of existingS. miltiorrhizapopulations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Intron polymorphisms including SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) and indels were exploited inmajor latex-like protein(MLP) gene. Based on these markers, genetic relationships amongS. miltiorrhizacultivar and populations in different locations were evaluated by constructing a dendrogram. Moreover,S. miltiorrhizaspecimens from Laiwu region were geographically distinguishable by the developed SNP marker. A 204 bp-indel marker was exploited for the first space breeding cultivar Luyuan Danshen-1 (LD-1), and an effective real-time PCR assay was successfully developed for fast screening of LD-1 among local landraces.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MLPintron is a valuable DNA barcode for intra-specific study ofS. miltiorrhizapopulations, and the developed markers can serve as a useful tool for molecular identification of LD-1 cultivar and geographically distinct populations ofS. miltiorrhiza.
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Yantai University, Yantai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hongtao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Yantai University, Yantai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Yantai University, Yantai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Yantai University, Yantai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Guisheng
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: Cultivar identification; Intron polymorphism; Locality-level identification; Major latex-like protein; Salvia miltiorrhiza