title: The first initiative of DNA barcoding of ornamental plants from Egypt and potential applications in horticulture industry.
abstract: DNA barcoding relies on short and standardized gene regions to identify species. The agricultural and horticultural applications of barcoding such as for marketplace regulation and copyright protection remain poorly explored. This study examines the effectiveness of the standard plant barcode markers (matK and rbcL) for the identification of plant species in private and public nurseries in northern Egypt. These two markers were sequenced from 225 specimens of 161 species and 62 plant families of horticultural importance. The sequence recovery was similar for rbcL (96.4%) and matK (84%), but the number of specimens assigned correctly to the respective genera and species was lower for rbcL (75% and 29%) than matK (85% and 40%). The combination of rbcL and matK brought the number of correct generic and species assignments to 83.4% and 40%, respectively. Individually, the efficiency of both markers varied among different plant families; for example, all palm specimens (Arecaceae) were correctly assigned to species while only one individual of Asteraceae was correctly assigned to species. Further, barcodes reliably assigned ornamental horticultural and medicinal plants correctly to genus while they showed a lower or no success in assigning these plants to species and cultivars. For future, we recommend the combination of a complementary barcode (e.g. ITS or trnH-psbA) with rbcL + matK to increase the performance of taxa identification. By aiding species identification of horticultural crops and ornamental palms, the analysis of the barcode regions will have large impact on horticultural industry.
authors.affiliation: Floriculture, Ornamental Horticulture and Garden Design Department, Faculty of Agriculture (El-Shatby), Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: Hosam
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4476-2408
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: O Elansary
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, University of Guelph, ON, Guelph, Canada.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ashfaq
authors.affiliation: Botany and Microbiology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.|Timber Trees Research Department, Sabahia Horticulture Research Station, Horticulture Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: Hayssam M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies, University of Johannesburg, APK campus, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Kowiyou
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yessoufou
mesh_terms: D028023:Arecaceae / Q000235:genetics*; D058893:DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D004534:Egypt; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000235:genetics; D012273:Ribulose-Bisphosphate Carboxylase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D018744:DNA, Plant; D010940:Plant Proteins; D012273:Ribulose-Bisphosphate Carboxylase