Abstract:
Objective Molecular identification and genetic diversity of Camellia impressinervis were studied to improve the preservation and utilization of the endangered species.
Method A highly valuable ornamental and medicinal, but extremely endangered as classified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, C. impressinervis was compared with the closely related C. nitidissima, C. euphlebia, and C. tunghinensis. Using 19 specimens of the 4 species, validity of applying trnL-F barcode to confidently identify them was evaluated, and their genetic diversity examined based on the inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) primers.
Result TrnL-F could accurately differentiate C. impressinervis from those closely related camellia cultivars and clustered all in a same group. The ISSR analysis grouped the 4 C. impressinervis specimens together and showed a similarity index of 0.57 with the other 3 camellia species.
Conclusion The genetic fingerprint in terms of trnL-F barcode and ISSR primers successfully identified the close relationship of C. impressinervis with, but distinguishable from, C. nitidissima, C. euphlebia, and C. tunghinensis.