DNA barcoding of different Triticum species

Abstract

Abstract Background The genus Triticum L. includes diploid, tetraploid, and hexaploid species. DNA barcoding is a new method to identify plant taxa by using short sequences of DNA and within a short time. In this investigation, we determined a phylogenetic analysis of 20 different Triticum species by partial chloroplast Maturase encoding gene (matK). Materials and methods Twenty accessions of different Triticum species diploid, tetraploid, and hexaploid were obtained from different countries. Genomic DNA was isolated from young leaves of studied samples and then used as a template for PCR reaction. PCR products were checked by electrophoresis, purified, sequenced, and submitted in the GenBank nucleotide sequence database, the nucleotide sequence was translated into an amino acid sequence. The nucleotide and amino acid sequences were aligned with Clustal W multiple sequence alignment programs to obtain the phylogenetic tree depending on two statistical data analysis such as bootstrapping and pairwise distance from both nucleotide and amino acid sequences. Results The phylogenetic tree obtained from both nucleotide and amino acid sequences divided the 20 Triticum species into two groups, A and B. Group A represented the diploid Triticum species. Group B was divided into two subgroup, I and II. Subgroup I represented the hexaploid Triticum species and subgroup II represented the tetraploid species. Conclusion The matK gene sequence has a critical role in discriminating the closely related Triticum species. So these sequences could be used as a DNA barcode for detecting the evolutionary history of Triticum species.