Anopheles pulcherrimus Theobald has a wide distribution in western Asia and is a potential vector of malaria in Iran. We have examined the rDNA-ITS2 (internal transcribed spacer 2) region of An. pulcherrimus specimens collected during the two peaks of activity (May-June and October-November) from Sistan and Baluchistan province, southeastern Iran. There were no consistent differences between sp...

BACKGROUND The plant working group of the Consortium for the Barcode of Life recommended the two-locus combination of rbcL+matK as the plant barcode, yet the combination was shown to successfully discriminate among 907 samples from 550 species at the species level with a probability of 72%. The group admits that the two-locus barcode is far from perfect due to the low identification rate, and t...

Pleurotus eryngii, known as king oyster mushroom has been widely used for nutritional and medicinal purposes. This study was initiated to screen the suitable conditions for mycelial growth and to determine the phylogenetic relationship of the selected strains. Optimal mycelial growth was observed at 30℃ and minimum mycelial growth observed at 10℃. This mushroom tolerates a broad pH range for my...

The nucleotide sequence variations in the internal transcribed spacer region 1 (ITS1) and region 2 (ITS2) of rRNA genes were found to be useful for typing Pneumocystis carinii isolates that infect humans. Two types of ITS1 (A and B) and three types of ITS2 (a, b, and c) sequences have been found, and P. carinii isolates are classified based on sequence types of ITS1 and ITS2 as Ax or Bx (where ...

Small liver and minute intestinal flukes are highly prevalent in Southeast Asia, and in mixed infections, their eggs are difficult to differentiate morphologically in fecal samples. PCR assays targeting the ITS regions in ribosomal DNA were designed to identify and differentiate species. The PCR amplicons of Opisthorchis viverrini, Clonorchis sinensis, Haplorchis pumilio, and Haplorchis taichui...

Available genomic data for the toxic, bloom-forming, benthic Ostreopsis spp. are traditionally obtained from isolates rather than from individuals originally present in environmental samples. Samples from the final phase of the first reported Ostreopsis bloom in European North Atlantic waters (Algarve, south coast of Portugal) were studied and characterized, using a culture-independent approach...

BACKGROUND While DNA barcoding is an important technology for the authentication of the botanical origins of Chinese medicines, the suitable markers for DNA barcoding of the genus Uncaria have not been reported yet. This study aims to determine suitable markers for DNA barcoding of the genus Uncaria (Gouteng). METHODS Genomic DNA was extracted from the freshly dried leaves of Uncaria plants b...

In pursuit of developing fast and accurate species-level molecular identification methods, we tested six DNA barcodes, namely ITS2, matK, rbcLa, ITS2+matK, ITS2+rbcLa, matK+rbcLa and ITS2+matK+rbcLa, for their capacity to identify frequently consumed but geographically isolated medicinal species of Fabaceae and Poaceae indigenous to the desert of Cholistan. Data were analysed by BLASTn sequence...

Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix has a long history in China as a commonly used herb that can be used to treat various diseases, including those related to the liver, muscles, bones, and kidneys. Recently, an increase in the number of adulterants has been reported, which affects the clinical safety of Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix. To identify adulterants of Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix, we collecte...