Pulsatillae radix is a conventional traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with common name Baitouweng, and has notable effects on inflammation and dysentery. Pulsatilla chinensis (Bge.) Regel is the only source plant of Baitouweng recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia, but its adulteration often occurs in the market that possibly affects medicinal efficacy and safety. We have established an internal t...

The plant DNA barcoding is a complex and requires more than one marker(s) as compared to animal barcoding. Mangroves are diverse estuarine ecosystem prevalent in the tropical and subtropical zone, but anthropogenic activity turned them into the vulnerable ecosystem. There is a need to build a molecular reference library of mangrove plant species based on molecular barcode marker along with morp...

We compared the DNA sequence difference of isolates of Clonorchis sinensis from one Korean (Kimhae) and two Chinese areas (Guangxi and Shenyang). The sequences of nuclear rDNA (18S, internal transcribed spacer 1 and 2: ITS1 and ITS2) and mitochondrial DNA (cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1: cox1) were compared. A very few intraspecific nucleotide substitution of the 18S, ITS1, ITS2 and cox1 was fo...

BACKGROUND In this study, we investigated how to convert the Panax ginseng DNA sequence code and chemical fingerprints into a two-dimensional code. In order to improve the compression efficiency, GATC2Bytes and digital merger compression algorithms are proposed. METHODS HPLC chemical fingerprint data of 10 groups of P. ginseng from Northeast China and the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) ...

The rapidly evolving internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) in the pre-ribosomal RNA is one of the most commonly applied phylogenetic markers at species and genus level. Yet, during ribosome biogenesis ITS2 is removed in all eukaryotes by a common, but still unknown, mechanism. Here we describe the existence of an RNA processome, assembled from four conserved subunits, Las1-Grc3-Rat1-Rai1, that c...

Anopheles crucians Wiedemann (sensu lato) was investigated for the presence of cryptic species using rDNA ITS2 sequences. This complex of species presently contains the named species An. crucians, An. bradleyi King, and An. georgianus King. Adult female mosquitoes were collected at 28 sites in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana, resulting in 245 progeny broods...

Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) is a large angiosperm family that includes many medicinally important species. The ability to identify these species and their adulterants is important, yet difficult to do so because of their subtle fruit morphological differences and often lack of diagnostic features in preserved specimens. Moreover, dried roots are often the official medical organs, making visual iden...

Ganoderma lucidum is a typical polypore fungus used for traditional Chinese medical purposes. The taxonomic delimitation of Ganoderma lucidum is still debated. In this study, we sequenced seven internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences of Ganoderma lucidum strains and annotated the ITS1 and ITS2 regions. Phylogenetic analysis of ITS1 differentiated the strains into three geographic groups. Gr...

Endosymbiotic dinoflagellates in the genus Symbiodinium are fundamentally important to the biology of scleractinian corals, as well as to a variety of other marine organisms. The genus Symbiodinium is genetically and functionally diverse and the taxonomic nature of the union between Symbiodinium and corals is implicated as a key trait determining the environmental tolerance of the symbiosis. Su...

BACKGROUND Internal transcribed spacer of nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) is already one of the most popular phylogenetic and DNA barcoding markers. However, the existence of its multiple copies has complicated such usage and a detailed characterization of intra-genomic variations is critical to address such concerns. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS In this study, we used sequence-tagged pyroseq...