Building a Plant DNA Barcode Reference Library for a Diverse Tropical Flora: An Example from Queensland, Australia

Craig M. Costion; Andrew J. Lowe; Maurizio Rossetto; Robert M. Kooyman; Martin F. Breed; Andrew Ford; Darren M. Crayn

doi:10.3390/d8010005

Diversity (Feb 2016)

Building a Plant DNA Barcode Reference Library for a Diverse Tropical Flora: An Example from Queensland, Australia

Craig M. Costion,
Andrew J. Lowe,
Maurizio Rossetto,
Robert M. Kooyman,
Martin F. Breed,
Andrew Ford,
Darren M. Crayn

Affiliations

Craig M. Costion: Botany Department, National Museum of Natural History, MRC 166, Smithsonian Institution, PO Box 37012, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA
Andrew J. Lowe: School of Biological Sciences and the Environment Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia
Maurizio Rossetto: National Herbarium of NSW, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, Mrs Macquaries Road, Sydney 2000, Australia
Robert M. Kooyman: National Herbarium of NSW, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, Mrs Macquaries Road, Sydney 2000, Australia
Martin F. Breed: School of Biological Sciences and the Environment Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia
Andrew Ford: CSIRO Land and Water, Tropical Forest Research Centre, Atherton 4883, Australia
Darren M. Crayn: Australian Tropical Herbarium, James Cook University, Smithfield 4878, Australia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/d8010005
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 8, no. 1
p. 5

Abstract

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A foundation for a DNA barcode reference library for the tropical plants of Australia is presented here. A total of 1572 DNA barcode sequences are compiled from 848 tropical Queensland species. The dataset represents 35% of the total flora of Queensland’s Wet Tropics Bioregion, 57% of its tree species and 28% of the shrub species. For approximately half of the sampled species, we investigated the occurrence of infraspecific molecular variation in DNA barcode loci rbcLa, matK, and the trnH-psbA intergenic spacer region across previously recognized biogeographic barriers. We found preliminary support for the notion that DNA barcode reference libraries can be used as a tool for inferring biogeographic patterns at regional scales. It is expected that this dataset will find applications in taxonomic, ecological, and applied conservation research.

Published in Diversity

ISSN: 1424-2818 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science: Biology (General)
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/diversity/

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