Molecular study of intraspecific differences among Sauropus androgynus (L.) Merr. from Indonesia revealed by ITS region variability

Abstract

DNA sequence analysis of the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was exploited for its applications in the authentication of Sauropus androgynus (L.) Merr. as raw-material herbal medicine and supplement. Leaf samples from 12 different geographic locations in Indonesia were collected. Twelve DNA sequences from the samples were analysed. The sequences were trimmed before sequence alignment. The sequences ranged from 626 to 664 bp in length after trimming. Based on the multiple sequence alignment, a phylogenetic tree was generated using the MrBayes program. It consisted of two groups: one group comprised sequences from Trawas and the other one comprised sequences from Batu, Trawas and Surabaya. These results strongly suggest that ITS sequence analysis is a valuable tool for distinguishing intraspecific differences among S. androgynus cultivars from Indonesia.

Keywords

• Internal transcribed spacer
• Sauropus androgynus
• molecular study
• sequencing