DNA BARCODING OF SOME ZYGOPHYLLACEAE SPECIES IN THE EGYPTIAN FLORA

Abstract

DNA barcoding is gaining a high popularity and due to its simplicity and high accuracy as compared to the complexity associated with morphological identification of taxa. Therefore, we tested the potential of the rbcL, matK and ITS f markers for the identification of wild plants belonging to diverse Zygophyllaceae species from different sites of Egypt. Maximum likelihood tree analysis was performed to evaluate the resolution power of each marker to discriminate species. The analyses of nucleotide sequences of rbcL, matK and ITS revealed that the topology of the rbcL tree was the best resolved which enabled identification of the majority of the species, perfectly. Therefore, we can suggest use of the rbcL region as an additional tool for phylogenetic analysis in Zygophyllaceae species. We recommend this study for any further studies on Zygophyllaceae family and contribution to taxonomical researches by adding a new dimension to the Egyptian flora.