Molecular Identification of Medicinal Plant, Polygonum posumbu from Manipur, India

Polygonum is an important genus of Polygonaceae and Polygonum posumbu is underutilized traditional medicinal plant whose leaves are extensively used as an antipyretic and dyspepsia agent in Manipur, India as well as a spice in India, Japan, Nepal, China, South Korea, Philippines and Thailand. P. posumbu is commonly known as Phak-pai in Manipur. DNA barcode based molecular characterization technology for species identification has been recognized as a reliable tool for plants but the selection of suitable universal marker is still under discussion. The main aim of the study is to identify the Polygonum posumbu sample from Manipur, India using DNA barcode method. In the present study, Polygonum posumbu samples were collected from a local farmer in Awang khunou, Imphal West, Manipur, India which was taxonomically identified. To assess the molecular species identification, Internal Transcribed spacer (ITS) marker system was employed and the primer’s pair used were covered the internal transcribed spacer 1, 5.8S ribosomal RNA gene and internal transcribed spacer 2 complete sequence. Phylogenetic tree was constructed for the studied sample with the sequences of the 9 species retrieved from the GenBank in order to show the relationships among the samples. The result shows that the ITS marker-based DNA identification method successfully characterized the Polygonum posumbu species. The information of ITS marker-based identification of Polygonum posumbu from Manipur, India, will enhance our knowledge in better understanding the medicinal properties of this plant.