INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING, SCIENCE AND - Volume 7, Issue 1, January 2018

Pages: 01-07
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Identification, functional annotation and analysis of COS markers in Zingiber and its utility in DNA barcoding

Author: Lesly Augustine, Smini Varghese, Geethu Elizabath Thomas and George Thomas

Category: Engineering, Science and Mathematics

Abstract:

Species identification is exceedingly difficult in Zingiberaceae due to similarities in morphological characteristics between species, the plants' phenotypic plasticity, and their short and seasonal flowering cycles. DNA barcoding has great potential in Zingiberaceae, both for the confirmation of raw materials in the pharmaceutical sector and as a tool in conservation biology and ecology. A suitable barcode target in the family Zingiberaceae is yet to be discovered. Conserved ortholog set (COS) markers are single-copy evolutionary conserved genes in two or more species that share common ancestry (orthologous). Due to the conserved nature of these markers across genera they may be possible barcode candidates and these conserved set may be used as low-variation universal loci across the monocots. In the present study identification, functional annotation and analysis of COS markers in Zingiberaceae is carried out. About 37 COS markers were identified, validated and tested.The functional annotation revealed house-keeping genes (85.7%), a defense gene, 3 mitochondrial proteins and one chloroplast protein. The utilization of a COS marker (ZE372342) as barcode target for Zingiber genera were tested and the results provide a promising target.

Keywords: COS; DNA barcoding; Zingiberaceae; EST; Single-copy gene.