Characterization of Complete Chloroplast Genome of Allium victorialis and Its Application for Barcode Markers

Chloroplast genome sequencing has served as valuable source for developing DNA markers, including the authentication of plant material used for health supplement from its fraudulent materials. We sequenced and analyzed the chloroplast genome of Allium victorialis, a medicinal plant, to discover potential marker regions for the authentication from Veratrum patulum, an inedible toxic plant. Although we examined conventional barcode marker loci in chloroplast, matK and rbcL, there was a difficulty in aligning coding regions and determining PCR primer sequences in these two loci between A. victorialis and V. patulum, possibly due to the distant evolutionary relationship. Instead, we identified potential DNA markers that carry Insertion/Deletion (InDels) that are able to discriminate these two species around clpP, petB, petD, rpl22, and ycf2 loci. In this analysis, we demonstrated the possibility of developing potential DNA markers in the chloroplast genome other than conventional barcode markers, such as matK and rbcL. The potential DNA markers identified in this analysis will serve as useful tools for future authentication of Allium and Veratrum species.