Application of molecular markers to distinguish three easily confused medicinal plant species of the genus Mallotus Lour

Anh D. Nguyen , Thu T. Nguyen , Truong Khanh Huyen , Kieu Bao My , Anh T.T. Tran , La Thi Thuy , Nguyen Anh Duc , Thuy T. To , Long Tran Duc and Nguyen Thi Kim Thanh *

* Corresponding author (nguyenthikimthanh@hus.edu.vn)

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Received: 15 May 2025
Revised: 04 Aug 2025
Accepted: 11 Aug 2025
Published:
Title: Application of molecular markers to distinguish three easily confused medicinal plant species of the genus Mallotus Lour
Section
Biotechnology

Abstract

The genus Mallotus has many species with similar morphologies, making them easily confused. Among these, M. floribundus, M. peltatus, and M. philippensis are valuable medicinal plants with a wide distribution range and similar morphologies, leading to confusion during harvesting. DNA markers are increasingly used to accurately identify species, reducing the reliance on classification experts. In this study, three core DNA barcodes for plants,  rbcL, matK, and ITS  were studied to distinguish the three morphologically similar medicinal species M. floribundus, M. peltatus, and M. philippensis. The results show that the combination of the three markers ITS, rbcL, and matK, or the combination of the two markers ITS and rbcL, or ITS and matK, or ITS alone, or a part of ITS such as ITS1 or ITS2, can be used to differentiate these three Mallotus species.

Keywords: DNA markers, identification, Mallotus

Tóm tắt

Chi Ba bét (Mallotus) có nhiều loài giống nhau về hình thái, dễ bị nhầm lẫn. Trong đó, ba loài M. floribundus, M. peltatus và M. philippensis là những loài có giá trị làm thuốc, có vùng phân bố rộng và có hình thái cơ quan sinh dưỡng tương tự nhau, dễ nhầm lẫn trong quá trình thu hái. Chỉ thị DNA đang được dùng ngày càng nhiều và có thể giúp xác định đúng loài ngay cả khi thiếu chuyên gia phân loại hình thái. Trong nghiên cứu này, ba chỉ thị DNA cốt lõi cho thực vật là rbcL, matK và ITS được nghiên cứu để phân biệt ba loài dược liệu có hình thái tương tự là M. floribundus, M. peltatus và M. philippensis. Kết quả cho thấy tổ hợp ba chỉ thị ITS, rbcL và matK hoặc tổ hợp hai chỉ thị ITS và rbcL hoặc ITS và matK hoặc chỉ riêng chỉ thị ITS hoặc một phần của ITS là ITS1 hoặc ITS2 có thể dùng để phân biệt ba loài Ba bét này.

Từ khóa: Chỉ thị DNA, định danh, Mallotus

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