Evaluation of five regions as DNA barcodes for identification of Lepista species (Tricholomataceae, Basidiomycota) from China

• Main Authors: Siyu Wang, Hongbo Guo, JiaJia Li, Wei Li, Qin Wang, Xiaodan Yu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: PeerJ Inc. 2019-07-01
• Series: PeerJ
• Subjects: Agaricales; Intra-specific diversity; DNA barcoding; Inter-specific diversity; Species delineation
• Online Access: https://peerj.com/articles/7307.pdf

Background Distinguishing among species in the genus Lepista is difficult because of their similar morphologies. Methods To identify a suitable DNA barcode for identification of Lepista species, we assessed the following five regions: internal transcribed spacer (ITS), the intergenic spacer (IGS), nuclear ribosomal RNA subunit, mitochondrial small subunit rDNA, and tef1. A total of 134 sequences from 34 samples belong to eight Lepista species were analyzed. The utility of each region as a DNA barcode was assessed based on the success rates of its PCR amplification and sequencing, and on its intra- and inter-specific variations. Results The results indicated that the ITS region could distinguish all species tested. We therefore propose that the ITS region can be used as a DNA barcode for the genus Lepista. In addition, a phylogenetic tree based on the ITS region showed that the tested eight Lepista species, including two unrecognized species, formed eight separate and well-supported clades.