Evaluation Of Three Candidate DNA Barcoding Loci In Selected Ficus L. Moraceae

Abstract The genus Ficus L. Moraceae is known for its diverse morphology and habit as well as economical ecological and pharmaceutical importance. In this study six Philippine Ficus species were utilized to determine the best barcoding loci among cpDNA rbcL trnH-psbA and nrDNA ITS markers on the basis of universality discriminatory power and resolution of species. Both trnH-psbA and ITS showed 100 PCR success rate and 67 sequencing success whereas rbcL exhibited 67 PCR success rate but 100 sequencing success. The trnH-psbA marker performed best in terms of discriminatory power showing the highest variable informative site 71.37 and the highest mean interspecific distance 48.32 19.89. ITS ranked next to trnH-psbA since it was able to generate 100 resolution of species and a comparable mean intraspecific distance score with trnH-psbA. Meanwhile rbcL failed to resolve any species correctly thus it has a 0 resolution of species. We initially recommend trnH-psbA and ITS as potential DNA barcodes for molecular authentication of Ficus species.