DNA barcoding in land plants:: evaluation of rbcL in a multigene tiered approach

DNA barcoding based on the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 (cox1) sequence is being employed for diverse groups of animals with demonstrated success in species identification and new species discovery. Applying barcoding systems to land plants will be a more challenging task as plant genome substitution rates are considerably lower than those observed in animal mitochondria, suggesting that a much greater amount of sequence data from multiple loci will be required to barcode plants. In the absence of an obvious well-characterized plant locus that meets all the necessary criteria, a key first step will be identifying candidate regions with the most potential. To meet the challenges with land plants, we are proposing the adoption of a tiered approach wherein highly variable loci are nested under a core barcoding gene. Analysis of over 10 000 rbcL sequences from GenBank demonstrate that this locus could serve well as the core region, with sufficient variation to discriminate among species in approximately 85% of congeneric pair-wise comparisons. Use of a secondary locus can be implemented when required and can vary from group to group if necessary. The implementation of a barcoding tool has multiple academic and practical applications. It will speed routine identifications and the detection of alien species, advance ecological and taxonomic inquiry, permit fast and accurate forensic analysis of plant fragments, and can function as an additional layer of quality control in the food industry.