Promise and challenge of DNA barcoding in Venus slipper (Paphiopedilum)

Orchidaceae are one of the largest families of flowering plants, with over 27,000 species described and all orchids are listed in CITES. Moreover, the seedlings of orchid species from the same genus are similar. The objective of DNA barcoding is rapid, accurate, and automated species identification, which may be used to identify illegally traded endangered species from vegetative specimens of Paphiopedilum (Venus slipper), a flagship group for plant conservation with high ornamental and commercial values. Here, we selected eight chloroplast barcodes and nrITS to evaluate their suitability in Venus slippers. The results indicate that all tested barcodes had no barcoding gap and the core plant barcodes showed low resolution for the identification of Venus slippers (18.86%). Of the single-locus barcodes, nrITS is the most efficient for the species identification of the genus (52.27%), whereas matK + atpF-atpH is the most efficient multi-locus combination (28.97%). Therefore, we recommend t...

兰科（Orchidaceae）是被子植物最大的科之一，已正式描述的物种超过27000种，且所有兰科植物均被列入《濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约》（CITES）。此外，同属兰科植物的幼苗形态极为相似。DNA条形码（DNA barcoding）的核心目标是实现快速、精准且自动化的物种鉴定，可用于从营养体标本中识别非法交易的濒危物种；兜兰属（Paphiopedilum，俗称拖鞋兰）正是兼具极高观赏与商业价值的植物保护旗舰类群。本研究选取8个叶绿体条形码及核核糖体内部转录间隔区（nrITS），以评估其在兜兰属植物中的鉴定适用性。结果显示，所有受试条形码均不存在条形码间隙（barcoding gap），且核心植物条形码对兜兰属物种的鉴定分辨率极低，仅为18.86%。在单一位点条形码中，nrITS对该属物种的鉴定效率最高，可达52.27%；而matK + atpF-atpH是效率最优的多位点组合，其鉴定效率为28.97%。因此，本研究推荐...