Molecular fingerprinting of some <i>Mentha</i> species by sequencing and RFLP analysis of the 5S-rRNA non-transcribed spacer region

The genus <i>Mentha</i> is of particular economic importance. The development of new methods for the characterisation of <i>Mentha</i> species is crucial for their unequivocal identification. Amplification of the non-transcribed spacer (NTS) of the 5S-rRNA gene was used to characterise some <i>Mentha</i> species, which revealed a high-specific variability. Cloning and sequencing of all amplified NTS fragments enabled the discrimination among almost all species. <i>In silico</i> and experimental analyses identified specific restriction sites on the amplified 5S-NTS regions, facilitating the rapid and unambiguous discrimination of all the different species by polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism. A direct comparison between essential oil composition and DNA fingerprinting confirmed a relationship between chemical and molecular data.