Abstract

The phylogenetic relationships of five Atractylodes species were examined by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) assay. A total of 298 bands were amplified by 24 RAPD primers, of which 244 bands (81.88%) were polymorphic. The results indicated that: 1) Atractylodes chinensis had a close genetic relationship with Atractylodes lancea, and A. chinensis should be treated as A. lancea var. chinensis; 2) Atractylodes coreana was closely related to A. lancea and A. chinensis; 3) Atractylodes macrocephala was distantly related to other species of Atractylodes. One primer which produced an A. lancea-specific band with a length of 1800 bp was obtained from 80 RAPD primers. Subsequent analysis showed that all of the 38 individuals of A. lancea could produce the sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) bands, while the other four species of Atractylodes could not, indicating that A. lancea can be exactly distinguished from the other four species by the RAPD-SCAR marker.

Key words: Atractylodes, A. lancea, endangered herb, random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD), sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR).