Development of Chloroplast-based InDel Markers for the Discrimination of Schisandraceae Plant Species

Background: The three Schisandracae species, Schisandra chinensis, Schisandra repanda, and Kadsura japonica, which are used as raw materials for the production of herbal medicines, are readily confused. However, of these three species, only S. chinensis is formally registered as a medicinal herb in the Korean Pharmacopeia. In order to facilitate the clear identification of S. chinensis, S. repanda, and K. japonica, we developed insertion or deletion (InDel) markers by comparing the chloroplast sequences of the three species. Methods and Results: Genomic DNA was extracted from the leaves of S. chinensis, S. repanda, and K. japonica, and next generation sequencing (NGS) analysis was performed using the Illumina HiSeq-2500 platform. Chloroplast sequences for the three species were obtained and compared to identify polymorphic loci. Primers were designed for those InDel loci showing polymorphism in all three species, and four InDel markers were accordingly developed and successfully used for species discrimination. Conclusions: In this study, we developed four markers that can be used to discriminate S. chinensis, S. repanda, and K. japonica at the molecular level.