Advancing in molecular taxonomy: DNA barcode, a tool to resolve taxonomy and phylogeny of family euphorbiaceous

Euphorbiaceous plants are economic important such as castor oil, rubber source, nut, ornamental as well as herbal medicines with significant values of phytotoxin. In the current research, the diversity among some selected members of the family Euphorbiaceae collected from different areas of Pakistan was observed by utilizing molecular markers. DNA barcoding of the collected specimens was carried out for the analysis of the phylogeny of the various plant resources comprising of short, gene standard sequences in a precise, rapid and feasible manner. Three barcodes (matK, rbcL & nrITS) were utilized in combination for 22 different plant samples collected from different areas of Pakistan. All three barcodes were individually helpful in identification at families’ levels of taxon among collected species. However, barcode matK and nrITS when used in combination were found helpful for the identification up to genus level and all three barcodes when used in combination lead to the correct identification of specimens up to species level.

Trial registration ISRCTN.org Identifier: ISRCTN60048867. FIRST-ABC was prospectively registered with the ISRCTN Registry on 19 June 2019.