Morphological Characterization and DNA Barcoding of Duckweed Species in Saudi Arabia
Duckweeds, or Lemnaceae, are widespread aquatic plants. Morphology-based identification of duckweed species is difficult because of their structural complexity. Hence, molecular tools provide significant advantages for characterizing and selecting species or clones for sustainable commercial use. In...
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MDPI AG
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Plants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/11/2438 |
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| author | Mohammed Al-Dakhil Salem Alghamdi Hussein Migdadi Muhammad Afzal Ahmed Abdelrahim Ali |
| author_facet | Mohammed Al-Dakhil Salem Alghamdi Hussein Migdadi Muhammad Afzal Ahmed Abdelrahim Ali |
| author_sort | Mohammed Al-Dakhil |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Duckweeds, or Lemnaceae, are widespread aquatic plants. Morphology-based identification of duckweed species is difficult because of their structural complexity. Hence, molecular tools provide significant advantages for characterizing and selecting species or clones for sustainable commercial use. In this study, we collected and characterized ten duckweed isolates from nine different regions in Saudi Arabia (SA). Based on the morphological characterization and phylogenetic analysis of intergenic spacer sequences of chloroplast DNA using six barcoding markers, the clones were classified into three genera, represented by seven species: <i>Lemna gibba</i> L., <i>Lemna minor</i> L., <i>Lemna japonica</i> Landolt, <i>Lemna aequinoctialis</i> Welw., <i>Lemna perpusilla</i> Torr., <i>Spirodela polyryiza</i> (L.) Schleid., and <i>Landoltia punctate</i> G. Mey. <i>Lemna gibba</i> was revealed to be a distinct dominant duckweed species in many regions of SA. Five barcoding markers showed that <i>L. gibba</i>, <i>L. minor</i>, and <i>L. punctata</i> were the most widely distributed species in the country. However, <i>L. punctata, L. perpusilla</i>, and <i>S. polyryiza</i> were the dominant species in the Al-Qassim, Madinah-1, and Madinah-2 regions, respectively. Moreover, the morphological traits revealed variations for these clones, relative to other studied duckweed clones. According to the results obtained in this study, three out of six plastid markers (<i>trn</i>H-<i>psb</i>A, <i>matK</i>, and <i>atp</i>F-<i>atp</i>H) helped to identify the dominant duckweed species in Saudi Arabia. Further evaluation based on adaptability, molecular genetic studies, and functional genomics is needed for these species to be used at the commercial level in Saudi Arabia. |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T05:07:53Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-9593e478432d47a182daf69e1644d7f12023-11-23T01:05:44ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472021-11-011011243810.3390/plants10112438Morphological Characterization and DNA Barcoding of Duckweed Species in Saudi ArabiaMohammed Al-Dakhil0Salem Alghamdi1Hussein Migdadi2Muhammad Afzal3Ahmed Abdelrahim Ali4Natural Resources and Environmental Research Institute, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Riyadh 11442, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Plant Production, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Plant Production, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Plant Production, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Plant Production, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaDuckweeds, or Lemnaceae, are widespread aquatic plants. Morphology-based identification of duckweed species is difficult because of their structural complexity. Hence, molecular tools provide significant advantages for characterizing and selecting species or clones for sustainable commercial use. In this study, we collected and characterized ten duckweed isolates from nine different regions in Saudi Arabia (SA). Based on the morphological characterization and phylogenetic analysis of intergenic spacer sequences of chloroplast DNA using six barcoding markers, the clones were classified into three genera, represented by seven species: <i>Lemna gibba</i> L., <i>Lemna minor</i> L., <i>Lemna japonica</i> Landolt, <i>Lemna aequinoctialis</i> Welw., <i>Lemna perpusilla</i> Torr., <i>Spirodela polyryiza</i> (L.) Schleid., and <i>Landoltia punctate</i> G. Mey. <i>Lemna gibba</i> was revealed to be a distinct dominant duckweed species in many regions of SA. Five barcoding markers showed that <i>L. gibba</i>, <i>L. minor</i>, and <i>L. punctata</i> were the most widely distributed species in the country. However, <i>L. punctata, L. perpusilla</i>, and <i>S. polyryiza</i> were the dominant species in the Al-Qassim, Madinah-1, and Madinah-2 regions, respectively. Moreover, the morphological traits revealed variations for these clones, relative to other studied duckweed clones. According to the results obtained in this study, three out of six plastid markers (<i>trn</i>H-<i>psb</i>A, <i>matK</i>, and <i>atp</i>F-<i>atp</i>H) helped to identify the dominant duckweed species in Saudi Arabia. Further evaluation based on adaptability, molecular genetic studies, and functional genomics is needed for these species to be used at the commercial level in Saudi Arabia.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/11/2438duckweedsidentificationmorphologicalDNA barcodingphylogenetic analysis |
| spellingShingle | Mohammed Al-Dakhil Salem Alghamdi Hussein Migdadi Muhammad Afzal Ahmed Abdelrahim Ali Morphological Characterization and DNA Barcoding of Duckweed Species in Saudi Arabia Plants duckweeds identification morphological DNA barcoding phylogenetic analysis |
| title | Morphological Characterization and DNA Barcoding of Duckweed Species in Saudi Arabia |
| title_full | Morphological Characterization and DNA Barcoding of Duckweed Species in Saudi Arabia |
| title_fullStr | Morphological Characterization and DNA Barcoding of Duckweed Species in Saudi Arabia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Morphological Characterization and DNA Barcoding of Duckweed Species in Saudi Arabia |
| title_short | Morphological Characterization and DNA Barcoding of Duckweed Species in Saudi Arabia |
| title_sort | morphological characterization and dna barcoding of duckweed species in saudi arabia |
| topic | duckweeds identification morphological DNA barcoding phylogenetic analysis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/11/2438 |
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