Phytotaxa 387 (2): 094–104 ISSN 1179-3155 (print edition) https://www.mapress.com/j/pt/ PHYTOTAXA Copyright © 2019 Magnolia Press Article ISSN 1179-3163 (online edition) https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.387.2.2 DNA Barcoding of Endangered Paphiopedilum species (Orchidaceae) of Peninsular Malaysia MICHEAL C. RAJARAM1, CHRISTINA S.Y. YONG1, JUALANG A. GANSAU2 & RUSEA GO1* 1Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia. 2Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. *Author for correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract In this study, the efficacy of four DNA markers and their combinations (rbcL, matK, ITS, trnH-psbA) as barcode markers were tested across the endangered Paphiopedilum species from Peninsular Malaysia. Four species of Paphiopedilum were sampled and barcoded. The DNA barcodes reliabilities were evaluated using NCBI BLASTn program, phylogenetic tree via Neighbour-Joining method with 1000 bootstrap replicates in MEGA 6 and barcoding gap assessment. matK is the most promising barcode with high sequence quality (100%), high accuracy in BLASTn (100%), clear resolution of species in Neighbour-Joining phylogenetic tree (100%) and a distinct barcoding gap followed by ITS, trnH-psbA and rbcL. The com- bination of barcode regions revealed the lack of variation in rbcL and trnH-psbA but they are still useful for preliminary identification followed up by matK for accurate identification. Key Words: DNA barcodes, Paphiopedilum, identification, endangered species, taxonomy Introduction Peninsular Malaysia has been blessed with a large number of plant species with high representation of the Orchidaceae family including the genus Paphiopedilum.