Received: 10 August 2016 | Revised: 17 May 2017 | Accepted: 12 June 2017 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3220 ORIGINAL RESEARCH Utility of DNA barcoding to identify rare endemic vascular plant species in Trinidad Fazeeda N. Hosein | Nigel Austin | Shobha Maharaj | Winston Johnson | Luke Rostant | Amanda C. Ramdass | Sephra N. Rampersad Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Life Sciences, The Abstract University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, The islands of the Caribbean are considered to be a “biodiversity hotspot.” Collectively, Trinidad and Tobago – West Indies a high level of endemism for several plant groups has been reported for this region. Correspondence Biodiversity conservation should, in part, be informed by taxonomy, population status, Sephra Nalini Rampersad, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Life Sciences, and distribution of flora. One taxonomic impediment to species inventory and man- The University of the West Indies, St. agement is correct identification as conventional morphology- based assessment is Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago – West Indies. Email:
[email protected] subject to several caveats. DNA barcoding can be a useful tool to quickly and accu- rately identify species and has the potential to prompt the discovery of new species. Funding information The University of the West Indies, In this study, the ability of DNA barcoding to confirm the identities of 14 endangered St. Augustine, Grant/Award Number: endemic vascular plant species in Trinidad was assessed using three DNA barcodes CRP.3.MAR13.11 (matK, rbcL, and rpoC1). Herbarium identifications were previously made for all species under study. matK, rbcL, and rpoC1 markers were successful in amplifying target re- gions for seven of the 14 species.