PCR, sequencing and PCR–RFLP of the 5S-rRNA-NTS region as a tool for the DNA fingerprinting of medicinal and aromatic plants

Molecular genetic methods have several advantages over classical morphological and chemical analyses. For instance, the genetic method requires genotype instead of phenotype, therefore DNA-based techniques have been widely used for rapid identifi cation of herbal medicine and aromatic plants. Using PCR approaches, nanogram quantities of DNA are required to amplify and yield suffi cient amounts of template DNA for molecular genetic analysis. Recently, the molecular discrimination of some higher plant species has been evaluated using sequences of a 5S-rRNA gene spacer region. The variation in the non-transcribed sequence (NTS) region has been used in a number of plant species for studying intraspecifi c variation, mapping 5S rDNA arrays, genome evolution and phylogenetic reconstruction. In this minireview we summarize the potential use of the 5S-rRNA-NTS region as a tool for the DNA fi ngerprinting of medicinal and aromatic plants.