Abstract:
Jeffreycia zeylanica (L.) H. Rob., S. C. Keeley & Skvarla, is an endemic
Sri Lankan medicinal plant which is commonly observed within the tank cascade
systems of Sri Lanka. Recent studies have shown that it contains Vernolactone, a
novel compound that mediates significant cytotoxic effects in breast cancer cells and
promotes apoptosis and autophagy in human teratocarcinomal cancer stem-like cells.
For this study, 200 mg of plant material was collected from a single plant for each of
the two DNA markers. The plant was identified with the assistance of medicinal plant
experts at Gampaha Wickramarachchi Ayurveda Teaching Hospital (GWATH), Yak-
kala and Samples were obtained from the herbal garden at GWATH. MatK and rbcL
genes are chosen for their variability among species and their relative conservation
within a species. The standard CTAB method with few modifications was used for
the extraction and purification of DNA. MatK and rbcL genes in the chloroplast ge-
nome were amplified using universal primers by PCR (polymerase chain reaction).
Two optimized PCR cycle parameters were used. PCR products were purified. Puri-
fied PCR products were sequenced and raw sequencing data was edited using Bio
Edit software. Galaxy, the web-based platform was used to assemble the forward and
reverse reads into contigs. Moreover, BLAST search against the GenBank nucleotide
database was conducted to confirm the identity of the obtained MatK and rbcL se-
quences. It showed a maximum similarity of 100% for matk and 99.3% for rbcL. The
PCR-based amplification of conserved regions (matk and rbcl) or their combination
is commonly employed to establish DNA barcodes for species identification. This
case demonstrate the use of DNA barcoding for the identification of medicinal plant
materials.
