DNA-Based Identification of Eurasian Vicia Species Using Chloroplast and Nuclear DNA Barcodes

Abstract

Many legume species of the <i>Vicia</i> L. genus (Fabaceae Lindl.) are key components of the Mediterranean diet and have an integral role in sustainable agriculture. Given the importance of the <i>Vicia</i> species for Eurasian culture, it is necessary to implement methodologies, such as DNA barcoding, that can enable the effective authentication and identification of species in the genus. In this study, we analysed the chloroplast <i>trnL</i> and <i>rpoC1</i>, as well as the nuclear ITS2 DNA barcoding regions, to identify 71 <i>Vicia</i> specimens of Eurasian descent. Both the <i>trnL</i> and ITS2 regions were highly effective in discriminating the analysed taxa, while the more conserved <i>rpoC1</i> region could not identify all of the selected species due to high sequence conservation or non-annotated or absent <i>rpoC1</i> species sequences in GenBank. A dendrographic representation of the generated <i>trnL</i> data showed sufficient clustering for most of the analysed taxa, although some topological discrepancies were observed. ITS2 and <i>rpoC1</i> reconstructions were also used for resolving the topological discrepancies observed in the <i>trnL</i> tree. Our analysis suggests that a combination of DNA barcoding regions is essential for accurate species discrimination within the <i>Vicia</i> genus, while single-locus analyses do not provide the necessary resolution.