Determining the specific DNA sequences of the Gastrodia tuber and their potential importance

Abstract The Gastrodia tuber, as well as the gastrodine extract derived from it, has been found to have many pharmacological effects. The gastrodine content of different tuber populations was determined, and their genomic DNA fingerprints were investigated. Through recovery, cloning, sequencing and bioinformatics analyses of DNA fragments, five DNA sequences were proved to be new discoveries. Using the PCR technique, we further studied the distribution of the sequences in eight Gastrodia populations, as well as their correlation with gastrodine content. The distribution of the five DNA sequences varied greatly among the populations. DNA sequences 1 and 5 were found in all the populations studied and determined to be specific DNA molecular markers that differentiate Gastrodia from other species. DNA sequence 2 was found only in the populations showing the highest gastrodine content. Hence, these sequences can be applied to identify genuine Gastrodia tubers and to optimise the selection of better populations.