Identification of Cambodian Gnetum (Gnetaceae, Gnetales) species by DNA barcoding

Gnetum (Gnetaceae, Gnetales) is a gymnosperm genus with ca. 35 species distributed in tropical forests around the world. Due to its dioecious habit and lack of diagnostic characters from vegetative tissue, the identification of Gnetum species is not easy without seeds or reproductive structures. To identify and verify their phylogenetic positions, we applied DNA barcoding to Cambodian Gnetum collections gathered between 2010 and 2015, with previously designed cp matK gene primers. We newly sequenced partial matK sequences from 72 Gnetum collections, 43 out of 72 from Cambodia, and analyzed 115 Gnetum accessions using the neighbor-joining method. The resulting neighbor-joining tree categorized Cambodian Gnetum samples into three clades of species: G. macrostachyum, G. montanum, and G. aff. gracilipes. The recognition of G. aff. gracilipes in Cambodia is reported here for the first time. Taxonomic information for the three recognized Cambodian Gnetum species is provided and the benefits of the taxonomic reevaluation assisted by DNA barcoding are emphasized in this work.