RESUMO
DNA barcoding technology is widely opplied for species identification and discovery by using short and standard fragments of DNA sequences. In this study, the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) sequence as a DNA barcode was used to identify the Gekkogecko Linnaeus medicinal materials and adulterants in order to provide a new identification method of G. gecko Linnaeus. Genomic DNA was extracted from the experimental samples. The COI regions of nrDNA were amplified using polymerase chain reaction and sequenced bidirectionally. The alignment and NJ tree construction were performed in MEGA6.0. COI sequences can be obtained from all samples. The average intra-specific K2P distance of G. gecko Linnaeus was 0.005 and the maximum intra-specific distance was 0.013. All the G. gecko Linnaeus medicinal samples clustered into a clade in the NJ tree and can be distinguished from the adulterants. In a conclusion, COI can be used to correctly identify G. gecko Linnaeus, and it will be a potential DNA barcode for identification of other animal medicinal materials.