Prospect: Identification of medicinal plant based on chloroplast gene ycf15 / 中草药

ABSTRACT

The circular double-stranded cpDNA sequence consists of two inverted repeat (IR) regions, a large single-copy region (LSC) and a small single-copy region (SSC). The function of some genes within the genome is clear. However, it is unknown for such chloroplast genes as hypothetical chloroplast reading frames (ycfs) and so on. As one of ycf s, ycf15 gene is located within IR regions with length of 250-550 bp, conserved among plants and also, its function is often unclear. The gene has attracted an intense attention during the past decade. This review presents an overview of ycf15 gene including its basic type, structural features, and the application to phylogenetic analyses. As a potential DNA marker for species identification, future implications of the gene are also introduced.