Genetic differentiation of two morphotypes of Piper regnellii (Miq.) C. DC. var. regnellii

Abstract

Piper regnellii (Miq.) C. DC. var. regnellii, popularly known as "pariparoba", is used for therapeutic purposes. However, the morphological similarity among Piper species can lead to misidentifications, so molecular markers have been used to validate the identification of species and their morphotypes. Among the molecular markers used in plants, the intergenic spacer region trnL-trnF has proven effective in identifying plant species. For this reason, this region was used to evaluate two morphotypes of Piper regnellii var. regnellii. Studies with the trnL-trnF region have shown this region as a good marker for establishing phylogenetic relationships, distinguishing species, and identifying new species. We concluded that the trnL-trnF sequenced region show one indel of difference between the two morphotypes. It would be interesting to analyze these two morphotypes with a more variable region than the one used here, aiming to show intraspecific differences.