Wood identification of Japanese Cyclobalanopsis species (Fagaceae) based on DNA polymorphism of the intergenic spacer between trnT and trnL 5′exon

DNA was extracted from wood samples of six representative Cyclobalanopsis species (Fagaceae) growing in Japan that cannot be distinguished from one another by conventional microscopy. A part of the intergenic spacer region between trnT and trnL 5′ exon was amplified and sequenced. The sequences obtained from wood samples were grouped into three DNA types by a single nucleotide polymorphism as reported previously in leaf samples: I (Quercus acuta, Q. sessilifolia, Q. salicina), II (Q. myrsinaefolia, Q. glauca), and III (Q. gilva). Thus, Q. gilva can be distinguished from the other Quercus species, and the others are separated in two subgroups based on DNA polymorphism. The present findings support the possibility of wood identification based on DNA polymorphism.