Identification of Vietnamese Ochna integerrima (Lour.) Merr Species Based on Ribosomal DNA Internal Transcribed Spacer Sequence

Ochna integerrima is a medicinal and ornamental plant, is widely distributed in Southeast Asia areas. In Vietnam, it has been ranked as the rare and endangered species due to its high demand trade of the beautiful species. In this study, total 21 Ochna samples, collected from the northern and southern areas, were used to characterize the morphological traits using morphological analyses and molecular tool. The results have revealed that the morphological characterization of flower and its quality of Yen Tu Ochna samples showed differences in comparison with the common Ochna and southern Ochna samples. To accurately distinguish genetic traits of the samples, we have sequenced the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region (including ITS1, 5.8S) of 21 species. The results have disclosed the genetic correlations of the samples ranging from 96.25% to 100% among the studied Ochna samples, of which 5 samples include B1, B2, B3, B6 and N3.1 were divided into the separate groups. The current work is the first report in constructing a molecular database of Ochna for further assessment of inter-and intra-specific molecular diversity of Ochna species in Vietnam.