Genetic Variation of DNA from Malaysian Ginger Cultivars

Yap, Chun Yoong (2021) Genetic Variation of DNA from Malaysian Ginger Cultivars. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

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Abstract

The family of Zingiberaceae consists of more than 1200 species all over the world. Zingiber officinale, also commonly known as ginger, is widely used as spice or folk medicine, and has a lot of health benefits. However, people find that it is difficult to distinguish different cultivars of ginger based on their morphology. In this experiment, we examined different ginger cultivars from Malaysia such as Bentong ginger, Bara ginger, Kampung ginger, Red ginger, Red Button ginger, Tanjung Sepat ginger, Feng ginger, Karak ginger, Thai ginger, Tambunan ginger. The physiology and appearance of the ginger were hardly to be separated from each other. We will separate the ginger with molecular evidence. We did the DNA extraction from the young leaves of the ginger plant. The DNA extractions were done by grinding using liquid nitrogen. The main purpose of DNA extraction was to examine the chloroplast region that is highly specific to each species. We choose the region of rbcL that consists of 1451 base pairs for further analysis. PCR was done and underwent gel electrophoresis for the confirmation. Gel extraction was done and underwent nanodrop measurement for purity and concentration. The extracted DNA region was sent for sequencing to determine the DNA content. Another identification, restriction fragment length polymorphism was done to classify the ginger cultivars. HinfI and HaeIII were used to digest the rbcL region of the DNA of each species. The bands were observed under UV after gel electrophoresis was done. The sequencing result of the DNA was analyzed with Clustal Omega. The fragments from the RFLP were analyzed and grouped according to the size.