BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng) is one of the most important medicinal plants in the Orient. Among the nine cultivars of Korean ginseng, "Chunpoong" commands a much greater market value and has been planted widely. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A rapid and reliable method for discriminating the Chunpoong cultivar was developed by exploiting a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the mitochondrial nad7 intron 4 region of nine Korean ginseng cultivars using universal primers. RESULTS: A SNP was detected between Chunpoong and other cultivars, and modified allele-specific primers were designed from this SNP site to specifically identify Chunpoong cultivar via multiplex PCR. CONCLUSION: We therefore present an effective method for the genetic identification of the Chunpoong cultivar of ginseng.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng) is one of the most important medicinal plants in the Orient. Among the nine cultivars of Korean ginseng, "Chunpoong" commands a much greater market value and has been planted widely. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A rapid and reliable method for discriminating the Chunpoong cultivar was developed by exploiting a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the mitochondrial nad7 intron 4 region of nine Korean ginseng cultivars using universal primers. RESULTS: A SNP was detected between Chunpoong and other cultivars, and modified allele-specific primers were designed from this SNP site to specifically identify Chunpoong cultivar via multiplex PCR. CONCLUSION: We therefore present an effective method for the genetic identification of the Chunpoong cultivar of ginseng.