Custom genetic testing of plant material
Available by arrangement. Contact Dr. Tippery or see below for more details.
DNA sequencing
Data from nuclear and chloroplast genes can be used to identify specimens, including cryptic species and hybrids. Often a new DNA sequence will be an exact match to a previously published sequence, leading to a confident identification. In other cases, two or more DNA sequences may need to be compared to arrive at the right level of confidence.
Example
The phylogeny above depicts relationships in the aquatic plant genus Nymphoides (Menyanthaceae). The specimen in bold was determined to be N. grayana because its DNA sequence was most similar to a previously published sequence for that species, and sufficiently different from other related species. By comparing new sequences against those that have already been published, we can have a great deal of confidence about the identity of the plant. Image modified from https://doi.org/10.3159/TORREY-D-15-00008.1.
Details
DNA identification is available at a flat rate of $45 per sample.
Please contact Dr. Tippery before sending samples. Plant material can be sent as fresh material under certain conditions, otherwise dried leaf material (rapidly dried from fresh leaves) is fairly reliable.
Results are typically available within 2-3 weeks.