Molecular Profiling of Shorea macrophylla with other closely related Shorea species

• Main Author: Atirah, Abdul Majid
• Format: Final Year Project Report
• Language: English; English
• Published: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, (UNIMAS) 2022
• Subjects: TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
• Online Access: http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/39771/1/ATIRAH%20BINTI%20ABDUL%20MAJID%2024pgs.pdf; http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/39771/4/Atirah%20Binti%20Abdul%20Majid%20ft.pdf; http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/39771/

Shorea macrophylla (de Vriese) P.S. Ashton, locally known as the ‘Engkabang Jantong’, is endemic to Sarawak as well as other parts of the island of Borneo. It is a lowland indigenous riparian species that comes from the Dipterocarpaceae family, which is one of Southeast Asia’s important tropical rainforest families. To date, the rapid decline in the population of S. macrophylla in Borneo’s tropical lowland rainforest has been alarming. Conservation measures are urgently needed to protect the genetic diversity of this species. Prior to the implementation of conservation measures, genetic diversity data is significant. However, the lack of documentation and genetic diversity data of S. macrophylla has made it difficult for its preservation efforts. Our knowledge and understanding of the relationship between S. macrophylla and other Shorea spp. are also lacking. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine the genetic variability of S. macrophylla with other closely related Shorea spp. using DNA profiling. Four Shorea spp. were selected for this study, namely, S. macrophylla, S. stenoptera Burck, S. seminis (de Vriese) P.S. Ashton, and S. splendida (de Vriese) P.S. Ashton. Maturase K (matK), a universal chloroplast DNA barcoding marker, was used in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The SEPa Plant DNA Isolation kit was used to extract the DNA. However, the extraction produced a low yield of DNA. Gel electrophoresis was used to determine the success of the DNA extraction and purified PCR products. The concentration and quality of the DNA were determined using spectrophotometric analysis. The results revealed an insufficient amount of DNA concentration; hence, analysis of the sequences to show genetic variability of S. macrophylla and other Shorea species was not achieved.