DNA Barcoding Student Seminar C.

1. DNA Barcoding
Travis Butler, Crystal Dobson, James Gainous, Andres Gomez and Xegfred Quidet

2. The Pressing Issues
Agriculture
● Food imports account for 26.6%
(2019)
● Food Import - $18 million USD
Annually
● $2 million USD - Onions (2020)
● $90,000 USD - Avocados (2020)
Access to Herbal Meds
● Many islanders opt for herbal
medicine as an alternative to
pharmaceuticals.
● Understanding the availability and
diversity of medicinal plant life is
essential to improving quality of
island life.

3. Goal:
● Locate and sequence beneficial organisms
● Trace to any possible agriculture and/or medicinal usages
○ Identify if the soil could grow certain plants for food and or/ medicinal
properties based on the current plants that can grow in the environment
■ Ex. Vetiver Grass and young avocado trees

4. The Process and Methods
3/18
● Present
Project Plan
● Receive plot
assignment
● Collect plant samples at
assigned plot
● Morphogenic analysis of
collected plant species
● DNA extraction
● PCR
● Gel electrophoresis
and DNA
sequencing
● BLAST sequencing
● Morphogenic
analysis of collected
plant species
● Bioinformatics
3/25 3/26 3/27
4/10
● Presentation
4/29

5. Collection

6. DNA Extraction

7. Polymerase Chain
Reaction (PCR)

8. Gel Electrophoresis
DNA sequencing and
Nucleotide Blasting

9. Collection Pictures- Chionanthus
compactus- “Bridgo Tree”
- Family: Oleaceae (Olive Family)
- No known agriculture /
medicinal benefits
- Locations: Antigua, Saba, St.
Eustatius, St. Kitts, Nevis,
Montserrat, Guadeloupe, La
Désirade, Marie Galante,
Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia,
St. Vincent, the Grenadines,
Grenada, Greater Antilles
(Hispaniola, Puerto Rico), Virgin
Islands, Trinidad, South
America.

10. Collection Picture- Guettarda elliptica-
“Hammock Velvetseed”
- No known medicinal
benefits
- Agriculture:
- Often used as a
source of wood or a
“natural fence”
around property in
tropical areas
- Wood can be used
for fuel

11. Collection Pictures- Genus Pitraea
Members of the genus are
thought to be used as an
anti-inflammatory and
analgesic.
May also be used to treat
flu symptoms.

12. Collection Pictures-Scutia
myrtina- “Cat Thorn”
1. Laxative
2. Antimalarial
3. CNS Depression
4. Analgesic
5. Antidiabetic
6. Antioxidant
7. Anti-inflammatory
8. Anti-tumor

13. Petrea Kohautiana: (native)
Queen’s Wreath, Sandpiper Vine, Purple Wreath, Nilmani
*Due to insufficient published literature on Kohatiana, the following information pertains to Volubilis*
Agricultural Use:
● Floriculture
● Support bee
hives
● Animal feed
Medicinal Sap/Extract Use:
● Wound healing (Wayapi anecdote)
● Anti-inflammatory (Wayapi anecdote)
● Antidiarrheal (Wayapi anecdote)
● Abortifacient tea (Wayapi anecdote)
● Antidiabetic (mice)
● Antioxidant
● Anticancer
● Antimicrobial

14. Mimosa Pudica: (native)
Shame Plant, Sensitive Plant, Sleepy Plant, Action Plant, Touch-Me-Not
Medicinal Extract Use:
● Wound healing (topical:rats)
● PNS regeneration (IV:rats)
● Antidepressant (IV:rats)
● Anticonvulsant (intraperitoneal:mice)
● Diuretic (oral:rats, dogs)
● Birth control (oral:mice)
● Antioxidant (oral:mice, rats)
● Antivenom
● antimicrobial
● Aphrodisiac (oral:mice)
Agricultural Use:
● Legume: nodules facilitate growth of nitrogen fixing
bacteria
● Synthesize carbon disulfide: prevent pathologic fungus
growth in soil
● Phytoremediation

15. Collection Pictures-Euphorbia tithymaloides
(L.)/Pedilanthus tithymaloides “Devils Backbone”
● Potentially invasive species
● Can grow in toxic soils
(occasionally used clean soil)
● Being investigated for a biolfuel
● Potentially toxic properties
(euphorbol, terpene,
cycloartenone, beta-sitosterol)
● N/V/D, conjunctivitis, blistering,
pain.
Unconfirmed medical uses:
● emetic
● anti-inflammatory
● anti-parasitic
● Asthma
● Calluses
● Diabetes
● Anti-fungal

16. Phylogeny
Tree

17. Next Steps …

18. ● Genus Pitraea, Petrea Kohautiana & Scutia myrtina-
Explore simpler methods for anti-inflammatory and
analgesic refinement
● Mimosa Pudica- Explore agricultural and medicinal
usage for fungal prevention
● Euphorbia tithymaloides- Explore purifying properties

19. Acknowledgements:
 Financial Support from AUACOM
 Dept. of Environment for giving us access to Walling’s Nature Reserve
 AUA professors who organize and mentored in this program

20. QUESTIONS?

21. 1. http://aua-dna-barcoding.weebly.com/2019-project-results.html
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphorbia_tithymaloides
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3459453/#:~:text=It%20majorly%20possesses%20antibacterial
%2C%20antivenom,and%20also%20applied%20on%20wounds.
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scutia_myrtina
5. https://www.eattheweeds.com/tag/queens-
wreath/#:~:text=An%20extract%20of%20its%20leaves,diabetes%20and%20high%20blood%20press
ure.
6. https://www.saintlucianplants.com/floweringplants/oleaceae/chiocomp/chiocomp.html
7. Bueno Dos Reis, Fábio (2010). "Nodulation and Nitrogen Fixation by Mimosa spp. in the Cerrado and
Caatinga Biomes of Brazil". New Phytologist. 186 (4): 934–946. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2010.03267
8. Visoottiviseth, P; Francesconi, K; Sridokchan, W (August 2002). "The potential of Thai indigenous
plant species for the phytoremediation of arsenic contaminated land". Environmental Pollution. 118
(3): 453–461. doi:10.1016/S0269-7491(01)00293-7
9. Petrea volubilis L. Verbenaceae Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info
10. http://www.stuartxchange.org/PurpleWreath
11. https://www.ijsr.net/archive/v4i4/SUB152754.pdf
12. http://www.jofamericanscience.org/journals/am-sci/am0808/031_9893am0808_202_208.pdf
13. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22435170/
14. https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/39815#touses
References