{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T14:13:07Z","timestamp":1784211187956,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":22,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784160000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Plant Sci."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The unresolved taxonomy of\n                      <jats:italic>Dracaena<\/jats:italic>\n                      species, the botanical sources of the prized traditional medicine Dragon\u2019s blood, poses significant challenges to resource conservation, material traceability, and quality control. This study aimed to resolve these taxonomic ambiguities by developing and validating a high-resolution, integrated molecular authentication system. Based on 26 original plant samples from the genus\n                      <jats:italic>Dracaena<\/jats:italic>\n                      , along with relevant DNA barcode loci retrieved from NCBI, five previously reported DNA barcodes were evaluated and assessed. Simple sequence repeat (SSR) sequences from the transcriptome of\n                      <jats:italic>D. cambodiana<\/jats:italic>\n                      were subsequently screened. Finally, the established DNA barcode and SSR molecular marker systems were applied to identify the botanical origin of Dragon\u2019s blood.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The\n                      <jats:italic>trnP-psaJ<\/jats:italic>\n                      and\n                      <jats:italic>psbK-psbI<\/jats:italic>\n                      regions were identified as optimal barcodes, effectively distinguishing foreign sources (\n                      <jats:italic>D. cinnabari<\/jats:italic>\n                      and\n                      <jats:italic>D. draco<\/jats:italic>\n                      ) from domestic ones. From transcriptomic data, we screened and validated 16 highly polymorphic SSR primers. While DNA barcodes confirmed broad phylogenetic relationships, SSR markers provided superior resolution, clearly delineating the closely related domestic taxa\n                      <jats:italic>D. cambodiana<\/jats:italic>\n                      ,\n                      <jats:italic>D. cochinchinensis<\/jats:italic>\n                      , and the \u201c\n                      <jats:italic>Yanzong<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u201d plant into distinct genetic clusters. A key finding was the consistent genetic distinctiveness of Hainan Island populations, supporting the genetic affinity of the Hainan populations with D. cambodiana, indicating that they fall within the genetic variation range of this species based on the available reference samples. Furthermore, cultivation analysis revealed that\n                      <jats:italic>D. cambodiana<\/jats:italic>\n                      is the predominant cultivated species in China; the horticultural variety \u201cHeizhenzhu\u201d was identified as a likely variant of this species, while \u201cTaikongtie\u201d showed ambiguous affinity, possibly involving\n                      <jats:italic>D. cochinchinensis<\/jats:italic>\n                      or Guangxi populations.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      We established a novel, two-tiered molecular identification system that combines the\n                      <jats:italic>trnP-psaJ<\/jats:italic>\n                      barcode for rapid screening with a panel of 16 SSR markers for fine-scale discrimination. This integrated approach successfully clarifies the taxonomy of important Dragon\u2019s blood source plants. It provides a reliable, efficient protocol for authenticating\n                      <jats:italic>Dracaena<\/jats:italic>\n                      species and germplasm, offering a critical technical foundation for resource conservation, medicinal material standardization, and targeted breeding programs.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpls.2026.1851019","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T13:31:40Z","timestamp":1784208700000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Establishment of a two-tiered molecular identification system for Dracaena species \u2013 the source plants of dragon\u2019s blood"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Yuxiu","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Resources Conservation and Development of Southern Medicine of Hainan Provincial, Hainan Branch of the Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College","place":["Haikou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Haiying","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Resources Conservation and Development of Southern Medicine of Hainan Provincial, Hainan Branch of the Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College","place":["Haikou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xinquan","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Resources Conservation and Development of Southern Medicine of Hainan Provincial, Hainan Branch of the Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College","place":["Haikou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yan","family":"Zeng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Resources Conservation and Development of Southern Medicine of Hainan Provincial, Hainan Branch of the Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College","place":["Haikou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Menglian","family":"Feng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Resources Conservation and Development of Southern Medicine of Hainan Provincial, Hainan Branch of the Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College","place":["Haikou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Junna","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Resources Conservation and Development of Southern Medicine of Hainan Provincial, Hainan Branch of the Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College","place":["Haikou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuling","family":"Ye","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Resources Conservation and Development of Southern Medicine of Hainan Provincial, Hainan Branch of the Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College","place":["Haikou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peiwei","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Resources Conservation and Development of Southern Medicine of Hainan Provincial, Hainan Branch of the Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College","place":["Haikou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jianhe","family":"Wei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Resources Conservation and Development of Southern Medicine of Hainan Provincial, Hainan Branch of the Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College","place":["Haikou, China"]},{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"16787","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-022-20304-6","article-title":"Complete chloroplast genome sequencing and comparative analysis of threatened dragon trees Dracaena serrulata and Dracaena cinnabari","volume":"12","author":"Ahmad","year":"2022","journal-title":"Sci. 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