Molecular Identification of Pathogenic Bacteria in Kantong Semar Plants (Nepenthes Gracillis) Based on Mitochondrial 16S rRNA Gene

Biology Department, Universitas Negeri Surabaya

^* Corresponding author: isnawati@unesa.ac.id

Abstract

Nepenthes is a protected and unique carnivorous plant because it has a fluid-filled pouch at the end of the leaf that serves as an insect trap. The existence of Nepenthes gracillis in ecosystems is endangered, one of the reasons is caused by the attack of pathogenic bacteria, so it is necessary to identify pathogenic bacteria that attack N. gracillis as an effort to handle. The purpose of this study was to identify pathogenic bacteria in N. gracillis using 16S rRNA gene sequencing results. This study aims to identify the 16S rRNA sequence and phylogenetic of bacteria attached in N. Gracillis leaves, and the identification was confirmed using molecular data. The construction of phylogenetic topology was made based on ML and NJ method using Kimura-2 parameter model. Subsequently, molecular characterization and identification was conducted based on 720 bp of 16S rRNA gene similarity, sequence variation, genetic distance, and phylogenetic topology. According to the results, the bacteria species attached in N. Gracillis identified as Lelliottia nimipressuralis, and closely related with Erwinia aphidicola. Genetic distance between sample and related species was 0,0173, with 98,26% similarities, then strongly 100 bootstrap analyses. Thus, this study provides more information for Lelliottia nimipressuralis phylogenetic studies using different marker.