A Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) Primer to Assist the Identification of a Selected Strain, Aizu K-111 of Panax ginseng and the Sequence Amplified.

Panax ginseng is widely used as a Chinese medicine, but it takes a long time to reach harvest and to establish its qualified strains. In the course of searching high quality Panax ginseng, we found a useful random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primer, which showed a 725 base pair band for a selected elite strain Aizu K-111 (now called Kaishusan) including its cultured tissues, while the other strains did not necessarily show this band. We sequenced the DNA fragment amplified and designed primers to improve electrophoretic profiles, based on the sequence.