VARIATION IN WOOD COLOR AND PRIMER DESIGN OF 4CL COLOR-CODING GENE ON NYAMPLUNG (Calophyllum inophyllum L.)

Indonesia is a habitat of many wood species having various patterns and colors. Nyamplung is a tree which has several variations in its heartwood color due to its extractive contents. This research aimed to determine variation in heartwood color of Nyamplung and design specific primer of the 4CL gene, which can amplify the DNA of Nyamplung. The samples used in the study had different heartwood color level and were collected from Bojo village, Barru and Jennae village, Soppeng in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The wood color assay was determined based on the CIEL*a*b Color System, and molecular data were analyzed by electrophoregrams. The result showed that both samples had different level of wood color that could be observed with the naked eye. Meanwhile, primer design at first stage generated 12 primer combinations which were able to amplify Nyamplung DNAs, whereas, the second one generated five primer combinations. Therefore, The findings suggest performing an advanced examination on developing dominant and/or co-dominant markers that can be used as molecular markers for wood color on heartwood of Nyamplung.