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Mistletoes are hemiparasitic macroparasite plants which interfere with trees and other wild plants in nutrient acquisition. As the plant has low leaf water potential, it draws water from teak wood tissues during the deciduous stage of the teak host, thereby killing the twigs and eventually, the teak tree. Mistletoes are also a key player in plant diversity. Therefore, the mistletoe population needs to be regulated not only as a parasite but also as a keystone species affecting biodiversity. Knowledge scarcity on the status of mistletoes includes its genetic variation. Hence, the purpose of this study is to analyze the level of genetic variation of teak mistletoe (Dendrophthoe pentandra) using RAPD marker. At Padangan teak Clonal Seed Orchard (CSO), it was randomly collected leaf samples from three layers of the mistletoe’s crown (upper, middle, and below) were taken from five host teak trees randomly selected from each of the sub-observation measure plots (OMP). Four OMP units inside the observation sample plots (OSP) (n = 3, 50 x 50 m) at different levels of infestation (light, moderate and heavy) were established. Analysis of the genetic variation and genetic distance of mistletoes hanging on the different crown layers were conducted using RAPD markers. The leaf samples from the crown layers, UU (upper crown and sub-section upper), UM (upper crown and sub-section middle), and UB (upper crown and sub-section below), which include U (upper crown) had significantly greater genetic variation (He = 0.181 – 0.255) than those from M layer (middle crown, He = 0.227) and the B layer (below crown, He = 0.114). Furthermore, the widest genetic distance significantly occurred between the mistletoes of the UB and B crown layers (0.310), whereas the nearest genetic distance significantly occurred between mistletoes of UU and UM layers in the upper crown (0.038). Practical implications of the low genetic variation in this study include the control of mistletoe D. pentandra infestation by means of restricting its population so that Perhutani State Owned Forestry Enterprise can maintain the level of damage below the economic threshold.

For effective teak plantation management, early detection system in controlling teak mistletoe requires various basic information, including degree of infestation and accuracy of the species names. Mistletoe infestations in teak and mistletoe species name have been reported, but there are still problems in identifying the correct species or subspecies due to morphological similarity. The objective of this study was to clarify the species identity of hemi-parasitic mistletoe plants, which were found in teak Clonal Seed Orchard (CSO) in Padangan, East Java Province, Indonesia using DNA barcodes. Species identification of teak mistletoe based on leaf morphological characteristics and universal DNA barcode regions (i.e. matK and rbcL) were carried out. The results showed that the Canonical Discriminant Analysis (CDA) could differentiate Dendrophthoe pentandra and Macrosolen tetragonus based on leaf morphological characteristics. Variables having high correlation to distinguish both species were length of petiole,  width of the widest leaf, number of secondary leaf veins, leaf base shape, aspect ratio, form factor and perimeter ratio of diameter. The results of DNA barcoding showed that the two DNA barcode regions presented good  amplification and sequence results. Both DNA barcode regions successfully differentiated two species i.e. D. pentandra and M. tetragonus which belong to Loranthaceae family and have similar leaf morphological characteristics. Those regions were also able to identify Viscum articulatum and other species belonging to Santalaceae family. These results suggested that the two DNA regions could become recommended universal DNA barcode for identifying teak mistletoe.

Background Dipterocarpus littoralis Blume is a critically endangered dipterocarp species found only on Nusakambangan Island, Central Java, Indonesia. Patterns of genetic diversity and population genetic structure of adults and saplings in two extant populations (Kali Jati and Solok Besek) were estimated using ten microsatellite markers. Results A total of 39 alleles was found, with two and four alleles being unique in adult and sapling populations, respectively. Allelic richness and heterozygosity was similar between adult (Ar = 3.00; He = 0.423) and sapling (Ar = 3.25; He = 0.441) populations.Inbreeding coefficientsin saplingswere positive in both populations and statistically significant in Kali Jati, while those in adult populations were not significantly different from zero, indicating excessive inbreeding and selfing in the sapling populations. Genetic differentiation of the sapling populations (FST = 0.036) was slightly lower than in the adult populations (0.050), but only significantly so for saplings. Conclusions This study revealed that D. littoralis has low genetic diversity in both adults and saplings. Similarly low values in allele richness and heterozygosity suggest that reductions of population size have been ongoing for long periods in this species. Significant genetic differentiation between sapling populations but not adult populations indicates that recent fragmentation is further accelerating the isolation process.