DNA barcoding

DNA barcoding should not be confused with efforts to resolve the "tree of life."

DNA barcoding is based on a relatively simple concept.

Therefore, best practice for DNA barcoding is to sequence vouchered specimens.

DNA barcoding was first proposed in 2003 as a system that would enable scientists to identify a species even if it were damaged or not fully grown.

We also question whether the results for North American birds can be extrapolated to the tropics, where DNA barcoding could have maximum value.

DNA barcoding has met with spirited reaction from scientists, especially systematists, ranging from enthusiastic endorsement to vociferous opposition.

It was first described in 2012 on the basis of systematic DNA barcoding of specimens from the genus Brunfelsia.

Mitochondrial DNA has published so far two special free-access issues on DNA Barcoding:

DNA barcoding is a taxonomic method that uses a short genetic marker in an organism's DNA to identify it as belonging to a particular species.

Finally, while superficially appealing, the very term DNA barcoding is unfortunate, as it implies that each species has a fixed and invariant characteristic-like a barcode on a supermarket product.

Carolan et al investigated DNA barcoding in the B. lucorum complex to determine if DNA barcoding is accurate.

A series of experiments was then conducted to find a more suitable region of the genome for use in the DNA barcoding of flowering plants (or the larger group of land plants).

DNA barcoding provides a standardised method for this process via the use of a short DNA sequence from a particular region of the genome to provide a 'barcode' for identifying species.

For example, many stress the fact that DNA barcoding does not provide reliable information above the species level, while others indicate that it is inapplicable at the species level, but may still have merit for higher-level groups.

The next major study into the efficacy of DNA barcoding was focused on the neotropical skipper butterfly, Astraptes fulgerator at the Area Conservacion de Guanacaste (ACG) in north-western Costa Rica.

This week, Quentin Cooper hears about the impact of thawing permafrost on climate change; how generations of space worms may lead the way for humans to reach Mars; and how DNA barcoding is identifying species and spotting fraud.