Can DNA barcoding identify a new species?

By taking bits of a single gene, scientists are using DNA barcoding to identify new species. If a portable hand-held scanning device can be developed, one ecologist says, it could “do for biodiversity what the printing press did for literacy.”

How DNA barcoding helps in identification of a species?

The premise of DNA barcoding is that, by comparison with a reference library of such DNA sections (also called “sequences”), an individual sequence can be used to uniquely identify an organism to species, in the same way that a supermarket scanner uses the familiar black stripes of the UPC barcode to identify an item …

What are cryptic species examples?

Examples of cryptic species include the African elephant. A 2001 study found the elephants were actually two genetically distinct, non-interbreeding species, the African bush elephant and the African elephant. The species are currently listed as vulnerable and threatened, respectively, by the World Conservation Union.

What technology is used for DNA barcoding?

Among DNA-based methods, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the most commonly used molecular technique due to its simplicity, fastness, specificity, and sensitivity.

Is DNA barcoding expensive?

The cost for NGS based barcoding can be as low as fifty cents per individual specimen or as much as two dollars, and largely depends on the scale of the experiment and the platform being used [17]. Consequently, costs can be comparable (or slightly lower) than traditional taxonomic methods.

How accurate is DNA barcoding?

But with current methods, many DNA barcodes have a reliability problem much worse than your corner grocer’s. They contain errors about 10 percent of the time, making interpreting data tricky and limiting the kinds of experiments that can be reliably done.

What are some important applications of plant DNA barcoding?

DNA barcoding has many applications in various fields like preserving natural resources, protecting endangered species, controlling agriculture pests, identifying disease vectors, monitoring water quality, authentication of natural health products and identification of medicinal plants.

What is cryptic DNA?

Cryptic genes are phenotypically silent DNA sequences, not normally expressed during the life cycle of an individual. They may, however, be activated in a few individuals of a large population by mutation, recombination, insertion elements, or other genetic mechanisms.

Can cryptic species interbreed?

Cryptic speciation is a biological process that results in a group of species (which, by definition, cannot interbreed) that contain individuals that are morpholigically identical to each other but belong to different species.

Who invented DNA barcoding?

Paul Hebert
DNA barcoding, or sequence-based specimen identification, was developed by Paul Hebert in 2003 to identify a broad range of taxa by sequencing a standardized short DNA fragment, the “DNA barcode” [1,2].

Is gel electrophoresis used in DNA barcoding?

Gel electrophoresis is used to check the quality of the DNA sample, in this case, DNA from pūkeko. The DNA fragments from PCR are cleaned to remove buffer salts or protein contaminants and then sequenced. This sequence produces a DNA barcode that is specific to the sample specimen.

How long does DNA barcoding take?

Barcoding can tell you in a matter of hours—which is how long it takes to sequence a DNA barcode in a well-equipped molecular biology lab—that two species that look exactly the same on the surface are substantially different on a genetic level.