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Sample records for coi barcode resolution

  1. Comparing COI and ITS as DNA barcode markers for mushrooms and allies (Agaricomycotina).

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    Dentinger, Bryn T M; Didukh, Maryna Y; Moncalvo, Jean-Marc

    2011-01-01

    DNA barcoding is an approach to rapidly identify species using short, standard genetic markers. The mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene (COI) has been proposed as the universal barcode locus, but its utility for barcoding in mushrooms (ca. 20,000 species) has not been established. We succeeded in generating 167 partial COI sequences (~450 bp) representing ~100 morphospecies from ~650 collections of Agaricomycotina using several sets of new primers. Large introns (~1500 bp) at variable locations were detected in ~5% of the sequences we obtained. We suspect that widespread presence of large introns is responsible for our low PCR success (~30%) with this locus. We also sequenced the nuclear internal transcribed spacer rDNA regions (ITS) to compare with COI. Among the small proportion of taxa for which COI could be sequenced, COI and ITS perform similarly as a barcode. However, in a densely sampled set of closely related taxa, COI was less divergent than ITS and failed to distinguish all terminal clades. Given our results and the wealth of ITS data already available in public databases, we recommend that COI be abandoned in favor of ITS as the primary DNA barcode locus in mushrooms.

  2. DNA Barcoding the Medusozoa using mtCOI

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    Ortman, Brian D.; Bucklin, Ann; Pagès, Francesc; Youngbluth, Marsh

    2010-12-01

    The Medusozoa are a clade within the Cnidaria comprising the classes Hydrozoa, Scyphozoa, and Cubozoa. Identification of medusozoan species is challenging, even for taxonomic experts, due to their fragile forms and complex, morphologically-distinct life history stages. In this study 231 sequences for a portion of the mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I (mtCOI) gene were obtained from 95 species of Medusozoans including; 84 hydrozoans (61 siphonophores, eight anthomedusae, four leptomedusae, seven trachymedusae, and four narcomedusae), 10 scyphozoans (three coronatae, four semaeostomae, two rhizostomae, and one stauromedusae), and one cubozoan. This region of mtCOI has been used as a DNA barcode (i.e., a molecular character for species recognition and discrimination) for a diverse array of taxa, including some Cnidaria. Kimura 2-parameter (K2P) genetic distances between sequence variants within species ranged from 0 to 0.057 (mean 0.013). Within the 13 genera for which multiple species were available, K2P distance between congeneric species ranged from 0.056 to 0.381. A cluster diagram generated by Neighbor Joining (NJ) using K2P distances reliably clustered all barcodes of the same species with ≥99% bootstrap support, ensuring accurate identification of species. Intra- and inter-specific variation of the mtCOI gene for the Medusozoa are appropriate for this gene to be used as a DNA barcode for species-level identification, but not for phylogenetic analysis or taxonomic classification of unknown sequences at higher taxonomic levels. This study provides a set of molecular tools that can be used to address questions of speciation, biodiversity, life-history, and population boundaries in the Medusozoa.

  3. [Identification of common medicinal snakes in medicated liquor of Guangdong by COI barcode sequence].

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    Liao, Jing; Chao, Zhi; Zhang, Liang

    2013-11-01

    To identify the common snakes in medicated liquor of Guangdong using COI barcode sequence,and to test the feasibility. The COI barcode sequences of collected medicinal snakes were amplified and sequenced. The sequences combined with the data from GenBank were analyzed for divergence and building a neighbor-joining(NJ) tree with MEGA 5.0. The genetic distance and NJ tree demonstrated that there were 241 variable sites in these species, and the average (A + T) content of 56.2% was higher than the average (G + C) content of 43.7%. The maximum interspecific genetic distance was 0.2568, and the minimum was 0. 1519. In the NJ tree,each species formed a monophyletic clade with bootstrap supports of 100%. DNA barcoding identification method based on the COI sequence is accurate and can be applied to identify the common medicinal snakes.

  4. Limitations of mitochondrial gene barcoding in Octocorallia.

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    McFadden, Catherine S; Benayahu, Yehuda; Pante, Eric; Thoma, Jana N; Nevarez, P Andrew; France, Scott C

    2011-01-01

    The widespread assumption that COI and other mitochondrial genes will be ineffective DNA barcodes for anthozoan cnidarians has not been well tested for most anthozoans other than scleractinian corals. Here we examine the limitations of mitochondrial gene barcoding in the sub-class Octocorallia, a large, diverse, and ecologically important group of anthozoans. Pairwise genetic distance values (uncorrected p) were compared for three candidate barcoding regions: the Folmer region of COI; a fragment of the octocoral-specific mitochondrial protein-coding gene, msh1; and an extended barcode of msh1 plus COI with a short, adjacent intergenic region (igr1). Intraspecific variation was barcodes, and there was no discernible barcoding gap between intra- and interspecific p values. In a case study to assess regional octocoral biodiversity, COI and msh1 barcodes each identified 70% of morphospecies. In a second case study, a nucleotide character-based analysis correctly identified 70% of species in the temperate genus Alcyonium. Although interspecific genetic distances were 2× greater for msh1 than COI, each marker identified similar numbers of species in the two case studies, and the extended COI + igr1 + msh1 barcode more effectively discriminated sister taxa in Alcyonium. Although far from perfect for species identification, a COI + igr1 + msh1 barcode nonetheless represents a valuable addition to the depauperate set of characters available for octocoral taxonomy. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  5. First large-scale DNA barcoding assessment of reptiles in the biodiversity hotspot of Madagascar, based on newly designed COI primers.

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    Nagy, Zoltán T; Sonet, Gontran; Glaw, Frank; Vences, Miguel

    2012-01-01

    DNA barcoding of non-avian reptiles based on the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene is still in a very early stage, mainly due to technical problems. Using a newly developed set of reptile-specific primers for COI we present the first comprehensive study targeting the entire reptile fauna of the fourth-largest island in the world, the biodiversity hotspot of Madagascar. Representatives of the majority of Madagascan non-avian reptile species (including Squamata and Testudines) were sampled and successfully DNA barcoded. The new primer pair achieved a constantly high success rate (72.7-100%) for most squamates. More than 250 species of reptiles (out of the 393 described ones; representing around 64% of the known diversity of species) were barcoded. The average interspecific genetic distance within families ranged from a low of 13.4% in the Boidae to a high of 29.8% in the Gekkonidae. Using the average genetic divergence between sister species as a threshold, 41-48 new candidate (undescribed) species were identified. Simulations were used to evaluate the performance of DNA barcoding as a function of completeness of taxon sampling and fragment length. Compared with available multi-gene phylogenies, DNA barcoding correctly assigned most samples to species, genus and family with high confidence and the analysis of fewer taxa resulted in an increased number of well supported lineages. Shorter marker-lengths generally decreased the number of well supported nodes, but even mini-barcodes of 100 bp correctly assigned many samples to genus and family. The new protocols might help to promote DNA barcoding of reptiles and the established library of reference DNA barcodes will facilitate the molecular identification of Madagascan reptiles. Our results might be useful to easily recognize undescribed diversity (i.e. novel taxa), to resolve taxonomic problems, and to monitor the international pet trade without specialized expert knowledge.

  6. First Large-Scale DNA Barcoding Assessment of Reptiles in the Biodiversity Hotspot of Madagascar, Based on Newly Designed COI Primers

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    Nagy, Zoltán T.; Sonet, Gontran; Glaw, Frank; Vences, Miguel

    2012-01-01

    Background DNA barcoding of non-avian reptiles based on the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene is still in a very early stage, mainly due to technical problems. Using a newly developed set of reptile-specific primers for COI we present the first comprehensive study targeting the entire reptile fauna of the fourth-largest island in the world, the biodiversity hotspot of Madagascar. Methodology/Principal Findings Representatives of the majority of Madagascan non-avian reptile species (including Squamata and Testudines) were sampled and successfully DNA barcoded. The new primer pair achieved a constantly high success rate (72.7–100%) for most squamates. More than 250 species of reptiles (out of the 393 described ones; representing around 64% of the known diversity of species) were barcoded. The average interspecific genetic distance within families ranged from a low of 13.4% in the Boidae to a high of 29.8% in the Gekkonidae. Using the average genetic divergence between sister species as a threshold, 41–48 new candidate (undescribed) species were identified. Simulations were used to evaluate the performance of DNA barcoding as a function of completeness of taxon sampling and fragment length. Compared with available multi-gene phylogenies, DNA barcoding correctly assigned most samples to species, genus and family with high confidence and the analysis of fewer taxa resulted in an increased number of well supported lineages. Shorter marker-lengths generally decreased the number of well supported nodes, but even mini-barcodes of 100 bp correctly assigned many samples to genus and family. Conclusions/Significance The new protocols might help to promote DNA barcoding of reptiles and the established library of reference DNA barcodes will facilitate the molecular identification of Madagascan reptiles. Our results might be useful to easily recognize undescribed diversity (i.e. novel taxa), to resolve taxonomic problems, and to monitor the international pet trade

  7. Our love-hate relationship with DNA barcodes, the Y2K problem, and the search for next generation barcodes

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    Jeffrey M. Marcus

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available DNA barcodes are very useful for species identification especially when identification by traditional morphological characters is difficult. However, the short mitochondrial and chloroplast barcodes currently in use often fail to distinguish between closely related species, are prone to lateral transfer, and provide inadequate phylogenetic resolution, particularly at deeper nodes. The deficiencies of short barcode identifiers are similar to the deficiencies of the short year identifiers that caused the Y2K problem in computer science. The resolution of the Y2K problem was to increase the size of the year identifiers. The performance of conventional mitochondrial COI barcodes for phylogenetics was compared with the performance of complete mitochondrial genomes and nuclear ribosomal RNA repeats obtained by genome skimming for a set of caddisfly taxa (Insect Order Trichoptera. The analysis focused on Trichoptera Family Hydropsychidae, the net-spinning caddisflies, which demonstrates many of the frustrating limitations of current barcodes. To conduct phylogenetic comparisons, complete mitochondrial genomes (15 kb each and nuclear ribosomal repeats (9 kb each from six caddisfly species were sequenced, assembled, and are reported for the first time. These sequences were analyzed in comparison with eight previously published trichopteran mitochondrial genomes and two triochopteran rRNA repeats, plus outgroup sequences from sister clade Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths. COI trees were not well-resolved, had low bootstrap support, and differed in topology from prior phylogenetic analyses of the Trichoptera. Phylogenetic trees based on mitochondrial genomes or rRNA repeats were well-resolved with high bootstrap support and were largely congruent with each other. Because they are easily sequenced by genome skimming, provide robust phylogenetic resolution at various phylogenetic depths, can better distinguish between closely related species, and (in the

  8. A DNA Barcode Library for Korean Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera) and Indexes for Defining Barcode Gap

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    Kim, Sungmin; Song, Kyo-Hong; Ree, Han-Il; Kim, Won

    2012-01-01

    Non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae) are a diverse population that commonly causes respiratory allergies in humans. Chironomid larvae can be used to indicate freshwater pollution, but accurate identification on the basis of morphological characteristics is difficult. In this study, we constructed a mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI)-based DNA barcode library for Korean chironomids. This library consists of 211 specimens from 49 species, including adults and unidentified larvae. The interspecies and intraspecies COI sequence variations were analyzed. Sophisticated indexes were developed in order to properly evaluate indistinct barcode gaps that are created by insufficient sampling on both the interspecies and intraspecies levels and by variable mutation rates across taxa. In a variety of insect datasets, these indexes were useful for re-evaluating large barcode datasets and for defining COI barcode gaps. The COI-based DNA barcode library will provide a rapid and reliable tool for the molecular identification of Korean chironomid species. Furthermore, this reverse-taxonomic approach will be improved by the continuous addition of other speceis’ sequences to the library. PMID:22138764

  9. Wolbachia and DNA barcoding insects: patterns, potential, and problems.

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    Smith, M Alex; Bertrand, Claudia; Crosby, Kate; Eveleigh, Eldon S; Fernandez-Triana, Jose; Fisher, Brian L; Gibbs, Jason; Hajibabaei, Mehrdad; Hallwachs, Winnie; Hind, Katharine; Hrcek, Jan; Huang, Da-Wei; Janda, Milan; Janzen, Daniel H; Li, Yanwei; Miller, Scott E; Packer, Laurence; Quicke, Donald; Ratnasingham, Sujeevan; Rodriguez, Josephine; Rougerie, Rodolphe; Shaw, Mark R; Sheffield, Cory; Stahlhut, Julie K; Steinke, Dirk; Whitfield, James; Wood, Monty; Zhou, Xin

    2012-01-01

    Wolbachia is a genus of bacterial endosymbionts that impacts the breeding systems of their hosts. Wolbachia can confuse the patterns of mitochondrial variation, including DNA barcodes, because it influences the pathways through which mitochondria are inherited. We examined the extent to which these endosymbionts are detected in routine DNA barcoding, assessed their impact upon the insect sequence divergence and identification accuracy, and considered the variation present in Wolbachia COI. Using both standard PCR assays (Wolbachia surface coding protein--wsp), and bacterial COI fragments we found evidence of Wolbachia in insect total genomic extracts created for DNA barcoding library construction. When >2 million insect COI trace files were examined on the Barcode of Life Datasystem (BOLD) Wolbachia COI was present in 0.16% of the cases. It is possible to generate Wolbachia COI using standard insect primers; however, that amplicon was never confused with the COI of the host. Wolbachia alleles recovered were predominantly Supergroup A and were broadly distributed geographically and phylogenetically. We conclude that the presence of the Wolbachia DNA in total genomic extracts made from insects is unlikely to compromise the accuracy of the DNA barcode library; in fact, the ability to query this DNA library (the database and the extracts) for endosymbionts is one of the ancillary benefits of such a large scale endeavor--which we provide several examples. It is our conclusion that regular assays for Wolbachia presence and type can, and should, be adopted by large scale insect barcoding initiatives. While COI is one of the five multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) genes used for categorizing Wolbachia, there is limited overlap with the eukaryotic DNA barcode region.

  10. DNA barcoding commercially important aquatic invertebrates of Turkey.

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    Keskin, Emre; Atar, Hasan Hüseyin

    2013-08-01

    DNA barcoding was used in order to identify aquatic invertebrates sampled from fisheries bycatch and discards. A total of 440 unique cytochrome c oxidase sub unit I (COI) barcodes were generated for 22 species from three important phyla (Arthropoda, Cnidaria, and Mollusca). All the species were sequenced and submitted to GenBank and Barcode of Life Database (BOLD) databases using 654 bp-long fragment of mitochondrial COI gene. Two of them (Pontastacus leptodactylus and Rapana bezoar) were first records of the species for the BOLD database and six of them (Carcinus aestuarii, Loligo vulgaris, Melicertus kerathurus, Nephrops norvegicus, Scyllarides latus, and Scyllarus arctus) were first standard (>648 bp) COI barcode records for the GenBank database. COI barcodes were analyzed for nucleotide composition, nucleotide pair frequencies, and Kimura's two-parameter genetic distance. Mean genetic distance among species was found increasing at higher taxonomic levels. Neighbor-joining trees generated were congruent with morphometric-based taxonomic classification. Findings of this study clearly demonstrate that DNA barcodes could be used as an efficient molecular tool in identification of not only target species from fisheries but also bycatch and discard species, and so it could provide us leverage for a better understanding in monitoring and management of fisheries and biodiversity.

  11. Molecular species identification of Central European ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae using nuclear rDNA expansion segments and DNA barcodes

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    Raupach Michael J

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The identification of vast numbers of unknown organisms using DNA sequences becomes more and more important in ecological and biodiversity studies. In this context, a fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI gene has been proposed as standard DNA barcoding marker for the identification of organisms. Limitations of the COI barcoding approach can arise from its single-locus identification system, the effect of introgression events, incomplete lineage sorting, numts, heteroplasmy and maternal inheritance of intracellular endosymbionts. Consequently, the analysis of a supplementary nuclear marker system could be advantageous. Results We tested the effectiveness of the COI barcoding region and of three nuclear ribosomal expansion segments in discriminating ground beetles of Central Europe, a diverse and well-studied invertebrate taxon. As nuclear markers we determined the 18S rDNA: V4, 18S rDNA: V7 and 28S rDNA: D3 expansion segments for 344 specimens of 75 species. Seventy-three species (97% of the analysed species could be accurately identified using COI, while the combined approach of all three nuclear markers provided resolution among 71 (95% of the studied Carabidae. Conclusion Our results confirm that the analysed nuclear ribosomal expansion segments in combination constitute a valuable and efficient supplement for classical DNA barcoding to avoid potential pitfalls when only mitochondrial data are being used. We also demonstrate the high potential of COI barcodes for the identification of even closely related carabid species.

  12. Molecular species identification of Central European ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) using nuclear rDNA expansion segments and DNA barcodes.

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    Raupach, Michael J; Astrin, Jonas J; Hannig, Karsten; Peters, Marcell K; Stoeckle, Mark Y; Wägele, Johann-Wolfgang

    2010-09-13

    The identification of vast numbers of unknown organisms using DNA sequences becomes more and more important in ecological and biodiversity studies. In this context, a fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene has been proposed as standard DNA barcoding marker for the identification of organisms. Limitations of the COI barcoding approach can arise from its single-locus identification system, the effect of introgression events, incomplete lineage sorting, numts, heteroplasmy and maternal inheritance of intracellular endosymbionts. Consequently, the analysis of a supplementary nuclear marker system could be advantageous. We tested the effectiveness of the COI barcoding region and of three nuclear ribosomal expansion segments in discriminating ground beetles of Central Europe, a diverse and well-studied invertebrate taxon. As nuclear markers we determined the 18S rDNA: V4, 18S rDNA: V7 and 28S rDNA: D3 expansion segments for 344 specimens of 75 species. Seventy-three species (97%) of the analysed species could be accurately identified using COI, while the combined approach of all three nuclear markers provided resolution among 71 (95%) of the studied Carabidae. Our results confirm that the analysed nuclear ribosomal expansion segments in combination constitute a valuable and efficient supplement for classical DNA barcoding to avoid potential pitfalls when only mitochondrial data are being used. We also demonstrate the high potential of COI barcodes for the identification of even closely related carabid species.

  13. Identification of scleractinian coral recruits using fluorescent censusing and DNA barcoding techniques.

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    Chia-Min Hsu

    Full Text Available The identification of coral recruits has been problematic due to a lack of definitive morphological characters being available for higher taxonomic resolution. In this study, we tested whether fluorescent detection of coral recruits used in combinations of different DNA-barcoding markers (cytochrome oxidase I gene [COI], open reading frame [ORF], and nuclear Pax-C intron [PaxC] could be useful for increasing the resolution of coral spat identification in ecological studies. One hundred and fifty settlement plates were emplaced at nine sites on the fringing reefs of Kenting National Park in southern Taiwan between April 2011 and September 2012. A total of 248 living coral spats and juveniles (with basal areas ranging from 0.21 to 134.57 mm(2 were detected on the plates with the aid of fluorescent light and collected for molecular analyses. Using the COI DNA barcoding technique, 90.3% (224/248 of coral spats were successfully identified into six genera, including Acropora, Isopora, Montipora, Pocillopora, Porites, and Pavona. PaxC further separated I. cuneata and I. palifera of Isopora from Acropora, and ORF successfully identified the species of Pocillopora (except P. meandrina and P. eydouxi. Moreover, other cnidarian species such as actinarians, zoanthids, and Millepora species were visually found using fluorescence and identified by COI DNA barcoding. This combination of existing approaches greatly improved the taxonomic resolution of early coral life stages, which to date has been mainly limited to the family level based on skeletal identification. Overall, this study suggests important improvements for the identification of coral recruits in ecological studies.

  14. Identification of scleractinian coral recruits using fluorescent censusing and DNA barcoding techniques.

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    Hsu, Chia-Min; de Palmas, Stéphane; Kuo, Chao-Yang; Denis, Vianney; Chen, Chaolun Allen

    2014-01-01

    The identification of coral recruits has been problematic due to a lack of definitive morphological characters being available for higher taxonomic resolution. In this study, we tested whether fluorescent detection of coral recruits used in combinations of different DNA-barcoding markers (cytochrome oxidase I gene [COI], open reading frame [ORF], and nuclear Pax-C intron [PaxC]) could be useful for increasing the resolution of coral spat identification in ecological studies. One hundred and fifty settlement plates were emplaced at nine sites on the fringing reefs of Kenting National Park in southern Taiwan between April 2011 and September 2012. A total of 248 living coral spats and juveniles (with basal areas ranging from 0.21 to 134.57 mm(2)) were detected on the plates with the aid of fluorescent light and collected for molecular analyses. Using the COI DNA barcoding technique, 90.3% (224/248) of coral spats were successfully identified into six genera, including Acropora, Isopora, Montipora, Pocillopora, Porites, and Pavona. PaxC further separated I. cuneata and I. palifera of Isopora from Acropora, and ORF successfully identified the species of Pocillopora (except P. meandrina and P. eydouxi). Moreover, other cnidarian species such as actinarians, zoanthids, and Millepora species were visually found using fluorescence and identified by COI DNA barcoding. This combination of existing approaches greatly improved the taxonomic resolution of early coral life stages, which to date has been mainly limited to the family level based on skeletal identification. Overall, this study suggests important improvements for the identification of coral recruits in ecological studies.

  15. DNA barcoding and evaluation of genetic diversity in Cyprinidae fish in the midstream of the Yangtze River.

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    Shen, Yanjun; Guan, Lihong; Wang, Dengqiang; Gan, Xiaoni

    2016-05-01

    The Yangtze River is the longest river in China and is divided into upstream and mid-downstream regions by the Three Gorges (the natural barriers of the Yangtze River), resulting in a complex distribution of fish. Dramatic changes to habitat environments may ultimately threaten fish survival; thus, it is necessary to evaluate the genetic diversity and propose protective measures. Species identification is the most significant task in many fields of biological research and in conservation efforts. DNA barcoding, which constitutes the analysis of a short fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequence, has been widely used for species identification. In this study, we collected 561 COI barcode sequences from 35 fish from the midstream of the Yangtze River. The intraspecific distances of all species were below 2% (with the exception of Acheilognathus macropterus and Hemibarbus maculatus). Nevertheless, all species could be unambiguously identified from the trees, barcoding gaps and taxonomic resolution ratio values. Furthermore, the COI barcode diversity was found to be low (≤0.5%), with the exception of H. maculatus (0.87%), A. macropterus (2.02%) and Saurogobio dabryi (0.82%). No or few shared haplotypes were detected between the upstream and downstream populations for ten species with overall nucleotide diversities greater than 0.00%, which indicated the likelihood of significant population genetic structuring. Our analyses indicated that DNA barcoding is an effective tool for the identification of cyprinidae fish in the midstream of the Yangtze River. It is vital that some protective measures be taken immediately because of the low COI barcode diversity.

  16. DNA barcoding of Dutch birds

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    Mansour Aliabadian

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The mitochondrial cytochrome c-oxidase subunit I (COI can serve as a fast and accurate marker for the identification of animal species, and has been applied in a number of studies on birds. We here sequenced the COI gene for 387 individuals of 147 species of birds from the Netherlands, with 83 species being represented by >2 sequences. The Netherlands occupies a small geographic area and 95% of all samples were collected within a 50 km radius from one another. The intraspecific divergences averaged 0.29% among this assemblage, but most values were lower; the interspecific divergences averaged 9.54%. In all, 95% of species were represented by a unique barcode, with 6 species of gulls and skua (Larus and Stercorariusat least one shared barcode. This is best explained by these species representing recent radiations with ongoing hybridization. In contrast, one species, the Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curruca showed deep divergences, averaging 5.76% and up to 8.68% between individuals. These possibly represent two distinct taxa, S. curruca and S. blythi, both clearly separated in a haplotype network analysis. Our study adds to a growing body of DNA barcodes that have become available for birds, and shows that a DNA barcoding approach enables to identify known Dutch bird species with a very high resolution. In addition some species were flagged up for further detailed taxonomic investigation, illustrating that even in ornithologically well-known areas such as the Netherlands, more is to be learned about the birds that are present.

  17. Bridging two scholarly islands enriches both: COI DNA barcodes for species identification versus human mitochondrial variation for the study of migrations and pathologies.

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    Thaler, David S; Stoeckle, Mark Y

    2016-10-01

    DNA barcodes for species identification and the analysis of human mitochondrial variation have developed as independent fields even though both are based on sequences from animal mitochondria. This study finds questions within each field that can be addressed by reference to the other. DNA barcodes are based on a 648-bp segment of the mitochondrially encoded cytochrome oxidase I. From most species, this segment is the only sequence available. It is impossible to know whether it fairly represents overall mitochondrial variation. For modern humans, the entire mitochondrial genome is available from thousands of healthy individuals. SNPs in the human mitochondrial genome are evenly distributed across all protein-encoding regions arguing that COI DNA barcode is representative. Barcode variation among related species is largely based on synonymous codons. Data on human mitochondrial variation support the interpretation that most - possibly all - synonymous substitutions in mitochondria are selectively neutral. DNA barcodes confirm reports of a low variance in modern humans compared to nonhuman primates. In addition, DNA barcodes allow the comparison of modern human variance to many other extant animal species. Birds are a well-curated group in which DNA barcodes are coupled with census and geographic data. Putting modern human variation in the context of intraspecies variation among birds shows humans to be a single breeding population of average variance.

  18. Cytochrome c oxidase I primers for corbiculate bees: DNA barcode and mini-barcode.

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    Françoso, E; Arias, M C

    2013-09-01

    Bees (Apidae), of which there are more than 19 900 species, are extremely important for ecosystem services and economic purposes, so taxon identity is a major concern. The goal of this study was to optimize the DNA barcode technique based on the Cytochrome c oxidase (COI) mitochondrial gene region. This approach has previously been shown to be useful in resolving taxonomic inconsistencies and for species identification when morphological data are poor. Specifically, we designed and tested new primers and standardized PCR conditions to amplify the barcode region for bees, focusing on the corbiculate Apids. In addition, primers were designed to amplify small COI amplicons and tested with pinned specimens. Short barcode sequences were easily obtained for some Bombus century-old museum specimens and shown to be useful as mini-barcodes. The new primers and PCR conditions established in this study proved to be successful for the amplification of the barcode region for all species tested, regardless of the conditions of tissue preservation. We saw no evidence of Wolbachia or numts amplification by these primers, and so we suggest that these new primers are of broad value for corbiculate bee identification through DNA barcode. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. DNA barcodes identify Central Asian Colias butterflies (Lepidoptera, Pieridae).

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    Laiho, Juha; Ståhls, Gunilla

    2013-12-30

    A majority of the known Colias species (Lepidoptera: Pieridae, Coliadinae) occur in the mountainous regions of Central-Asia, vast areas that are hard to access, rendering the knowledge of many species limited due to the lack of extensive sampling. Two gene regions, the mitochondrial COI 'barcode' region and the nuclear ribosomal protein RpS2 gene region were used for exploring the utility of these DNA markers for species identification. A comprehensive sampling of COI barcodes for Central Asian Colias butterflies showed that the barcodes facilitated identification of most of the included species. Phylogenetic reconstruction based on parsimony and Neighbour-Joining recovered most species as monophyletic entities. For the RpS2 gene region species-specific sequences were registered for some of the included Colias spp. Nevertheless, this gene region was not deemed useful as additional molecular 'barcode'. A parsimony analysis of the combined COI and RpS2 data did not support the current subgeneric classification based on morphological characteristics.

  20. Evaluation of the efficacy of twelve mitochondrial protein-coding genes as barcodes for mollusk DNA barcoding.

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    Yu, Hong; Kong, Lingfeng; Li, Qi

    2016-01-01

    In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of 12 mitochondrial protein-coding genes from 238 mitochondrial genomes of 140 molluscan species as potential DNA barcodes for mollusks. Three barcoding methods (distance, monophyly and character-based methods) were used in species identification. The species recovery rates based on genetic distances for the 12 genes ranged from 70.83 to 83.33%. There were no significant differences in intra- or interspecific variability among the 12 genes. The monophyly and character-based methods provided higher resolution than the distance-based method in species delimitation. Especially in closely related taxa, the character-based method showed some advantages. The results suggested that besides the standard COI barcode, other 11 mitochondrial protein-coding genes could also be potentially used as a molecular diagnostic for molluscan species discrimination. Our results also showed that the combination of mitochondrial genes did not enhance the efficacy for species identification and a single mitochondrial gene would be fully competent.

  1. DNA barcoding and the identification of tree frogs (Amphibia: Anura: Rhacophoridae).

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    Dang, Ning-Xin; Sun, Feng-Hui; Lv, Yun-Yun; Zhao, Bo-Han; Wang, Ji-Chao; Murphy, Robert W; Wang, Wen-Zhi; Li, Jia-Tang

    2016-07-01

    The DNA barcoding gene COI (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) effectively identifies many species. Herein, we barcoded 172 individuals from 37 species belonging to nine genera in Rhacophoridae to test if the gene serves equally well to identify species of tree frogs. Phenetic neighbor joining and phylogenetic Bayesian inference were used to construct phylogenetic trees, which resolved all nine genera as monophyletic taxa except for Rhacophorus, two new matrilines for Liuixalus, and Polypedates leucomystax species complex. Intraspecific genetic distances ranged from 0.000 to 0.119 and interspecific genetic distances ranged from 0.015 to 0.334. Within Rhacophorus and Kurixalus, the intra- and interspecific genetic distances did not reveal an obvious barcode gap. Notwithstanding, we found that COI sequences unambiguously identified rhacophorid species and helped to discover likely new cryptic species via the synthesis of genealogical relationships and divergence patterns. Our results supported that COI is an effective DNA barcoding marker for Rhacophoridae.

  2. Morphological identification and COI barcodes of adult flies help determine species identities of chironomid larvae (Diptera, Chironomidae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Failla, A J; Vasquez, A A; Hudson, P; Fujimoto, M; Ram, J L

    2016-02-01

    Establishing reliable methods for the identification of benthic chironomid communities is important due to their significant contribution to biomass, ecology and the aquatic food web. Immature larval specimens are more difficult to identify to species level by traditional morphological methods than their fully developed adult counterparts, and few keys are available to identify the larval species. In order to develop molecular criteria to identify species of chironomid larvae, larval and adult chironomids from Western Lake Erie were subjected to both molecular and morphological taxonomic analysis. Mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) barcode sequences of 33 adults that were identified to species level by morphological methods were grouped with COI sequences of 189 larvae in a neighbor-joining taxon-ID tree. Most of these larvae could be identified only to genus level by morphological taxonomy (only 22 of the 189 sequenced larvae could be identified to species level). The taxon-ID tree of larval sequences had 45 operational taxonomic units (OTUs, defined as clusters with >97% identity or individual sequences differing from nearest neighbors by >3%; supported by analysis of all larval pairwise differences), of which seven could be identified to species or 'species group' level by larval morphology. Reference sequences from the GenBank and BOLD databases assigned six larval OTUs with presumptive species level identifications and confirmed one previously assigned species level identification. Sequences from morphologically identified adults in the present study grouped with and further classified the identity of 13 larval OTUs. The use of morphological identification and subsequent DNA barcoding of adult chironomids proved to be beneficial in revealing possible species level identifications of larval specimens. Sequence data from this study also contribute to currently inadequate public databases relevant to the Great Lakes region, while the neighbor

  3. DNA barcoding for species assignment: the case of Mediterranean marine fishes.

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    Monica Landi

    Full Text Available DNA barcoding enhances the prospects for species-level identifications globally using a standardized and authenticated DNA-based approach. Reference libraries comprising validated DNA barcodes (COI constitute robust datasets for testing query sequences, providing considerable utility to identify marine fish and other organisms. Here we test the feasibility of using DNA barcoding to assign species to tissue samples from fish collected in the central Mediterranean Sea, a major contributor to the European marine ichthyofaunal diversity.A dataset of 1278 DNA barcodes, representing 218 marine fish species, was used to test the utility of DNA barcodes to assign species from query sequences. We tested query sequences against 1 a reference library of ranked DNA barcodes from the neighbouring North East Atlantic, and 2 the public databases BOLD and GenBank. In the first case, a reference library comprising DNA barcodes with reliability grades for 146 fish species was used as diagnostic dataset to screen 486 query DNA sequences from fish specimens collected in the central basin of the Mediterranean Sea. Of all query sequences suitable for comparisons 98% were unambiguously confirmed through complete match with reference DNA barcodes. In the second case, it was possible to assign species to 83% (BOLD-IDS and 72% (GenBank of the sequences from the Mediterranean. Relatively high intraspecific genetic distances were found in 7 species (2.2%-18.74%, most of them of high commercial relevance, suggesting possible cryptic species.We emphasize the discriminatory power of COI barcodes and their application to cases requiring species level resolution starting from query sequences. Results highlight the value of public reference libraries of reliability grade-annotated DNA barcodes, to identify species from different geographical origins. The ability to assign species with high precision from DNA samples of disparate quality and origin has major utility in several

  4. Environmental barcoding reveals massive dinoflagellate diversity in marine environments.

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    Rowena F Stern

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Dinoflagellates are an ecologically important group of protists with important functions as primary producers, coral symbionts and in toxic red tides. Although widely studied, the natural diversity of dinoflagellates is not well known. DNA barcoding has been utilized successfully for many protist groups. We used this approach to systematically sample known "species", as a reference to measure the natural diversity in three marine environments.In this study, we assembled a large cytochrome c oxidase 1 (COI barcode database from 8 public algal culture collections plus 3 private collections worldwide resulting in 336 individual barcodes linked to specific cultures. We demonstrate that COI can identify to the species level in 15 dinoflagellate genera, generally in agreement with existing species names. Exceptions were found in species belonging to genera that were generally already known to be taxonomically challenging, such as Alexandrium or Symbiodinium. Using this barcode database as a baseline for cultured dinoflagellate diversity, we investigated the natural diversity in three diverse marine environments (Northeast Pacific, Northwest Atlantic, and Caribbean, including an evaluation of single-cell barcoding to identify uncultivated groups. From all three environments, the great majority of barcodes were not represented by any known cultured dinoflagellate, and we also observed an explosion in the diversity of genera that previously contained a modest number of known species, belonging to Kareniaceae. In total, 91.5% of non-identical environmental barcodes represent distinct species, but only 51 out of 603 unique environmental barcodes could be linked to cultured species using a conservative cut-off based on distances between cultured species.COI barcoding was successful in identifying species from 70% of cultured genera. When applied to environmental samples, it revealed a massive amount of natural diversity in dinoflagellates. This highlights

  5. Profiling nematode communities in unmanaged flowerbed and agricultural field soils in Japan by DNA barcode sequencing.

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    Hisashi Morise

    Full Text Available Soil nematodes play crucial roles in the soil food web and are a suitable indicator for assessing soil environments and ecosystems. Previous nematode community analyses based on nematode morphology classification have been shown to be useful for assessing various soil environments. Here we have conducted DNA barcode analysis for soil nematode community analyses in Japanese soils. We isolated nematodes from two different environmental soils of an unmanaged flowerbed and an agricultural field using the improved flotation-sieving method. Small subunit (SSU rDNA fragments were directly amplified from each of 68 (flowerbed samples and 48 (field samples isolated nematodes to determine the nucleotide sequence. Sixteen and thirteen operational taxonomic units (OTUs were obtained by multiple sequence alignment from the flowerbed and agricultural field nematodes, respectively. All 29 SSU rDNA-derived OTUs (rOTUs were further mapped onto a phylogenetic tree with 107 known nematode species. Interestingly, the two nematode communities examined were clearly distinct from each other in terms of trophic groups: Animal predators and plant feeders were markedly abundant in the flowerbed soils, in contrast, bacterial feeders were dominantly observed in the agricultural field soils. The data from the flowerbed nematodes suggests a possible food web among two different trophic nematode groups and plants (weeds in the closed soil environment. Finally, DNA sequences derived from the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase c subunit 1 (COI gene were determined as a DNA barcode from 43 agricultural field soil nematodes. These nematodes were assigned to 13 rDNA-derived OTUs, but in the COI gene analysis were assigned to 23 COI gene-derived OTUs (cOTUs, indicating that COI gene-based barcoding may provide higher taxonomic resolution than conventional SSU rDNA-barcoding in soil nematode community analysis.

  6. Profiling Nematode Communities in Unmanaged Flowerbed and Agricultural Field Soils in Japan by DNA Barcode Sequencing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morise, Hisashi; Miyazaki, Erika; Yoshimitsu, Shoko; Eki, Toshihiko

    2012-01-01

    Soil nematodes play crucial roles in the soil food web and are a suitable indicator for assessing soil environments and ecosystems. Previous nematode community analyses based on nematode morphology classification have been shown to be useful for assessing various soil environments. Here we have conducted DNA barcode analysis for soil nematode community analyses in Japanese soils. We isolated nematodes from two different environmental soils of an unmanaged flowerbed and an agricultural field using the improved flotation-sieving method. Small subunit (SSU) rDNA fragments were directly amplified from each of 68 (flowerbed samples) and 48 (field samples) isolated nematodes to determine the nucleotide sequence. Sixteen and thirteen operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were obtained by multiple sequence alignment from the flowerbed and agricultural field nematodes, respectively. All 29 SSU rDNA-derived OTUs (rOTUs) were further mapped onto a phylogenetic tree with 107 known nematode species. Interestingly, the two nematode communities examined were clearly distinct from each other in terms of trophic groups: Animal predators and plant feeders were markedly abundant in the flowerbed soils, in contrast, bacterial feeders were dominantly observed in the agricultural field soils. The data from the flowerbed nematodes suggests a possible food web among two different trophic nematode groups and plants (weeds) in the closed soil environment. Finally, DNA sequences derived from the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase c subunit 1 (COI) gene were determined as a DNA barcode from 43 agricultural field soil nematodes. These nematodes were assigned to 13 rDNA-derived OTUs, but in the COI gene analysis were assigned to 23 COI gene-derived OTUs (cOTUs), indicating that COI gene-based barcoding may provide higher taxonomic resolution than conventional SSU rDNA-barcoding in soil nematode community analysis. PMID:23284767

  7. DNA barcoding of odonates from the Upper Plata basin: Database creation and genetic diversity estimation.

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    Ricardo Koroiva

    Full Text Available We present a DNA barcoding study of Neotropical odonates from the Upper Plata basin, Brazil. A total of 38 species were collected in a transition region of "Cerrado" and Atlantic Forest, both regarded as biological hotspots, and 130 cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI barcodes were generated for the collected specimens. The distinct gap between intraspecific (0-2% and interspecific variation (15% and above in COI, and resulting separation of Barcode Index Numbers (BIN, allowed for successful identification of specimens in 94% of cases. The 6% fail rate was due to a shared BIN between two separate nominal species. DNA barcoding, based on COI, thus seems to be a reliable and efficient tool for identifying Neotropical odonate specimens down to the species level. These results underscore the utility of DNA barcoding to aid specimen identification in diverse biological hotspots, areas that require urgent action regarding taxonomic surveys and biodiversity conservation.

  8. DNA barcoding and phylogeny of Calidris and Tringa (Aves: Scolopacidae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Zuhao; Tu, Feiyun

    2017-07-01

    The avian genera Calidris and Tringa are the largest of the widespread family of Scolopacidae. The phylogeny of members of the two genera is still a matter of controversial. Mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) can serve as a fast and accurate marker for the identification and phylogeny of animal species. In this study, we analyzed the COI barcodes of thirty-one species of the two genera. All the species had distinct COI sequences. Two hundred and twenty-one variable sites were identified. Kimura two-parameter distances were calculated between barcodes. Neighbor-joining and maximum likelihood methods were used to construct phylogenetic trees. All the species could be discriminated by their distinct clades in the phylogenetic trees. The phylogenetic trees grouped all the species of Calidris and Tringa into different monophyletic clade, respectively. COI data showed a well-supported phylogeny for Calidris and Tringa species.

  9. DNA Barcodes for Nearctic Auchenorrhyncha (Insecta: Hemiptera)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foottit, Robert G.; Maw, Eric; Hebert, P. D. N.

    2014-01-01

    Background Many studies have shown the suitability of sequence variation in the 5′ region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene as a DNA barcode for the identification of species in a wide range of animal groups. We examined 471 species in 147 genera of Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha drawn from specimens in the Canadian National Collection of Insects to assess the effectiveness of DNA barcoding in this group. Methodology/Principal Findings Analysis of the COI gene revealed less than 2% intra-specific divergence in 93% of the taxa examined, while minimum interspecific distances exceeded 2% in 70% of congeneric species pairs. Although most species are characterized by a distinct sequence cluster, sequences for members of many groups of closely related species either shared sequences or showed close similarity, with 25% of species separated from their nearest neighbor by less than 1%. Conclusions/Significance This study, although preliminary, provides DNA barcodes for about 8% of the species of this hemipteran suborder found in North America north of Mexico. Barcodes can enable the identification of many species of Auchenorrhyncha, but members of some species groups cannot be discriminated. Future use of DNA barcodes in regulatory, pest management, and environmental applications will be possible as the barcode library for Auchenorrhyncha expands to include more species and broader geographic coverage. PMID:25004106

  10. Identifying Fishes through DNA Barcodes and Microarrays.

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    Marc Kochzius

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available International fish trade reached an import value of 62.8 billion Euro in 2006, of which 44.6% are covered by the European Union. Species identification is a key problem throughout the life cycle of fishes: from eggs and larvae to adults in fisheries research and control, as well as processed fish products in consumer protection.This study aims to evaluate the applicability of the three mitochondrial genes 16S rRNA (16S, cytochrome b (cyt b, and cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI for the identification of 50 European marine fish species by combining techniques of "DNA barcoding" and microarrays. In a DNA barcoding approach, neighbour Joining (NJ phylogenetic trees of 369 16S, 212 cyt b, and 447 COI sequences indicated that cyt b and COI are suitable for unambiguous identification, whereas 16S failed to discriminate closely related flatfish and gurnard species. In course of probe design for DNA microarray development, each of the markers yielded a high number of potentially species-specific probes in silico, although many of them were rejected based on microarray hybridisation experiments. None of the markers provided probes to discriminate the sibling flatfish and gurnard species. However, since 16S-probes were less negatively influenced by the "position of label" effect and showed the lowest rejection rate and the highest mean signal intensity, 16S is more suitable for DNA microarray probe design than cty b and COI. The large portion of rejected COI-probes after hybridisation experiments (>90% renders the DNA barcoding marker as rather unsuitable for this high-throughput technology.Based on these data, a DNA microarray containing 64 functional oligonucleotide probes for the identification of 30 out of the 50 fish species investigated was developed. It represents the next step towards an automated and easy-to-handle method to identify fish, ichthyoplankton, and fish products.

  11. DNA barcoding commercially important fish species of Turkey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keskın, Emre; Atar, Hasan H

    2013-09-01

    DNA barcoding was used in the identification of 89 commercially important freshwater and marine fish species found in Turkish ichthyofauna. A total of 1765 DNA barcodes using a 654-bp-long fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene were generated for 89 commercially important freshwater and marine fish species found in Turkish ichthyofauna. These species belong to 70 genera, 40 families and 19 orders from class Actinopterygii, and all were associated with a distinct DNA barcode. Nine and 12 of the COI barcode clusters represent the first species records submitted to the BOLD and GenBank databases, respectively. All COI barcodes (except sequences of first species records) were matched with reference sequences of expected species, according to morphological identification. Average nucleotide frequencies of the data set were calculated as T = 29.7%, C = 28.2%, A = 23.6% and G = 18.6%. Average pairwise genetic distance among individuals were estimated as 0.32%, 9.62%, 17,90% and 22.40% for conspecific, congeneric, confamilial and within order, respectively. Kimura 2-parameter genetic distance values were found to increase with taxonomic level. For most of the species analysed in our data set, there is a barcoding gap, and an overlap in the barcoding gap exists for only two genera. Neighbour-joining trees were drawn based on DNA barcodes and all the specimens clustered in agreement with their taxonomic classification at species level. Results of this study supported DNA barcoding as an efficient molecular tool for a better monitoring, conservation and management of fisheries. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. DNA barcoding as a screening tool for cryptic diversity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Huemer, Peter; Karsholt, Ole; Mutanen, Marko

    2014-01-01

    We explore the potential value of DNA barcode divergence for species delimitation in the genus Caryocolum Gregor & Povolný, 1954 (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae), based on data from 44 European species (including 4 subspecies). Low intraspecific divergence of the DNA barcodes of the mtCOI (cytochrome c...... oxidase 1) gene and/or distinct barcode gaps to the nearest neighbor support species status for all examined nominal taxa. However, in 8 taxa we observed deep splits with a maximum intraspecific barcode divergence beyond a threshold of 3%, thus indicating possible cryptic diversity. The taxonomy...

  13. Applications of three DNA barcodes in assorting intertidal red macroalgal flora in Qingdao, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Xiaobo; Pang, Shaojun; Shan, Tifeng; Liu, Feng

    2013-03-01

    This study is part of the endeavor to construct a comprehensive DNA barcoding database for common seaweeds in China. Identifications of red seaweeds, which have simple morphology and anatomy, are sometimes difficult solely depending on morphological characteristics. In recent years, DNA barcode technique has become a more and more effective tool to help solve some of the taxonomic difficulties. Some DNA markers such as COI (cytochrome oxidase subunit I) are proposed as standardized DNA barcodes for all seaweed species. In this study, COI, UPA (universal plastid amplicon, domain V of 23S rRNA), and ITS (nuclear internal transcribed spacer) were employed to analyze common species of intertidal red seaweeds in Qingdao (119.3°-121°E, 35.35°-37.09°N). The applicability of using one or a few combined barcodes to identify red seaweed species was tested. The results indicated that COI is a sensitive marker at species level. However, not all the tested species gave PCR amplification products due to lack of the universal primers. The second barcode UPA had effective universal primers but needed to be tested for the effectiveness of resolving closely related species. More than one ITS sequence types were found in some species in this investigation, which might lead to confusion in further analysis. Therefore ITS sequence is not recommended as a universal barcode for seaweeds identification.

  14. Unusually high genetic diversity in COI sequences of Chimarra obscura (Trichoptera: Philopotamidae)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chimarra obscura (Walker 1852) is a philopotamid caddisfly found throughout much of North America. Using the COI DNA barcode locus, we have found unexpectedly high amounts of genetic diversity and distances within C. obscura. Of the approximately 150 specimens sampled, we have fo...

  15. DNA barcode of Chaetognatha from Indian waters

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Nair, V.R.; Kidangan, F.X.; Prabhu, R.G.; Bucklin, A.; Nair, S.

    Chaetognatha are the second most abundant zooplankton group in the Indian waters Precise identification of the species is critical for biogeographical studies DNA barcodes using mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase (COI) of seven dominant...

  16. DNA barcoding amphibians and reptiles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vences, Miguel; Nagy, Zoltán T; Sonet, Gontran; Verheyen, Erik

    2012-01-01

    Only a few major research programs are currently targeting COI barcoding of amphibians and reptiles (including chelonians and crocodiles), two major groups of tetrapods. Amphibian and reptile species are typically old, strongly divergent, and contain deep conspecific lineages which might lead to problems in species assignment with incomplete reference databases. As far as known, there is no single pair of COI primers that will guarantee a sufficient rate of success across all amphibian and reptile taxa, or within major subclades of amphibians and reptiles, which means that the PCR amplification strategy needs to be adjusted depending on the specific research question. In general, many more amphibian and reptile taxa have been sequenced for 16S rDNA, which for some purposes may be a suitable complementary marker, at least until a more comprehensive COI reference database becomes available. DNA barcoding has successfully been used to identify amphibian larval stages (tadpoles) in species-rich tropical assemblages. Tissue sampling, DNA extraction, and amplification of COI is straightforward in amphibians and reptiles. Single primer pairs are likely to have a failure rate between 5 and 50% if taxa of a wide taxonomic range are targeted; in such cases the use of primer cocktails or subsequent hierarchical usage of different primer pairs is necessary. If the target group is taxonomically limited, many studies have followed a strategy of designing specific primers which then allow an easy and reliable amplification of all samples.

  17. DNA barcoding of the vegetable leafminer Liriomyza sativae Blanchard (Diptera: Agromyzidae) in Bangladesh

    Science.gov (United States)

    DNA barcoding revealed the presence of the polyphagous leafminer pest Liriomyza sativae Blanchard in Bangladesh. DNA barcode sequences for mitochondrial COI were generated for Agromyzidae larvae, pupae and adults collected from field populations across Bangladesh. BLAST sequence similarity searches ...

  18. Geographically widespread swordfish barcode stock identification: a case study of its application.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Maria Pappalardo

    Full Text Available The swordfish (Xiphias gladius is a cosmopolitan large pelagic fish inhabiting tempered and tropical waters and it is a target species for fisheries all around the world. The present study investigated the ability of COI barcoding to reliably identify swordfish and particularly specific stocks of this commercially important species.We applied the classical DNA barcoding technology, upon a 682 bp segment of COI, and compared swordfish sequences from different geographical sources (Atlantic, Indian Oceans and Mediterranean Sea. The sequences of the 5' hyper-variable fragment of the control region (5'dloop, were also used to validate the efficacy of COI as a stock-specific marker.This information was successfully applied to the discrimination of unknown samples from the market, detecting in some cases mislabeled seafood products.The NJ distance-based phenogram (K2P model obtained with COI sequences allowed us to correlate the swordfish haplotypes to the different geographical stocks. Similar results were obtained with 5'dloop. Our preliminary data in swordfish Xiphias gladius confirm that Cytochrome Oxidase I can be proposed as an efficient species-specific marker that has also the potential to assign geographical provenance. This information might speed the samples analysis in commercial application of barcoding.

  19. DNA barcoding as a tool for coral reef conservation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neigel, J.; Domingo, A.; Stake, J.

    2007-09-01

    DNA Barcoding (DBC) is a method for taxonomic identification of animals that is based entirely on the 5' portion of the mitochondrial gene, cytochrome oxidase subunit I ( COI-5). It can be especially useful for identification of larval forms or incomplete specimens lacking diagnostic morphological characters. DBC can also facilitate the discovery of species and in defining “molecular taxonomic units” in problematic groups. However, DBC is not a panacea for coral reef taxonomy. In two of the most ecologically important groups on coral reefs, the Anthozoa and Porifera, COI-5 sequences have diverged too little to be diagnostic for all species. Other problems for DBC include paraphyly in mitochondrial gene trees and lack of differentiation between hybrids and their maternal ancestors. DBC also depends on the availability of databases of COI-5 sequences, which are still in early stages of development. A global effort to barcode all fish species has demonstrated the importance of large-scale coordination and is yielding promising results. Whether or not COI-5 by itself is sufficient for species assignments has become a contentious question; it is generally advantageous to use sequences from multiple loci.

  20. Searching for evidence of selection in avian DNA barcodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerr, Kevin C R

    2011-11-01

    The barcode of life project has assembled a tremendous number of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) sequences. Although these sequences were gathered to develop a DNA-based system for species identification, it has been suggested that further biological inferences may also be derived from this wealth of data. Recurrent selective sweeps have been invoked as an evolutionary mechanism to explain limited intraspecific COI diversity, particularly in birds, but this hypothesis has not been formally tested. In this study, I collated COI sequences from previous barcoding studies on birds and tested them for evidence of selection. Using this expanded data set, I re-examined the relationships between intraspecific diversity and interspecific divergence and sampling effort, respectively. I employed the McDonald-Kreitman test to test for neutrality in sequence evolution between closely related pairs of species. Because amino acid sequences were generally constrained between closely related pairs, I also included broader intra-order comparisons to quantify patterns of protein variation in avian COI sequences. Lastly, using 22 published whole mitochondrial genomes, I compared the evolutionary rate of COI against the other 12 protein-coding mitochondrial genes to assess intragenomic variability. I found no conclusive evidence of selective sweeps. Most evidence pointed to an overall trend of strong purifying selection and functional constraint. The COI protein did vary across the class Aves, but to a very limited extent. COI was the least variable gene in the mitochondrial genome, suggesting that other genes might be more informative for probing factors constraining mitochondrial variation within species. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  1. DNA Barcoding of Marine Metazoa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bucklin, Ann; Steinke, Dirk; Blanco-Bercial, Leocadio

    2011-01-01

    More than 230,000 known species representing 31 metazoan phyla populate the world's oceans. Perhaps another 1,000,000 or more species remain to be discovered. There is reason for concern that species extinctions may outpace discovery, especially in diverse and endangered marine habitats such as coral reefs. DNA barcodes (i.e., short DNA sequences for species recognition and discrimination) are useful tools to accelerate species-level analysis of marine biodiversity and to facilitate conservation efforts. This review focuses on the usual barcode region for metazoans: a ˜648 base-pair region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. Barcodes have also been used for population genetic and phylogeographic analysis, identification of prey in gut contents, detection of invasive species, forensics, and seafood safety. More controversially, barcodes have been used to delimit species boundaries, reveal cryptic species, and discover new species. Emerging frontiers are the use of barcodes for rapid and increasingly automated biodiversity assessment by high-throughput sequencing, including environmental barcoding and the use of barcodes to detect species for which formal identification or scientific naming may never be possible.

  2. Exploring the Utility of Partial Cytochrome c Oxidase Subunit 1 for DNA Barcoding of Gobies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyung-Bae Jeon

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Gobiids are hyperdiverse compared with other teleost groups, with about 2,000 species occurring in marine, freshwater, and blackish habitats, and they show a remarkable variety of morphologies and ecology. Testing the effectiveness of DNA barcodes on species that have emerged as a result of radiation remains a major challenge in evolutionary biology. Here, we used the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI sequences from 144 species of gobies and related species to evaluate the performance of distance-based DNA barcoding and to conduct a phylogenetic analysis. The average intra-genus genetic distance was considerably higher than that obtained in previous studies. Additionally, the interspecific divergence at higher taxonomic levels was not significantly different from that at the intragenus level, suggesting that congeneric gobies possess substantial interspecific sequence divergence in their COI gene. However, levels of intragenus divergence varied greatly among genera, and we do not provide sufficient evidence for using COI for cryptic species delimitation. Significantly more nucleotide changes were observed at the third codon position than that at the first and the second codons, revealing that extensive variation in COI reflects synonymous changes and little protein level variation. Despite clear signatures in several genera, the COI sequences did resolve genealogical relationships in the phylogenetic analysis well. Our results support the validity of COI barcoding for gobiid species identification, but the utilization of more gene regions will assist to offer a more robust gobiid species phylogeny.

  3. DNA barcoding of the ichthyofauna of Taal Lake, Philippines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aquilino, Sean V L; Tango, Jazzlyn M; Fontanilla, Ian K C; Pagulayan, Roberto C; Basiao, Zubaida U; Ong, Perry S; Quilang, Jonas P

    2011-07-01

    This study represents the first molecular survey of the ichthyofauna of Taal Lake and the first DNA barcoding attempt in Philippine fishes. Taal Lake, the third largest lake in the Philippines, is considered a very important fisheries resource and is home to the world's only freshwater sardine, Sardinella tawilis. However, overexploitation and introduction of exotic fishes have caused a massive decline in the diversity of native species as well as in overall productivity of the lake. In this study, 118 individuals of 23 native, endemic and introduced fishes of Taal Lake were barcoded using the partial DNA sequence of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. These species belong to 21 genera, 17 families and 9 orders. Divergence of sequences within and between species was determined using Kimura 2-parameter (K2P) distance model, and a neighbour-joining tree was generated with 1000 bootstrap replications using the K2P model. All COI sequences for each of the 23 species were clearly discriminated among genera. The average within species, within genus, within family and within order percent genetic divergence was 0.60%, 11.07%, 17.67% and 24.08%, respectively. Our results provide evidence that COI DNA barcodes are effective for the rapid and accurate identification of fishes and for identifying certain species that need further taxonomic investigation. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  4. Accelerated construction of a regional DNA-barcode reference library: Caddisflies (Trichoptera) in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, X.; Robinson, J.L.; Geraci, C.J.; Parker, C.R.; Flint, O.S.; Etnier, D.A.; Ruiter, D.; DeWalt, R.E.; Jacobus, L.M.; Hebert, P.D.N.

    2011-01-01

    Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) barcoding is an effective tool for species identification and lifestage association in a wide range of animal taxa. We developed a strategy for rapid construction of a regional DNA-barcode reference library and used the caddisflies (Trichoptera) of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) as a model. Nearly 1000 cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences, representing 209 caddisfly species previously recorded from GSMNP, were obtained from the global Trichoptera Barcode of Life campaign. Most of these sequences were collected from outside the GSMNP area. Another 645 COI sequences, representing 80 species, were obtained from specimens collected in a 3-d bioblitz (short-term, intense sampling program) in GSMNP. The joint collections provided barcode coverage for 212 species, 91% of the GSMNP fauna. Inclusion of samples from other localities greatly expedited construction of the regional DNA-barcode reference library. This strategy increased intraspecific divergence and decreased average distances to nearest neighboring species, but the DNA-barcode library was able to differentiate 93% of the GSMNP Trichoptera species examined. Global barcoding projects will aid construction of regional DNA-barcode libraries, but local surveys make crucial contributions to progress by contributing rare or endemic species and full-length barcodes generated from high-quality DNA. DNA taxonomy is not a goal of our present work, but the investigation of COI divergence patterns in caddisflies is providing new insights into broader biodiversity patterns in this group and has directed attention to various issues, ranging from the need to re-evaluate species taxonomy with integrated morphological and molecular evidence to the necessity of an appropriate interpretation of barcode analyses and its implications in understanding species diversity (in contrast to a simple claim for barcoding failure).

  5. Comparative performance of the 16S rRNA gene in DNA barcoding of amphibians

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chiari Ylenia

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Identifying species of organisms by short sequences of DNA has been in the center of ongoing discussions under the terms DNA barcoding or DNA taxonomy. A C-terminal fragment of the mitochondrial gene for cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI has been proposed as universal marker for this purpose among animals. Results Herein we present experimental evidence that the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene fulfills the requirements for a universal DNA barcoding marker in amphibians. In terms of universality of priming sites and identification of major vertebrate clades the studied 16S fragment is superior to COI. Amplification success was 100% for 16S in a subset of fresh and well-preserved samples of Madagascan frogs, while various combination of COI primers had lower success rates.COI priming sites showed high variability among amphibians both at the level of groups and closely related species, whereas 16S priming sites were highly conserved among vertebrates. Interspecific pairwise 16S divergences in a test group of Madagascan frogs were at a level suitable for assignment of larval stages to species (1–17%, with low degrees of pairwise haplotype divergence within populations (0–1%. Conclusion We strongly advocate the use of 16S rRNA as standard DNA barcoding marker for vertebrates to complement COI, especially if samples a priori could belong to various phylogenetically distant taxa and false negatives would constitute a major problem.

  6. DNA barcode detects high genetic structure within neotropical bird species.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erika Sendra Tavares

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Towards lower latitudes the number of recognized species is not only higher, but also phylogeographic subdivision within species is more pronounced. Moreover, new genetically isolated populations are often described in recent phylogenies of Neotropical birds suggesting that the number of species in the region is underestimated. Previous COI barcoding of Argentinean bird species showed more complex patterns of regional divergence in the Neotropical than in the North American avifauna. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Here we analyzed 1,431 samples from 561 different species to extend the Neotropical bird barcode survey to lower latitudes, and detected even higher geographic structure within species than reported previously. About 93% (520 of the species were identified correctly from their DNA barcodes. The remaining 41 species were not monophyletic in their COI sequences because they shared barcode sequences with closely related species (N = 21 or contained very divergent clusters suggestive of putative new species embedded within the gene tree (N = 20. Deep intraspecific divergences overlapping with among-species differences were detected in 48 species, often with samples from large geographic areas and several including multiple subspecies. This strong population genetic structure often coincided with breaks between different ecoregions or areas of endemism. CONCLUSIONS: The taxonomic uncertainty associated with the high incidence of non-monophyletic species and discovery of putative species obscures studies of historical patterns of species diversification in the Neotropical region. We showed that COI barcodes are a valuable tool to indicate which taxa would benefit from more extensive taxonomic revisions with multilocus approaches. Moreover, our results support hypotheses that the megadiversity of birds in the region is associated with multiple geographic processes starting well before the Quaternary and extending to more recent

  7. FBIS: A regional DNA barcode archival & analysis system for Indian fishes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagpure, Naresh Sahebrao; Rashid, Iliyas; Pathak, Ajey Kumar; Singh, Mahender; Singh, Shri Prakash; Sarkar, Uttam Kumar

    2012-01-01

    DNA barcode is a new tool for taxon recognition and classification of biological organisms based on sequence of a fragment of mitochondrial gene, cytochrome c oxidase I (COI). In view of the growing importance of the fish DNA barcoding for species identification, molecular taxonomy and fish diversity conservation, we developed a Fish Barcode Information System (FBIS) for Indian fishes, which will serve as a regional DNA barcode archival and analysis system. The database presently contains 2334 sequence records of COI gene for 472 aquatic species belonging to 39 orders and 136 families, collected from available published data sources. Additionally, it contains information on phenotype, distribution and IUCN Red List status of fishes. The web version of FBIS was designed using MySQL, Perl and PHP under Linux operating platform to (a) store and manage the acquisition (b) analyze and explore DNA barcode records (c) identify species and estimate genetic divergence. FBIS has also been integrated with appropriate tools for retrieving and viewing information about the database statistics and taxonomy. It is expected that FBIS would be useful as a potent information system in fish molecular taxonomy, phylogeny and genomics. Availability The database is available for free at http://mail.nbfgr.res.in/fbis/ PMID:22715304

  8. DNA barcoding of commercially important catfishes in the Philippines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quilang, Jonas P; Yu, Shiny Cathlynne S

    2015-06-01

    Many species of catfish are important resources for human consumption, for sport fishing and for use in aquarium industry. In the Philippines, some species are cultivated and some are caught in the wild for food and a few introduced species have become invasive. In this study, DNA barcoding using the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene was done on commercially and economically important Philippine catfishes. A total of 75 specimens belonging to 11 species and 5 families were DNA barcoded. The genetic distances were computed and Neighbor-Joining (NJ) trees were constructed based on the Kimura 2-Parameter (K2P) method. The average K2P distances within species, genus, family and order were 0.2, 8.2, 12.7 and 21.9%, respectively. COI sequences clustered according to their species designation for 7 of the 11 catfishes. DNA barcoding was not able to discriminate between Arius dispar and A. manillensis and between Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus and P. pardalis. The morphological characters that are used to distinguish between these species do not complement molecular identification through DNA barcoding. DNA barcoding also showed that Clarias batrachus from the Philippines is different from the species found in India and Thailand, which supports earlier suggestions based on morphology that those found in India should be designated as C. magur and those in mainland Southeast Asia as C. aff. batrachus "Indochina". This study has shown that DNA barcoding can be used for species delineation and for tagging some species for further taxonomic investigation, which has implications on proper management and conservation strategies.

  9. Classification of Sharks in the Egyptian Mediterranean Waters Using Morphological and DNA Barcoding Approaches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moftah, Marie; Abdel Aziz, Sayeda H.; Elramah, Sara; Favereaux, Alexandre

    2011-01-01

    The identification of species constitutes the first basic step in phylogenetic studies, biodiversity monitoring and conservation. DNA barcoding, i.e. the sequencing of a short standardized region of DNA, has been proposed as a new tool for animal species identification. The present study provides an update on the composition of shark in the Egyptian Mediterranean waters off Alexandria, since the latest study to date was performed 30 years ago, DNA barcoding was used in addition to classical taxonomical methodologies. Thus, 51 specimen were DNA barcoded for a 667 bp region of the mitochondrial COI gene. Although DNA barcoding aims at developing species identification systems, some phylogenetic signals were apparent in the data. In the neighbor-joining tree, 8 major clusters were apparent, each of them containing individuals belonging to the same species, and most with 100% bootstrap value. This study is the first to our knowledge to use DNA barcoding of the mitochondrial COI gene in order to confirm the presence of species Squalus acanthias, Oxynotus centrina, Squatina squatina, Scyliorhinus canicula, Scyliorhinus stellaris, Mustelus mustelus, Mustelus punctulatus and Carcharhinus altimus in the Egyptian Mediterranean waters. Finally, our study is the starting point of a new barcoding database concerning shark composition in the Egyptian Mediterranean waters (Barcoding of Egyptian Mediterranean Sharks [BEMS], http://www.boldsystems.org/views/projectlist.php?&#Barcoding%20Fish%20%28FishBOL%29). PMID:22087242

  10. Classification of sharks in the Egyptian Mediterranean waters using morphological and DNA barcoding approaches.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marie Moftah

    Full Text Available The identification of species constitutes the first basic step in phylogenetic studies, biodiversity monitoring and conservation. DNA barcoding, i.e. the sequencing of a short standardized region of DNA, has been proposed as a new tool for animal species identification. The present study provides an update on the composition of shark in the Egyptian Mediterranean waters off Alexandria, since the latest study to date was performed 30 years ago, DNA barcoding was used in addition to classical taxonomical methodologies. Thus, 51 specimen were DNA barcoded for a 667 bp region of the mitochondrial COI gene. Although DNA barcoding aims at developing species identification systems, some phylogenetic signals were apparent in the data. In the neighbor-joining tree, 8 major clusters were apparent, each of them containing individuals belonging to the same species, and most with 100% bootstrap value. This study is the first to our knowledge to use DNA barcoding of the mitochondrial COI gene in order to confirm the presence of species Squalus acanthias, Oxynotus centrina, Squatina squatina, Scyliorhinus canicula, Scyliorhinus stellaris, Mustelus mustelus, Mustelus punctulatus and Carcharhinus altimus in the Egyptian Mediterranean waters. Finally, our study is the starting point of a new barcoding database concerning shark composition in the Egyptian Mediterranean waters (Barcoding of Egyptian Mediterranean Sharks [BEMS], http://www.boldsystems.org/views/projectlist.php?&#Barcoding%20Fish%20%28FishBOL%29.

  11. Patterns of DNA barcode variation in Canadian marine molluscs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Layton, Kara K S; Martel, André L; Hebert, Paul D N

    2014-01-01

    Molluscs are the most diverse marine phylum and this high diversity has resulted in considerable taxonomic problems. Because the number of species in Canadian oceans remains uncertain, there is a need to incorporate molecular methods into species identifications. A 648 base pair segment of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene has proven useful for the identification and discovery of species in many animal lineages. While the utility of DNA barcoding in molluscs has been demonstrated in other studies, this is the first effort to construct a DNA barcode registry for marine molluscs across such a large geographic area. This study examines patterns of DNA barcode variation in 227 species of Canadian marine molluscs. Intraspecific sequence divergences ranged from 0-26.4% and a barcode gap existed for most taxa. Eleven cases of relatively deep (>2%) intraspecific divergence were detected, suggesting the possible presence of overlooked species. Structural variation was detected in COI with indels found in 37 species, mostly bivalves. Some indels were present in divergent lineages, primarily in the region of the first external loop, suggesting certain areas are hotspots for change. Lastly, mean GC content varied substantially among orders (24.5%-46.5%), and showed a significant positive correlation with nearest neighbour distances. DNA barcoding is an effective tool for the identification of Canadian marine molluscs and for revealing possible cases of overlooked species. Some species with deep intraspecific divergence showed a biogeographic partition between lineages on the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific coasts, suggesting the role of Pleistocene glaciations in the subdivision of their populations. Indels were prevalent in the barcode region of the COI gene in bivalves and gastropods. This study highlights the efficacy of DNA barcoding for providing insights into sequence variation across a broad taxonomic group on a large geographic scale.

  12. DNA barcoding discriminates freshwater fishes from southeastern Nigeria and provides river system-level phylogeographic resolution within some species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nwani, Christopher D; Becker, Sven; Braid, Heather E; Ude, Emmanuel F; Okogwu, Okechukwu I; Hanner, Robert

    2011-10-01

    Fishes are the main animal protein source for human beings and play a vital role in aquatic ecosystems and food webs. Fish identification can be challenging, especially in the tropics (due to high diversity), and this is particularly true for larval forms or fragmentary remains. DNA barcoding, which uses the 5' region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) as a target gene, is an efficient method for standardized species-level identification for biodiversity assessment and conservation, pending the establishment of reference sequence libraries. In this study, fishes were collected from three rivers in southeastern Nigeria, identified morphologically, and imaged digitally. DNA was extracted, PCR-amplified, and the standard barcode region was bidirectionally sequenced for 363 individuals belonging to 70 species in 38 genera. All specimen provenance data and associated sequence information were recorded in the barcode of life data systems (BOLD; www.barcodinglife.org ). Analytical tools on BOLD were used to assess the performance of barcoding to identify species. Using neighbor-joining distance comparison, the average genetic distance was 60-fold higher between species than within species, as pairwise genetic distance estimates averaged 10.29% among congeners and only 0.17% among conspecifics. Despite low levels of divergence within species, we observed river system-specific haplotype partitioning within eight species (11.4% of all species). Our preliminary results suggest that DNA barcoding is very effective for species identification of Nigerian freshwater fishes.

  13. DNA Barcode Analysis of Thrips (Thysanoptera) Diversity in Pakistan Reveals Cryptic Species Complexes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iftikhar, Romana; Ashfaq, Muhammad; Rasool, Akhtar; Hebert, Paul D N

    2016-01-01

    Although thrips are globally important crop pests and vectors of viral disease, species identifications are difficult because of their small size and inconspicuous morphological differences. Sequence variation in the mitochondrial COI-5' (DNA barcode) region has proven effective for the identification of species in many groups of insect pests. We analyzed barcode sequence variation among 471 thrips from various plant hosts in north-central Pakistan. The Barcode Index Number (BIN) system assigned these sequences to 55 BINs, while the Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery detected 56 partitions, a count that coincided with the number of monophyletic lineages recognized by Neighbor-Joining analysis and Bayesian inference. Congeneric species showed an average of 19% sequence divergence (range = 5.6% - 27%) at COI, while intraspecific distances averaged 0.6% (range = 0.0% - 7.6%). BIN analysis suggested that all intraspecific divergence >3.0% actually involved a species complex. In fact, sequences for three major pest species (Haplothrips reuteri, Thrips palmi, Thrips tabaci), and one predatory thrips (Aeolothrips intermedius) showed deep intraspecific divergences, providing evidence that each is a cryptic species complex. The study compiles the first barcode reference library for the thrips of Pakistan, and examines global haplotype diversity in four important pest thrips.

  14. [Principles for molecular identification of traditional Chinese materia medica using DNA barcoding].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Shi-Lin; Yao, Hui; Han, Jian-Ping; Xin, Tian-Yi; Pang, Xiao-Hui; Shi, Lin-Chun; Luo, Kun; Song, Jing-Yuan; Hou, Dian-Yun; Shi, Shang-Mei; Qian, Zhong-Zhi

    2013-01-01

    Since the research of molecular identification of Chinese Materia Medica (CMM) using DNA barcode is rapidly developing and popularizing, the principle of this method is approved to be listed in the Supplement of the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China. Based on the study on comprehensive samples, the DNA barcoding systems have been established to identify CMM, i.e. ITS2 as a core barcode and psbA-trnH as a complementary locus for identification of planta medica, and COI as a core barcode and ITS2 as a complementary locus for identification of animal medica. This article introduced the principle of molecular identification of CMM using DNA barcoding and its drafting instructions. Furthermore, its application perspective was discussed.

  15. DNA barcoding of freshwater fishes and the development of a quantitative qPCR assay for the species-specific detection and quantification of fish larvae from plankton samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loh, W K W; Bond, P; Ashton, K J; Roberts, D T; Tibbetts, I R

    2014-08-01

    The barcoding of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (coI) gene was amplified and sequenced from 16 species of freshwater fishes found in Lake Wivenhoe (south-eastern Queensland, Australia) to support monitoring of reservoir fish populations, ecosystem function and water health. In this study, 630-650 bp sequences of the coI barcoding gene from 100 specimens representing 15 genera, 13 families and two subclasses of fishes allowed 14 of the 16 species to be identified and differentiated. The mean ± s.e. Kimura 2 parameter divergence within and between species was 0.52 ± 0.10 and 23.8 ± 2.20% respectively, indicating that barcodes can be used to discriminate most of the fish species accurately. The two terapontids, Amniataba percoides and Leiopotherapon unicolor, however, shared coI DNA sequences and could not be differentiated using this gene. A barcoding database was established and a qPCR assay was developed using coI sequences to identify and quantify proportional abundances of fish species in ichthyoplankton samples from Lake Wivenhoe. These methods provide a viable alternative to the time-consuming process of manually enumerating and identifying ichthyoplankton samples. © 2014 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

  16. Evaluating ethanol-based sample preservation to facilitate use of DNA barcoding in routine freshwater biomonitoring programs using benthic macroinvertebrates.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eric D Stein

    Full Text Available Molecular methods, such as DNA barcoding, have the potential to enhance biomonitoring programs worldwide. Altering routinely used sample preservation methods to protect DNA from degradation may pose a potential impediment to application of DNA barcoding and metagenomics for biomonitoring using benthic macroinvertebrates. Using higher volumes or concentrations of ethanol, requirements for shorter holding times, or the need to include additional filtering may increase cost and logistical constraints to existing biomonitoring programs. To address this issue we evaluated the efficacy of various ethanol-based sample preservation methods at maintaining DNA integrity. We evaluated a series of methods that were minimally modified from typical field protocols in order to identify an approach that can be readily incorporated into existing monitoring programs. Benthic macroinvertebrates were collected from a minimally disturbed stream in southern California, USA and subjected to one of six preservation treatments. Ten individuals from five taxa were selected from each treatment and processed to produce DNA barcodes from the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase I (COI. On average, we obtained successful COI sequences (i.e. either full or partial barcodes for between 93-99% of all specimens across all six treatments. As long as samples were initially preserved in 95% ethanol, successful sequencing of COI barcodes was not affected by a low dilution ratio of 2∶1, transfer to 70% ethanol, presence of abundant organic matter, or holding times of up to six months. Barcoding success varied by taxa, with Leptohyphidae (Ephemeroptera producing the lowest barcode success rate, most likely due to poor PCR primer efficiency. Differential barcoding success rates have the potential to introduce spurious results. However, routine preservation methods can largely be used without adverse effects on DNA integrity.

  17. The campaign to DNA barcode all fishes, FISH-BOL.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ward, R D; Hanner, R; Hebert, P D N

    2009-02-01

    FISH-BOL, the Fish Barcode of Life campaign, is an international research collaboration that is assembling a standardized reference DNA sequence library for all fishes. Analysis is targeting a 648 base pair region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene. More than 5000 species have already been DNA barcoded, with an average of five specimens per species, typically vouchers with authoritative identifications. The barcode sequence from any fish, fillet, fin, egg or larva can be matched against these reference sequences using BOLD; the Barcode of Life Data System (http://www.barcodinglife.org). The benefits of barcoding fishes include facilitating species identification, highlighting cases of range expansion for known species, flagging previously overlooked species and enabling identifications where traditional methods cannot be applied. Results thus far indicate that barcodes separate c. 98 and 93% of already described marine and freshwater fish species, respectively. Several specimens with divergent barcode sequences have been confirmed by integrative taxonomic analysis as new species. Past concerns in relation to the use of fish barcoding for species discrimination are discussed. These include hybridization, recent radiations, regional differentiation in barcode sequences and nuclear copies of the barcode region. However, current results indicate these issues are of little concern for the great majority of specimens.

  18. Problematic barcoding in flatworms: A case-study on monogeneans and rhabdocoels (Platyhelminthes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maarten Vanhove

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Some taxonomic groups are less amenable to mitochondrial DNA barcoding than others. Due to the paucity of molecular information of understudied groups and the huge molecular diversity within flatworms, primer design has been hampered. Indeed, all attempts to develop universal flatworm-specific COI markers have failed so far. We demonstrate how high molecular variability and contamination problems limit the possibilities for barcoding using standard COI-based protocols in flatworms. As a consequence, molecular identification methods often rely on other widely applicable markers. In the case of Monogenea, a very diverse group of platyhelminth parasites, and Rhabdocoela, representing one-fourth of all free-living flatworm taxa, this has led to a relatively high availability of nuclear ITS and 18S/28S rDNA sequences on GenBank. In a comparison of the effectiveness in species assignment we conclude that mitochondrial and nuclear ribosomal markers perform equally well. In case intraspecific information is needed, rDNA sequences can guide the selection of the appropriate (i.e. taxon-specific COI primers if available.

  19. A new method for species identification via protein-coding and non-coding DNA barcodes by combining machine learning with bioinformatic methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ai-bing; Feng, Jie; Ward, Robert D; Wan, Ping; Gao, Qiang; Wu, Jun; Zhao, Wei-zhong

    2012-01-01

    Species identification via DNA barcodes is contributing greatly to current bioinventory efforts. The initial, and widely accepted, proposal was to use the protein-coding cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) region as the standard barcode for animals, but recently non-coding internal transcribed spacer (ITS) genes have been proposed as candidate barcodes for both animals and plants. However, achieving a robust alignment for non-coding regions can be problematic. Here we propose two new methods (DV-RBF and FJ-RBF) to address this issue for species assignment by both coding and non-coding sequences that take advantage of the power of machine learning and bioinformatics. We demonstrate the value of the new methods with four empirical datasets, two representing typical protein-coding COI barcode datasets (neotropical bats and marine fish) and two representing non-coding ITS barcodes (rust fungi and brown algae). Using two random sub-sampling approaches, we demonstrate that the new methods significantly outperformed existing Neighbor-joining (NJ) and Maximum likelihood (ML) methods for both coding and non-coding barcodes when there was complete species coverage in the reference dataset. The new methods also out-performed NJ and ML methods for non-coding sequences in circumstances of potentially incomplete species coverage, although then the NJ and ML methods performed slightly better than the new methods for protein-coding barcodes. A 100% success rate of species identification was achieved with the two new methods for 4,122 bat queries and 5,134 fish queries using COI barcodes, with 95% confidence intervals (CI) of 99.75-100%. The new methods also obtained a 96.29% success rate (95%CI: 91.62-98.40%) for 484 rust fungi queries and a 98.50% success rate (95%CI: 96.60-99.37%) for 1094 brown algae queries, both using ITS barcodes.

  20. A new method for species identification via protein-coding and non-coding DNA barcodes by combining machine learning with bioinformatic methods.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ai-bing Zhang

    Full Text Available Species identification via DNA barcodes is contributing greatly to current bioinventory efforts. The initial, and widely accepted, proposal was to use the protein-coding cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI region as the standard barcode for animals, but recently non-coding internal transcribed spacer (ITS genes have been proposed as candidate barcodes for both animals and plants. However, achieving a robust alignment for non-coding regions can be problematic. Here we propose two new methods (DV-RBF and FJ-RBF to address this issue for species assignment by both coding and non-coding sequences that take advantage of the power of machine learning and bioinformatics. We demonstrate the value of the new methods with four empirical datasets, two representing typical protein-coding COI barcode datasets (neotropical bats and marine fish and two representing non-coding ITS barcodes (rust fungi and brown algae. Using two random sub-sampling approaches, we demonstrate that the new methods significantly outperformed existing Neighbor-joining (NJ and Maximum likelihood (ML methods for both coding and non-coding barcodes when there was complete species coverage in the reference dataset. The new methods also out-performed NJ and ML methods for non-coding sequences in circumstances of potentially incomplete species coverage, although then the NJ and ML methods performed slightly better than the new methods for protein-coding barcodes. A 100% success rate of species identification was achieved with the two new methods for 4,122 bat queries and 5,134 fish queries using COI barcodes, with 95% confidence intervals (CI of 99.75-100%. The new methods also obtained a 96.29% success rate (95%CI: 91.62-98.40% for 484 rust fungi queries and a 98.50% success rate (95%CI: 96.60-99.37% for 1094 brown algae queries, both using ITS barcodes.

  1. DNA barcoding coupled to HRM analysis as a new and simple tool for the authentication of Gadidae fish species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandes, Telmo J R; Costa, Joana; Oliveira, M Beatriz P P; Mafra, Isabel

    2017-09-01

    This work aimed to exploit the use of DNA mini-barcodes combined with high resolution melting (HRM) for the authentication of gadoid species: Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus), Alaska pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) and saithe (Pollachius virens). Two DNA barcode regions, namely cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and cytochrome b (cytb), were analysed in silico to identify genetic variability among the four species and used, subsequently, to develop a real-time PCR method coupled with HRM analysis. The cytb mini-barcode enabled best discrimination of the target species with a high level of confidence (99.3%). The approach was applied successfully to identify gadoid species in 30 fish-containing foods, 30% of which were not as declared on the label. Herein, a novel approach for rapid, simple and cost-effective discrimination/clustering, as a tool to authenticate Gadidae fish species, according to their genetic relationship, is proposed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Identifying the true oysters (Bivalvia: Ostreidae) with mitochondrial phylogeny and distance-based DNA barcoding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jun; Li, Qi; Kong, Lingfeng; Yu, Hong; Zheng, Xiaodong

    2011-09-01

    Oysters (family Ostreidae), with high levels of phenotypic plasticity and wide geographic distribution, are a challenging group for taxonomists and phylogenetics. As a useful tool for molecular species identification, DNA barcoding might offer significant potential for oyster identification and taxonomy. This study used two mitochondrial fragments, cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) and the large ribosomal subunit (16S rDNA), to assess whether oyster species could be identified by phylogeny and distance-based DNA barcoding techniques. Relationships among species were estimated by the phylogenetic analyses of both genes, and then pairwise inter- and intraspecific genetic divergences were assessed. Species forming well-differentiated clades in the molecular phylogenies were identical for both genes even when the closely related species were included. Intraspecific variability of 16S rDNA overlapped with interspecific divergence. However, average intra- and interspecific genetic divergences for COI were 0-1.4% (maximum 2.2%) and 2.6-32.2% (minimum 2.2%), respectively, indicating the existence of a barcoding gap. These results confirm the efficacy of species identification in oysters via DNA barcodes and phylogenetic analysis. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  3. DNA barcode assessment of Ceramiales (Rhodophyta) in the intertidal zone of the northwestern Yellow Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Guoying; Wu, Feifei; Guo, Hao; Xue, Hongfan; Mao, Yunxiang

    2015-05-01

    A total of 142 specimens of Ceramiales (Rhodophyta) were collected each month from October 2011 to November 2012 in the intertidal zone of the northwestern Yellow Sea. These specimens covered 21 species, 14 genera, and four families. Cluster analyses show that the specimens had a high diversity for the three DNA markers, namely, partial large subunit rRNA gene (LSU), universal plastid amplicon (UPA), and partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI). No intraspecific divergence was found in our collection for these markers, except for a 1-3 bp divergence in the COI of Ceramium kondoi, Symphyocladia latiuscula, and Neosiphonia japonica. Because short DNA markers were used, the phylogenetic relationships of higher taxonomic levels were hard to evaluate with poor branch support. More than half species of our collection failed to find their matched sequences owing to shortage information of DNA barcodes for macroalgae in GenBank or BOLD (Barcode of Life Data) Systems. Three specimens were presumed as Heterosiphonia crispella by cluster analyses on DNA barcodes assisted by morphological identification, which was the first record in the investigated area, implying that it might be a cryptic or invasive species in the coastal area of northwestern Yellow Sea. In the neighbor-joining trees of all three DNA markers, Heterosiphonia japonica converged with Dasya spp. and was distant from the other Heterosiphonia spp., implying that H. japonica had affinities to the genus Dasya. The LSU and UPA markers amplified and sequenced easier than the COI marker across the Ceramiales species, but the COI had a higher ability to discriminate between species.

  4. Neotropical bats: estimating species diversity with DNA barcodes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth L Clare

    Full Text Available DNA barcoding using the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (COI is frequently employed as an efficient method of species identification in animal life and may also be used to estimate species richness, particularly in understudied faunas. Despite numerous past demonstrations of the efficiency of this technique, few studies have attempted to employ DNA barcoding methodologies on a large geographic scale, particularly within tropical regions. In this study we survey current and potential species diversity using DNA barcodes with a collection of more than 9000 individuals from 163 species of Neotropical bats (order Chiroptera. This represents one of the largest surveys to employ this strategy on any animal group and is certainly the largest to date for land vertebrates. Our analysis documents the utility of this tool over great geographic distances and across extraordinarily diverse habitats. Among the 163 included species 98.8% possessed distinct sets of COI haplotypes making them easily recognizable at this locus. We detected only a single case of shared haplotypes. Intraspecific diversity in the region was high among currently recognized species (mean of 1.38%, range 0-11.79% with respect to birds, though comparable to other bat assemblages. In 44 of 163 cases, well-supported, distinct intraspecific lineages were identified which may suggest the presence of cryptic species though mean and maximum intraspecific divergence were not good predictors of their presence. In all cases, intraspecific lineages require additional investigation using complementary molecular techniques and additional characters such as morphology and acoustic data. Our analysis provides strong support for the continued assembly of DNA barcoding libraries and ongoing taxonomic investigation of bats.

  5. DNA Barcode Identification of Freshwater Snails in the Family Bithyniidae from Thailand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulsantiwong, Jutharat; Prasopdee, Sattrachai; Ruangsittichai, Jiraporn; Ruangjirachuporn, Wipaporn; Boonmars, Thidarut; Viyanant, Vithoon; Pierossi, Paola; Hebert, Paul D. N.; Tesana, Smarn

    2013-01-01

    Freshwater snails in the family Bithyniidae are the first intermediate host for Southeast Asian liver fluke (Opisthorchis viverrini), the causative agent of opisthorchiasis. Unfortunately, the subtle morphological characters that differentiate species in this group are not easily discerned by non-specialists. This is a serious matter because the identification of bithyniid species is a fundamental prerequisite for better understanding of the epidemiology of this disease. Because DNA barcoding, the analysis of sequence diversity in the 5’ region of the mitochondrial COI gene, has shown strong performance in other taxonomic groups, we decided to test its capacity to resolve 10 species/ subspecies of bithyniids from Thailand. Our analysis of 217 specimens indicated that COI sequences delivered species-level identification for 9 of 10 currently recognized species. The mean intraspecific divergence of COI was 2.3% (range 0-9.2 %), whereas sequence divergences between congeneric species averaged 8.7% (range 0-22.2 %). Although our results indicate that DNA barcoding can differentiate species of these medically-important snails, we also detected evidence for the presence of one overlooked species and one possible case of synonymy. PMID:24223896

  6. DNA barcoding reveals cryptic diversity within commercially exploited Indo-Malay Carangidae (Teleosteii: Perciformes.

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    Tun Nurul Aimi Mat Jaafar

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: DNA barcodes, typically focusing on the cytochrome oxidase I gene (COI in many animals, have been used widely as a species-identification tool. The ability of DNA barcoding to distinguish species from a range of taxa and to reveal cryptic species has been well documented. Despite the wealth of DNA barcode data for fish from many temperate regions, there are relatively few available from the Southeast Asian region. Here, we target the marine fish Family Carangidae, one of the most commercially-important families from the Indo-Malay Archipelago (IMA, to produce an initial reference DNA barcode library. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, a 652 bp region of COI was sequenced for 723 individuals from 36 putative species of Family Carangidae distributed within IMA waters. Within the newly-generated dataset, three described species exhibited conspecific divergences up to ten times greater (4.32-4.82% than mean estimates (0.24-0.39%, indicating a discrepancy with assigned morphological taxonomic identification, and the existence of cryptic species. Variability of the mitochondrial DNA COI region was compared within and among species to evaluate the COI region's suitability for species identification. The trend in range of mean K2P distances observed was generally in accordance with expectations based on taxonomic hierarchy: 0% to 4.82% between individuals within species, 0% to 16.4% between species within genera, and 8.64% to 25.39% between genera within families. The average Kimura 2-parameter (K2P distance between individuals, between species within genera, and between genera within family were 0.37%, 10.53% and 16.56%, respectively. All described species formed monophyletic clusters in the Neighbour-joining phylogenetic tree, although three species representing complexes of six potential cryptic species were detected in Indo-Malay Carangidae; Atule mate, Selar crumenophthalmus and Seriolina nigrofasciata. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: This

  7. Using DNA barcoding to differentiate invasive Dreissena species (Mollusca, Bivalvia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathan Marescaux

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha and the quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis are considered as the most competitive invaders in freshwaters of Europe and North America. Although shell characteristics exist to differentiate both species, phenotypic plasticity in the genus Dreissena does not always allow a clear identification. Therefore, the need to find an accurate identification method is essential. DNA barcoding has been proven to be an adequate procedure to discriminate species. The cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 mitochondrial gene (COI is considered as the standard barcode for animals. We tested the use of this gene as an efficient DNA barcode and found that it allow rapid and accurate identification of adult Dreissena individuals.

  8. Using DNA barcoding to differentiate invasive Dreissena species (Mollusca, Bivalvia).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marescaux, Jonathan; Van Doninck, Karine

    2013-12-30

    The zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) and the quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) are considered as the most competitive invaders in freshwaters of Europe and North America. Although shell characteristics exist to differentiate both species, phenotypic plasticity in the genus Dreissena does not always allow a clear identification. Therefore, the need to find an accurate identification method is essential. DNA barcoding has been proven to be an adequate procedure to discriminate species. The cytochrome c oxidase subunit I mitochondrial gene (COI) is considered as the standard barcode for animals. We tested the use of this gene as an efficient DNA barcode and found that it allow rapid and accurate identification of adult Dreissena individuals.

  9. DNA barcoding of Clarias gariepinus, Coptodon zillii and Sarotherodon melanotheron from Southwestern Nigeria [version 1; referees: 2 approved

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    Mofolusho O. Falade

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available DNA barcoding has been adopted as a gold standard rapid, precise and unifying identification system for animal species and provides a database of genetic sequences that can be used as a tool for universal species identification. In this study, we employed mitochondrial genes 16S rRNA (16S and cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI for the identification of some Nigerian freshwater catfish and Tilapia species. Approximately 655 bp were amplified from the 5′ region of the mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (COI gene whereas 570 bp were amplified for the 16S rRNA gene. Nucleotide divergences among sequences were estimated based on Kimura 2-parameter distances and the genetic relationships were assessed by constructing phylogenetic trees using the neighbour-joining (NJ and maximum likelihood (ML methods. Analyses of consensus barcode sequences for each species, and alignment of individual sequences from within a given species revealed highly consistent barcodes (99% similarity on average, which could be compared with deposited sequences in public databases. The nucleotide distance between species belonging to different genera based on COI ranged from 0.17% between Sarotherodon melanotheron and Coptodon zillii to 0.49% between Clarias gariepinus and C. zillii, indicating that S. melanotheron and C. zillii are closely related. Based on the data obtained, the utility of COI gene was confirmed in accurate identification of three fish species from Southwest Nigeria.

  10. Single nucleotide polymorphism barcoding of cytochrome c oxidase I sequences for discriminating 17 species of Columbidae by decision tree algorithm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Cheng-Hong; Wu, Kuo-Chuan; Dahms, Hans-Uwe; Chuang, Li-Yeh; Chang, Hsueh-Wei

    2017-07-01

    DNA barcodes are widely used in taxonomy, systematics, species identification, food safety, and forensic science. Most of the conventional DNA barcode sequences contain the whole information of a given barcoding gene. Most of the sequence information does not vary and is uninformative for a given group of taxa within a monophylum. We suggest here a method that reduces the amount of noninformative nucleotides in a given barcoding sequence of a major taxon, like the prokaryotes, or eukaryotic animals, plants, or fungi. The actual differences in genetic sequences, called single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping, provide a tool for developing a rapid, reliable, and high-throughput assay for the discrimination between known species. Here, we investigated SNPs as robust markers of genetic variation for identifying different pigeon species based on available cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) data. We propose here a decision tree-based SNP barcoding (DTSB) algorithm where SNP patterns are selected from the DNA barcoding sequence of several evolutionarily related species in order to identify a single species with pigeons as an example. This approach can make use of any established barcoding system. We here firstly used as an example the mitochondrial gene COI information of 17 pigeon species (Columbidae, Aves) using DTSB after sequence trimming and alignment. SNPs were chosen which followed the rule of decision tree and species-specific SNP barcodes. The shortest barcode of about 11 bp was then generated for discriminating 17 pigeon species using the DTSB method. This method provides a sequence alignment and tree decision approach to parsimoniously assign a unique and shortest SNP barcode for any known species of a chosen monophyletic taxon where a barcoding sequence is available.

  11. DNA barcodes for dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) of Mindanao, Philippines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casas, Princess Angelie S; Sing, Kong-Wah; Lee, Ping-Shin; Nuñeza, Olga M; Villanueva, Reagan Joseph T; Wilson, John-James

    2018-03-01

    Reliable species identification provides a sounder basis for use of species in the order Odonata as biological indicators and for their conservation, an urgent concern as many species are threatened with imminent extinction. We generated 134 COI barcodes from 36 morphologically identified species of Odonata collected from Mindanao Island, representing 10 families and 19 genera. Intraspecific sequence divergences ranged from 0 to 6.7% with four species showing more than 2%, while interspecific sequence divergences ranged from 0.5 to 23.3% with seven species showing less than 2%. Consequently, no distinct gap was observed between intraspecific and interspecific DNA barcode divergences. The numerous islands of the Philippine archipelago may have facilitated rapid speciation in the Odonata and resulted in low interspecific sequence divergences among closely related groups of species. This study contributes DNA barcodes for 36 morphologically identified species of Odonata reported from Mindanao including 31 species with no previous DNA barcode records.

  12. DNA barcoding of Arctic Ocean holozooplankton for species identification and recognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bucklin, Ann; Hopcroft, Russell R.; Kosobokova, Ksenia N.; Nigro, Lisa M.; Ortman, Brian D.; Jennings, Robert M.; Sweetman, Christopher J.

    2010-01-01

    Zooplankton species diversity and distribution are important measures of environmental change in the Arctic Ocean, and may serve as 'rapid-responders' of climate-induced changes in this fragile ecosystem. The scarcity of taxonomists hampers detailed and up-to-date monitoring of these patterns for the rarer and more problematic species. DNA barcodes (short DNA sequences for species recognition and discovery) provide an alternative approach to accurate identification of known species, and can speed routine analysis of zooplankton samples. During 2004-2008, zooplankton samples were collected during cruises to the central Arctic Ocean and Chukchi Sea. A ˜700 base-pair region of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (mtCOI) gene was amplified and sequenced for 82 identified specimens of 41 species, including cnidarians (six hydrozoans, one scyphozoan), arthropod crustaceans (five amphipods, 24 copepods, one decapod, and one euphausiid); two chaetognaths; and one nemertean. Phylogenetic analysis used the Neighbor-Joining algorithm with Kimura-2-Parameter (K-2-P) distances, with 1000-fold bootstrapping. K-2-P genetic distances between individuals of the same species ranged from 0.0 to 0.2; genetic distances between species ranged widely from 0.1 to 0.7. The mtCOI gene tree showed monophyly (at 100% bootstrap value) for each of the 26 species for which more than one individual was analyzed. Of seven genera for which more than one species was analyzed, four were shown to be monophyletic; three genera were not resolved. At higher taxonomic levels, only the crustacean order Copepoda was resolved, with bootstrap value of 83%. The mtCOI barcodes accurately discriminated and identified known species of 10 taxonomic groups of Arctic Ocean holozooplankton. A comprehensive DNA barcode database for the estimated 300 described species of Arctic holozooplankton will allow rapid assessment of species diversity and distribution in this climate-vulnerable ocean ecosystem.

  13. Maternal mismatches in farmed tilapia strains (Oreochromis spp.) in the Philippines as revealed by mitochondrial COI gene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ordoñez, June Feliciano F; Ventolero, Minerva Fatimae H; Santos, Mudjekeewis D

    2017-07-01

    The introduction of genetically enhanced tilapia has significantly boosted the performance of Philippine aquaculture industry. While enhanced strains contribute to the increase in tilapia production, genetic characterization of present tilapia stocks is critical to maintain their quality and to ensure the genetic gains are sustained. To understand and determine the genetic relationship of the genetically enhanced strains produced in the Philippines, mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene using DNA barcoding approach was analyzed. Specimens representing 10 genetically enhanced strains (GIFT, FaST, GET-EXCEL, GST, SST, COLD, YY-male, GMT, Molobicus, and BEST), three red tilapia (Taiwan red, Florida red, and FAC-red), and two pure lines (initially identified as O. aureus and O. spilurus) were collected, sequenced, and identified using DNA barcoding. Results revealed that farmed tilapias consisted of four different Oreochromis species. As expected, COI could not distinguish individuals at the strain level but surprisingly, mismatch between the species of maternal origin and present-day offspring was observed. This particular result may pose a question on the genetic purity and integrity of the strains being distributed to farmers and suggests a re-evaluation of the effectiveness of major tilapia breeding centers in maintaining their stocks.

  14. Identification of marine traditional Chinese medicine dried seahorses in the traditional Chinese medicine market using DNA barcoding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Feixia; Wen, Longlian; Peng, Cheng; Guo, Jinlin

    2018-01-01

    Seahorse documented in Chinese pharmacopeia possess important medicinal efficacy and are used as an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicines. The growing international trade threatens the species. DNA barcoding holds a great application potentiality in wildlife conservation and might prevent the illegal trade of threatened species. The COI gene was used to identify seahorse, and nine Hippocampus species were found in the three large traditional Chinese medicines markets of China. All inter-specific genetic variations were larger than 2%. Mean genetic distances between species were 17-fold larger than those within the species. Phylogenetic tree showed that each species clustered in the appropriate branch. All results demonstrated that COI-based barcoding technique could be used to identify seahorse species and played a major role in monitoring the seahorse trade.

  15. Refining DNA Barcoding Coupled High Resolution Melting for Discrimination of 12 Closely Related Croton Species.

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    Maslin Osathanunkul

    Full Text Available DNA barcoding coupled high resolution melting (Bar-HRM is an emerging method for species discrimination based on DNA dissociation kinetics. The aim of this work was to evaluate the suitability of different primer sets, derived from selected DNA regions, for Bar-HRM analysis of species in Croton (Euphorbiaceae, one of the largest genera of plants with over 1,200 species. Seven primer pairs were evaluated (matK, rbcL1, rbcL2, rbcL3, rpoC, trnL and ITS1 from four plastid regions, matK, rbcL, rpoC, and trnL, and the nuclear ribosomal marker ITS1. The primer pair derived from the ITS1 region was the single most effective region for the identification of the tested species, whereas the rbcL1 primer pair gave the lowest resolution. It was observed that the ITS1 barcode was the most useful DNA barcoding region overall for species discrimination out of all of the regions and primers assessed. Our Bar-HRM results here also provide further support for the hypothesis that both sequence and base composition affect DNA duplex stability.

  16. Phylogenetic reconstruction and DNA barcoding for closely related pine moth species (Dendrolimus) in China with multiple gene markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dai, Qing-Yan; Gao, Qiang; Wu, Chun-Sheng; Chesters, Douglas; Zhu, Chao-Dong; Zhang, Ai-Bing

    2012-01-01

    Unlike distinct species, closely related species offer a great challenge for phylogeny reconstruction and species identification with DNA barcoding due to their often overlapping genetic variation. We tested a sibling species group of pine moth pests in China with a standard cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene and two alternative internal transcribed spacer (ITS) genes (ITS1 and ITS2). Five different phylogenetic/DNA barcoding analysis methods (Maximum likelihood (ML)/Neighbor-joining (NJ), "best close match" (BCM), Minimum distance (MD), and BP-based method (BP)), representing commonly used methodology (tree-based and non-tree based) in the field, were applied to both single-gene and multiple-gene analyses. Our results demonstrated clear reciprocal species monophyly for three relatively distant related species, Dendrolimus superans, D. houi, D. kikuchii, as recovered by both single and multiple genes while the phylogenetic relationship of three closely related species, D. punctatus, D. tabulaeformis, D. spectabilis, could not be resolved with the traditional tree-building methods. Additionally, we find the standard COI barcode outperforms two nuclear ITS genes, whatever the methods used. On average, the COI barcode achieved a success rate of 94.10-97.40%, while ITS1 and ITS2 obtained a success rate of 64.70-81.60%, indicating ITS genes are less suitable for species identification in this case. We propose the use of an overall success rate of species identification that takes both sequencing success and assignation success into account, since species identification success rates with multiple-gene barcoding system were generally overestimated, especially by tree-based methods, where only successfully sequenced DNA sequences were used to construct a phylogenetic tree. Non-tree based methods, such as MD, BCM, and BP approaches, presented advantages over tree-based methods by reporting the overall success rates with statistical significance. In addition, our

  17. Phylogenetic reconstruction and DNA barcoding for closely related pine moth species (Dendrolimus in China with multiple gene markers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qing-Yan Dai

    Full Text Available Unlike distinct species, closely related species offer a great challenge for phylogeny reconstruction and species identification with DNA barcoding due to their often overlapping genetic variation. We tested a sibling species group of pine moth pests in China with a standard cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI gene and two alternative internal transcribed spacer (ITS genes (ITS1 and ITS2. Five different phylogenetic/DNA barcoding analysis methods (Maximum likelihood (ML/Neighbor-joining (NJ, "best close match" (BCM, Minimum distance (MD, and BP-based method (BP, representing commonly used methodology (tree-based and non-tree based in the field, were applied to both single-gene and multiple-gene analyses. Our results demonstrated clear reciprocal species monophyly for three relatively distant related species, Dendrolimus superans, D. houi, D. kikuchii, as recovered by both single and multiple genes while the phylogenetic relationship of three closely related species, D. punctatus, D. tabulaeformis, D. spectabilis, could not be resolved with the traditional tree-building methods. Additionally, we find the standard COI barcode outperforms two nuclear ITS genes, whatever the methods used. On average, the COI barcode achieved a success rate of 94.10-97.40%, while ITS1 and ITS2 obtained a success rate of 64.70-81.60%, indicating ITS genes are less suitable for species identification in this case. We propose the use of an overall success rate of species identification that takes both sequencing success and assignation success into account, since species identification success rates with multiple-gene barcoding system were generally overestimated, especially by tree-based methods, where only successfully sequenced DNA sequences were used to construct a phylogenetic tree. Non-tree based methods, such as MD, BCM, and BP approaches, presented advantages over tree-based methods by reporting the overall success rates with statistical significance. In

  18. DNA barcodes to identify species and explore diversity in the Adelgidae (Insecta: Hemiptera: Aphidoidea)

    Science.gov (United States)

    R.G. Foottit; H.E.L. Maw; N.P. Havill; R.G. Ahern; M.E. Montgomery

    2009-01-01

    The Adelgidae are relatively small, cryptic insects, exhibiting complex life cycles with parthenogenetic reproduction. Due to these characteristics, the taxonomy of the group is problematic. Here, we test the effectiveness of the standard 658-bp barcode fragment from the 5'-end of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene (COI) in...

  19. Efficacy of DNA barcoding for the species identification of spiders from Western Ghats of India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaikwad, Swapnil; Warudkar, Ashwin; Shouche, Yogesh

    2017-09-01

    DNA barcoding has emerged as an additional tool for taxonomy and as an aid to taxonomic impediments. Due to their extensive morphological variation, spiders are taxonomically challenging. Therefore, all over the world, attempts are being made to DNA barcode species of spiders. Till now no attempts were made to DNA barcode Indian spiders despite their rich diversity. We have generated DNA barcodes for 60 species (n = 112) of spiders for the first time from India. Although only 17 species were correctly identified at the species level, DNA barcoding correctly discriminated 99% of the species studied here. We have also found high intraspecies nucleotide divergence in Plexippus paykulli suggesting cryptic diversity that needs to be studied in detail. Our study also showed non-specific amplification of the Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) gene of endosymbiont bacteria Wolbachia. However, these cases are very rare and could be resolved by the use of modified or group specific primers.

  20. DNA barcoding identifies Argentine fishes from marine and brackish waters.

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    Ezequiel Mabragaña

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: DNA barcoding has been advanced as a promising tool to aid species identification and discovery through the use of short, standardized gene targets. Despite extensive taxonomic studies, for a variety of reasons the identification of fishes can be problematic, even for experts. DNA barcoding is proving to be a useful tool in this context. However, its broad application is impeded by the need to construct a comprehensive reference sequence library for all fish species. Here, we make a regional contribution to this grand challenge by calibrating the species discrimination efficiency of barcoding among 125 Argentine fish species, representing nearly one third of the known fauna, and examine the utility of these data to address several key taxonomic uncertainties pertaining to species in this region. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Specimens were collected and morphologically identified during crusies conducted between 2005 and 2008. The standard BARCODE fragment of COI was amplified and bi-directionally sequenced from 577 specimens (mean of 5 specimens/species, and all specimens and sequence data were archived and interrogated using analytical tools available on the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD; www.barcodinglife.org. Nearly all species exhibited discrete clusters of closely related haplogroups which permitted the discrimination of 95% of the species (i.e. 119/125 examined while cases of shared haplotypes were detected among just three species-pairs. Notably, barcoding aided the identification of a new species of skate, Dipturus argentinensis, permitted the recognition of Genypterus brasiliensis as a valid species and questions the generic assignment of Paralichthys isosceles. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study constitutes a significant contribution to the global barcode reference sequence library for fishes and demonstrates the utility of barcoding for regional species identification. As an independent assessment of alpha

  1. Hybridization relics complicate barcode-based identification of species in earthworms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dupont, L; Porco, D; Symondson, W O C; Roy, V

    2016-07-01

    Introgressive hybridization results in mito-nuclear discordance which could obscure the delimitation of closely related taxa. Although such events are increasingly reported, they have been poorly studied in earthworms. Here, we propose a method for investigating the degree of introgressive hybridization between three taxa of the Allolobophora chlorotica aggregate within two field populations (N = 67 and N = 105) using a reference data set including published DNA barcoding and microsatellite data of all known A. chlorotica lineages (N = 85). For this, we used both molecular phylogenetic and population genetic approaches. The test of correspondence between mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) lineages and clusters of nuclear microsatellite genotypes allowed individuals to be sorted in three categories (matching, admixed and nonmatching) and additional markers (mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1, nuclear Histone 3 and Internal transcribed Spacer Region 2) were used for phylogenetic reconstructions in order to check assignments. Although 15 admixed individuals were observed, no early-generation hybrids were detected within the two populations. Interestingly, 14 nonmatching individuals (i.e. with a mtDNA haplotype that did not correspond to their nuclear cluster) were detected, a pattern that would result after multiple generations of unidirectional hybridization of female from one taxon to male of the other taxon. Because earthworms are simultaneous hermaphrodites, these events of unidirectional hybridization suggest sterility of the male function in several crosses and highlight that some individuals can be misidentified if reliance is placed on COI barcodes alone. These findings could improve the use of these barcodes in earthworms for species delineation. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. A regional approach to plant DNA barcoding provides high species resolution of sedges (Carex and Kobresia, Cyperaceae) in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clerc-Blain, Jessica L E; Starr, Julian R; Bull, Roger D; Saarela, Jeffery M

    2010-01-01

    Previous research on barcoding sedges (Carex) suggested that basic searches within a global barcoding database would probably not resolve more than 60% of the world's some 2000 species. In this study, we take an alternative approach and explore the performance of plant DNA barcoding in the Carex lineage from an explicitly regional perspective. We characterize the utility of a subset of the proposed protein-coding and noncoding plastid barcoding regions (matK, rpoB, rpoC1, rbcL, atpF-atpH, psbK-psbI) for distinguishing species of Carex and Kobresia in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, a clearly defined eco-geographical region representing 1% of the Earth's landmass. Our results show that matK resolves the greatest number of species of any single-locus (95%), and when combined in a two-locus barcode, it provides 100% species resolution in all but one combination (matK + atpFH) during unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic mean averages (UPGMA) analyses. Noncoding regions were equally or more variable than matK, but as single markers they resolve substantially fewer taxa than matK alone. When difficulties with sequencing and alignment due to microstructural variation in noncoding regions are also considered, our results support other studies in suggesting that protein-coding regions are more practical as barcoding markers. Plastid DNA barcodes are an effective identification tool for species of Carex and Kobresia in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, a region where the number of co-existing closely related species is limited. We suggest that if a regional approach to plant DNA barcoding was applied on a global scale, it could provide a solution to the generally poor species resolution seen in previous barcoding studies. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  3. Exploring Canadian Echinoderm Diversity through DNA Barcodes.

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    Kara K S Layton

    Full Text Available DNA barcoding has proven an effective tool for species identification in varied groups of marine invertebrates including crustaceans, molluscs, polychaetes and echinoderms. In this study, we further validate its utility by analyzing almost half of the 300 species of Echinodermata known from Canadian waters. COI sequences from 999 specimens were assigned to 145 BINs. In most cases, species discrimination was straightforward due to the large difference (25-fold between mean intra- (0.48% and inter- (12.0% specific divergence. Six species were flagged for further taxonomic investigation because specimens assigned to them fell into two or three discrete sequence clusters. The potential influence of larval dispersal capacity and glacial events on patterns of genetic diversity is discussed for 19 trans-oceanic species. Although additional research is needed to clarify biogeographic patterns and resolve taxonomic questions, this study represents an important step in the assembly of a DNA barcode library for all Canadian echinoderms, a valuable resource for future biosurveillance programs.

  4. Barcoding and Phylogenetic Inferences in Nine Mugilid Species (Pisces, Mugiliformes

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    Neonila Polyakova

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Accurate identification of fish and fish products, from eggs to adults, is important in many areas. Grey mullets of the family Mugilidae are distributed worldwide and inhabit marine, estuarine, and freshwater environments in all tropical and temperate regions. Various Mugilid species are commercially important species in fishery and aquaculture of many countries. For the present study we have chosen two Mugilid genes with different phylogenetic signals: relatively variable mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI and conservative nuclear rhodopsin (RHO. We examined their diversity within and among 9 Mugilid species belonging to 4 genera, many of which have been examined from multiple specimens, with the goal of determining whether DNA barcoding can achieve unambiguous species recognition of Mugilid species. The data obtained showed that information based on COI sequences was diagnostic not only for species-level identification but also for recognition of intraspecific units, e.g., allopatric populations of circumtropical Mugil cephalus, or even native and acclimatized specimens of Chelon haematocheila. All RHO sequences appeared strictly species specific. Based on the data obtained, we conclude that COI, as well as RHO sequencing can be used to unambiguously identify fish species. Topologies of phylogeny based on RHO and COI sequences coincided with each other, while together they had a good phylogenetic signal.

  5. Machine Learned Replacement of N-Labels for Basecalled Sequences in DNA Barcoding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Eddie Y T; Ratnasingham, Sujeevan; Kremer, Stefan C

    2018-01-01

    This study presents a machine learning method that increases the number of identified bases in Sanger Sequencing. The system post-processes a KB basecalled chromatogram. It selects a recoverable subset of N-labels in the KB-called chromatogram to replace with basecalls (A,C,G,T). An N-label correction is defined given an additional read of the same sequence, and a human finished sequence. Corrections are added to the dataset when an alignment determines the additional read and human agree on the identity of the N-label. KB must also rate the replacement with quality value of in the additional read. Corrections are only available during system training. Developing the system, nearly 850,000 N-labels are obtained from Barcode of Life Datasystems, the premier database of genetic markers called DNA Barcodes. Increasing the number of correct bases improves reference sequence reliability, increases sequence identification accuracy, and assures analysis correctness. Keeping with barcoding standards, our system maintains an error rate of percent. Our system only applies corrections when it estimates low rate of error. Tested on this data, our automation selects and recovers: 79 percent of N-labels from COI (animal barcode); 80 percent from matK and rbcL (plant barcodes); and 58 percent from non-protein-coding sequences (across eukaryotes).

  6. A “Rosetta Stone” for metazoan zooplankton: DNA barcode analysis of species diversity of the Sargasso Sea (Northwest Atlantic Ocean)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bucklin, Ann; Ortman, Brian D.; Jennings, Robert M.; Nigro, Lisa M.; Sweetman, Christopher J.; Copley, Nancy J.; Sutton, Tracey; Wiebe, Peter H.

    2010-12-01

    Species diversity of the metazoan holozooplankton assemblage of the Sargasso Sea, Northwest Atlantic Ocean, was examined through coordinated morphological taxonomic identification of species and DNA sequencing of a ˜650 base-pair region of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (mtCOI) as a DNA barcode (i.e., short sequence for species recognition and discrimination). Zooplankton collections were made from the surface to 5,000 meters during April, 2006 on the R/V R.H. Brown. Samples were examined by a ship-board team of morphological taxonomists; DNA barcoding was carried out in both ship-board and land-based DNA sequencing laboratories. DNA barcodes were determined for a total of 297 individuals of 175 holozooplankton species in four phyla, including: Cnidaria (Hydromedusae, 4 species; Siphonophora, 47); Arthropoda (Amphipoda, 10; Copepoda, 34; Decapoda, 9; Euphausiacea, 10; Mysidacea, 1; Ostracoda, 27); and Mollusca (Cephalopoda, 8; Heteropoda, 6; Pteropoda, 15); and Chaetognatha (4). Thirty species of fish (Teleostei) were also barcoded. For all seven zooplankton groups for which sufficient data were available, Kimura-2-Parameter genetic distances were significantly lower between individuals of the same species (mean=0.0114; S.D. 0.0117) than between individuals of different species within the same group (mean=0.3166; S.D. 0.0378). This difference, known as the barcode gap, ensures that mtCOI sequences are reliable characters for species identification for the oceanic holozooplankton assemblage. In addition, DNA barcodes allow recognition of new or undescribed species, reveal cryptic species within known taxa, and inform phylogeographic and population genetic studies of geographic variation. The growing database of "gold standard" DNA barcodes serves as a Rosetta Stone for marine zooplankton, providing the key for decoding species diversity by linking species names, morphology, and DNA sequence variation. In light of the pivotal position of zooplankton in ocean

  7. [DNA barcoding and its utility in commonly-used medicinal snakes].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yong; Zhang, Yue-yun; Zhao, Cheng-jian; Xu, Yong-li; Gu, Ying-le; Huang, Wen-qi; Lin, Kui; Li, Li

    2015-03-01

    Identification accuracy of traditional Chinese medicine is crucial for the traditional Chinese medicine research, production and application. DNA barcoding based on the mitochondrial gene coding for cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), are more and more used for identification of traditional Chinese medicine. Using universal barcoding primers to sequence, we discussed the feasibility of DNA barcoding method for identification commonly-used medicinal snakes (a total of 109 samples belonging to 19 species 15 genera 6 families). The phylogenetic trees using Neighbor-joining were constructed. The results indicated that the mean content of G + C(46.5%) was lower than that of A + T (53.5%). As calculated by Kimera-2-parameter model, the mean intraspecies genetic distance of Trimeresurus albolabris, Ptyas dhumnades and Lycodon rufozonatus was greater than 2%. Further phylogenetic relationship results suggested that identification of one sample of T. albolabris was erroneous. The identification of some samples of P. dhumnades was also not correct, namely originally P. korros was identified as P. dhumnades. Factors influence on intraspecific genetic distance difference of L. rufozonatus need to be studied further. Therefore, DNA barcoding for identification of medicinal snakes is feasible, and greatly complements the morphological classification method. It is necessary to further study in identification of traditional Chinese medicine.

  8. Identification of Neoceratitis asiatica (Becker) (Diptera: Tephritidae) based on morphological characteristics and DNA barcode.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Shaokun; He, Jia; Zhao, Zihua; Liu, Lijun; Gao, Liyuan; Wei, Shuhua; Guo, Xiaoyu; Zhang, Rong; Li, Zhihong

    2017-12-12

    Neoceratitis asiatica (Becker), which especially infests wolfberry (Lycium barbarum L.), could cause serious economic losses every year in China, especially to organic wolfberry production. In some important wolfberry plantings, it is difficult and time-consuming to rear the larvae or pupae to adults for morphological identification. Molecular identification based on DNA barcode is a solution to the problem. In this study, 15 samples were collected from Ningxia, China. Among them, five adults were identified according to their morphological characteristics. The utility of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene sequence as DNA barcode in distinguishing N. asiatica was evaluated by analysing Kimura 2-parameter distances and phylogenetic trees. There were significant differences between intra-specific and inter-specific genetic distances according to the barcoding gap analysis. The uncertain larval and pupal samples were within the same cluster as N. asiatica adults and formed sister cluster to N. cyanescens. A combination of morphological and molecular methods enabled accurate identification of N. asiatica. This is the first study using DNA barcode to identify N. asiatica and the obtained DNA sequences will be added to the DNA barcode database.

  9. Universal Plant DNA Barcode Loci May Not Work in Complex Groups: A Case Study with Indian Berberis Species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roy, Sribash; Tyagi, Antariksh; Shukla, Virendra; Kumar, Anil; Singh, Uma M.; Chaudhary, Lal Babu; Datt, Bhaskar; Bag, Sumit K.; Singh, Pradhyumna K.; Nair, Narayanan K.; Husain, Tariq; Tuli, Rakesh

    2010-01-01

    Background The concept of DNA barcoding for species identification has gained considerable momentum in animals because of fairly successful species identification using cytochrome oxidase I (COI). In plants, matK and rbcL have been proposed as standard barcodes. However, barcoding in complex genera is a challenging task. Methodology and Principal Findings We investigated the species discriminatory power of four reportedly most promising plant DNA barcoding loci (one from nuclear genome- ITS, and three from plastid genome- trnH-psbA, rbcL and matK) in species of Indian Berberis L. (Berberidaceae) and two other genera, Ficus L. (Moraceae) and Gossypium L. (Malvaceae). Berberis species were delineated using morphological characters. These characters resulted in a well resolved species tree. Applying both nucleotide distance and nucleotide character-based approaches, we found that none of the loci, either singly or in combinations, could discriminate the species of Berberis. ITS resolved all the tested species of Ficus and Gossypium and trnH-psbA resolved 82% of the tested species in Ficus. The highly regarded matK and rbcL could not resolve all the species. Finally, we employed amplified fragment length polymorphism test in species of Berberis to determine their relationships. Using ten primer pair combinations in AFLP, the data demonstrated incomplete species resolution. Further, AFLP analysis showed that there was a tendency of the Berberis accessions to cluster according to their geographic origin rather than species affiliation. Conclusions/Significance We reconfirm the earlier reports that the concept of universal barcode in plants may not work in a number of genera. Our results also suggest that the matK and rbcL, recommended as universal barcode loci for plants, may not work in all the genera of land plants. Morphological, geographical and molecular data analyses of Indian species of Berberis suggest probable reticulate evolution and thus barcode markers may

  10. Universal plant DNA barcode loci may not work in complex groups: a case study with Indian berberis species.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sribash Roy

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The concept of DNA barcoding for species identification has gained considerable momentum in animals because of fairly successful species identification using cytochrome oxidase I (COI. In plants, matK and rbcL have been proposed as standard barcodes. However, barcoding in complex genera is a challenging task. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We investigated the species discriminatory power of four reportedly most promising plant DNA barcoding loci (one from nuclear genome--ITS, and three from plastid genome--trnH-psbA, rbcL and matK in species of Indian Berberis L. (Berberidaceae and two other genera, Ficus L. (Moraceae and Gossypium L. (Malvaceae. Berberis species were delineated using morphological characters. These characters resulted in a well resolved species tree. Applying both nucleotide distance and nucleotide character-based approaches, we found that none of the loci, either singly or in combinations, could discriminate the species of Berberis. ITS resolved all the tested species of Ficus and Gossypium and trnH-psbA resolved 82% of the tested species in Ficus. The highly regarded matK and rbcL could not resolve all the species. Finally, we employed amplified fragment length polymorphism test in species of Berberis to determine their relationships. Using ten primer pair combinations in AFLP, the data demonstrated incomplete species resolution. Further, AFLP analysis showed that there was a tendency of the Berberis accessions to cluster according to their geographic origin rather than species affiliation. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We reconfirm the earlier reports that the concept of universal barcode in plants may not work in a number of genera. Our results also suggest that the matK and rbcL, recommended as universal barcode loci for plants, may not work in all the genera of land plants. Morphological, geographical and molecular data analyses of Indian species of Berberis suggest probable reticulate evolution and thus

  11. Identifying the main mosquito species in China based on DNA barcoding.

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    Gang Wang

    Full Text Available Mosquitoes are insects of the Diptera, Nematocera, and Culicidae families, some species of which are important disease vectors. Identifying mosquito species based on morphological characteristics is difficult, particularly the identification of specimens collected in the field as part of disease surveillance programs. Because of this difficulty, we constructed DNA barcodes of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1, the COI gene, for the more common mosquito species in China, including the major disease vectors. A total of 404 mosquito specimens were collected and assigned to 15 genera and 122 species and subspecies on the basis of morphological characteristics. Individuals of the same species grouped closely together in a Neighborhood-Joining tree based on COI sequence similarity, regardless of collection site. COI gene sequence divergence was approximately 30 times higher for species in the same genus than for members of the same species. Divergence in over 98% of congeneric species ranged from 2.3% to 21.8%, whereas divergence in conspecific individuals ranged from 0% to 1.67%. Cryptic species may be common and a few pseudogenes were detected.

  12. Contrasting morphological and DNA barcode-suggested species boundaries among shallow-water amphipod fauna from the southern European Atlantic coast.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lobo, Jorge; Ferreira, Maria S; Antunes, Ilisa C; Teixeira, Marcos A L; Borges, Luisa M S; Sousa, Ronaldo; Gomes, Pedro A; Costa, Maria Helena; Cunha, Marina R; Costa, Filipe O

    2017-02-01

    In this study we compared DNA barcode-suggested species boundaries with morphology-based species identifications in the amphipod fauna of the southern European Atlantic coast. DNA sequences of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I barcode region (COI-5P) were generated for 43 morphospecies (178 specimens) collected along the Portuguese coast which, together with publicly available COI-5P sequences, produced a final dataset comprising 68 morphospecies and 295 sequences. Seventy-five BINs (Barcode Index Numbers) were assigned to these morphospecies, of which 48 were concordant (i.e., 1 BIN = 1 species), 8 were taxonomically discordant, and 19 were singletons. Twelve species had matching sequences (<2% distance) with conspecifics from distant locations (e.g., North Sea). Seven morphospecies were assigned to multiple, and highly divergent, BINs, including specimens of Corophium multisetosum (18% divergence) and Dexamine spiniventris (16% divergence), which originated from sampling locations on the west coast of Portugal (only about 36 and 250 km apart, respectively). We also found deep divergence (4%-22%) among specimens of seven species from Portugal compared to those from the North Sea and Italy. The detection of evolutionarily meaningful divergence among populations of several amphipod species from southern Europe reinforces the need for a comprehensive re-assessment of the diversity of this faunal group.

  13. Species-level para- and polyphyly in DNA barcode gene trees

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mutanen, Marko; Kivelä, Sami M.; Vos, Rutger A.

    2016-01-01

    was paid to accurate species identification to ensure data integrity. We investigated the effects of tree-building method, sampling effort, and other methodological issues, all of which can influence estimates of non-monophyly. We found a 12% incidence of non-monophyly, a value significantly lower than...... between species and gene genealogies, as indicated by situations where conspecific individuals do not form a monophyletic cluster in a gene tree. In two previous reviews, non-monophyly has been reported as being common in mitochondrial DNA gene trees. We developed a novel web service "Monophylizer......" to detect non-monophyly in phylogenetic trees and used it to ascertain the incidence of species non-monophyly in COI (a.k.a. cox1) barcode sequence data from 4977 species and 41,583 specimens of European Lepidoptera, the largest data set of DNA barcodes analyzed from this regard. Particular attention...

  14. Spider mite (Acari: Tetranychidae) mitochondrial COI phylogeny reviewed: host plant relationships, phylogeography, reproductive parasites and barcoding

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ros, V.I.D.; Breeuwer, J.A.J.

    2007-01-01

    The past 15 years have witnessed a number of molecular studies that aimed to resolve issues of species delineation and phylogeny of mites in the family Tetranychidae. The central part of the mitochondrial COI region has frequently been used for investigating intra- and interspecific variation. All

  15. A new species of the genus Hyalessa (Hemiptera, Cicadidae) from China, with DNA barcoding data and a key to related species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xu; Qiu, Yue; Wei, Cong

    2016-03-02

    One new species of the genus Hyalessa China, H. wangi sp. nov., from Yunnan, China is described. Partial mitochondrial COI gene (DNA barcoding) of this new species is sequenced and uploaded to GenBank. A key to all species of Hyalessa is provided.

  16. A transcontinental challenge--a test of DNA barcode performance for 1,541 species of Canadian Noctuoidea (Lepidoptera.

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    Reza Zahiri

    Full Text Available This study provides a first, comprehensive, diagnostic use of DNA barcodes for the Canadian fauna of noctuoids or "owlet" moths (Lepidoptera: Noctuoidea based on vouchered records for 1,541 species (99.1% species coverage, and more than 30,000 sequences. When viewed from a Canada-wide perspective, DNA barcodes unambiguously discriminate 90% of the noctuoid species recognized through prior taxonomic study, and resolution reaches 95.6% when considered at a provincial scale. Barcode sharing is concentrated in certain lineages with 54% of the cases involving 1.8% of the genera. Deep intraspecific divergence exists in 7.7% of the species, but further studies are required to clarify whether these cases reflect an overlooked species complex or phylogeographic variation in a single species. Non-native species possess higher Nearest-Neighbour (NN distances than native taxa, whereas generalist feeders have lower NN distances than those with more specialized feeding habits. We found high concordance between taxonomic names and sequence clusters delineated by the Barcode Index Number (BIN system with 1,082 species (70% assigned to a unique BIN. The cases of discordance involve both BIN mergers and BIN splits with 38 species falling into both categories, most likely reflecting bidirectional introgression. One fifth of the species are involved in a BIN merger reflecting the presence of 158 species sharing their barcode sequence with at least one other taxon, and 189 species with low, but diagnostic COI divergence. A very few cases (13 involved species whose members fell into both categories. Most of the remaining 140 species show a split into two or three BINs per species, while Virbia ferruginosa was divided into 16. The overall results confirm that DNA barcodes are effective for the identification of Canadian noctuoids. This study also affirms that BINs are a strong proxy for species, providing a pathway for a rapid, accurate estimation of animal diversity.

  17. Review of the Eulamprotes wilkella species-group based on morphology and DNA barcodes, with descriptions of new taxa (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Huemer, Peter; Elsner, Gustav; Karsholt, Ole

    2013-01-01

    The Eulamprotes wilkella species-group is revised based on morphological characters and on DNA barcodes of the mtCOI (Cytochrome c Oxidase 1) gene. Adult morphology combined with sequence information for 9 species supports the existence of 12 species, 7 of which are described as new to science: E...

  18. Morphology versus DNA barcoding: two sides of the same coin. A case study of Ceutorhynchus erysimi and C. contractus identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stepanović, Svetlana; Kosovac, Andrea; Krstić, Oliver; Jović, Jelena; Toševski, Ivo

    2016-08-01

    Genotyping of 2 well-known weevil species from the genus Ceutorhynchus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) distributed in west Palearctic, C. erysimi and C. contractus, revealed phenotype versus genotype inconsistencies in a set of 56 specimens (25 C. erysimi and 31 C. contractus) collected from 25 locations in Serbia and Montenegro. An analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (COI), widely used as a barcoding region, and a nuclear gene, elongation factor-1α (EF-1α), revealed stable genetic divergence among these species. The average uncorrected pairwise distances for the COI and EF-1α genes were 3.8%, and 1.3%, respectively, indicating 2 genetically well-segregated species. However, the genetic data were not congruent with the phenotypic characteristics of the studied specimens. In the first place, C. erysimi genotypes were attached to specimens with phenotypic characteristics of C. contractus. Species-specific PCR-RFLP assays for the barcoding gene COI were applied for the molecular identification of 101 additional specimens of both morphospecies (33 C. erysimi and 68 C. contractus) and were found to confirm this incongruity. The discrepancy between the genetic and morphological data raises the question of the accuracy of using a barcoding approach, as it may result in misleading conclusions about the taxonomic position of the studied organism. Additionally, the typological species concept shows considerable weakness when genetic data are not supported with phenotypic characteristics as in case of asymmetric introgression, which may cause certain problems, especially in applied studies such as biological control programs in which the biological properties of the studied organisms are the main focus. © 2015 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

  19. Towards a comprehensive barcode library for arctic life - Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera of Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-01-01

    Background This study reports progress in assembling a DNA barcode reference library for Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera ("EPTs") from a Canadian subarctic site, which is the focus of a comprehensive biodiversity inventory using DNA barcoding. These three groups of aquatic insects exhibit a moderate level of species diversity, making them ideal for testing the feasibility of DNA barcoding for routine biotic surveys. We explore the correlation between the morphological species delineations, DNA barcode-based haplotype clusters delimited by a sequence threshold (2%), and a threshold-free approach to biodiversity quantification--phylogenetic diversity. Results A DNA barcode reference library is built for 112 EPT species for the focal region, consisting of 2277 COI sequences. Close correspondence was found between EPT morphospecies and haplotype clusters as designated using a standard threshold value. Similarly, the shapes of taxon accumulation curves based upon haplotype clusters were very similar to those generated using phylogenetic diversity accumulation curves, but were much more computationally efficient. Conclusion The results of this study will facilitate other lines of research on northern EPTs and also bode well for rapidly conducting initial biodiversity assessments in unknown EPT faunas. PMID:20003245

  20. Comparison of four species-delimitation methods applied to a DNA barcode data set of insect larvae for use in routine bioassessment for use in routine bioassessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Species delimitation (grouping individuals into distinct taxonomic groups) is an essential part of evolutionary, conservation, and molecular ecology. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) barcodes, short fragments of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene, are being used in environm...

  1. Cloning, expression and characterization of COI1 gene (AsCOI1 from Aquilaria sinensis (Lour. Gilg

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yongcui Liao

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Aquilaria sinensis, a kind of typically wounding-induced medicinal plant with a great economical value, is widely used in the production of traditional Chinese medicine, perfume and incense. Coronatine-insensitive protein 1 (COI1 acts as a receptor in jasmonate (JA signaling pathway, and regulates the expression of JA-responsive genes in plant defense. However, little is known about the COI1 gene in A. sinensis. Here, based on the transcriptome data, a full-length cDNA sequence of COI1 (termed as AsCOI1 was firstly cloned by RT–PCR and rapid-amplification of cDNA ends (RACE strategies. AsCOI1 is 2330 bp in length (GenBank accession No. KM189194, and contains a complete open frame (ORF of 1839 bp. The deduced protein was composed of 612 amino acids, with a predicted molecular weight of 68.93 kDa and an isoelectric point of 6.56, and was predicted to possess F-box and LRRs domains. Combining bioinformatics prediction with subcellular localization experiment analysis, AsCOI1 was appeared to locate in nucleus. AsCOI1 gene was highly expressed in roots and stems, the major organs of agarwood formation. Methyl jasmonate (MeJA, mechanical wounding and heat stress could significantly induce the expression level of AsCOI1 gene. AsCOI1 is an early wound-responsive gene, and it likely plays some role in agarwood formation.

  2. Identification of Uvaria sp by barcoding coupled with high-resolution melting analysis (Bar-HRM).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osathanunkul, M; Madesis, P; Ounjai, S; Pumiputavon, K; Somboonchai, R; Lithanatudom, P; Chaowasku, T; Wipasa, J; Suwannapoom, C

    2016-01-13

    DNA barcoding, which was developed about a decade ago, relies on short, standardized regions of the genome to identify plant and animal species. This method can be used to not only identify known species but also to discover novel ones. Numerous sequences are stored in online databases worldwide. One of the ways to save cost and time (by omitting the sequencing step) in species identification is to use available barcode data to design optimized primers for further analysis, such as high-resolution melting analysis (HRM). This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of the hybrid method Bar-HRM (DNA barcoding combined with HRM) to identify species that share similar external morphological features, rather than conduct traditional taxonomic identification that require major parts (leaf, flower, fruit) of the specimens. The specimens used for testing were those, which could not be identified at the species level and could either be Uvaria longipes or Uvaria wrayias, indicated by morphological identification. Primer pairs derived from chloroplast regions (matK, psbA-trnH, rbcL, and trnL) were used in the Bar-HRM. The results obtained from psbA-trnH primers were good enough to help in identifying the specimen while the rest were not. Bar-HRM analysis was proven to be a fast and cost-effective method for plant species identification.

  3. Delineation of Culicoides species by morphology and barcode exemplified by three new species of the subgenus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from Scandinavia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Søren Achim; Kristensen, Michael

    2015-01-01

    new species initially separated by DNA barcoding with mitochondrial COI can be distinguished by morphological characters. In this context a key to Scandinavian subgenus Culicoides using wing and maxillary palp characters is presented. The key is including the three new species Culicoides boyi...... is considered, as well as the evolutionary relationships between species within this genus remains problematic. In recent years molecular barcoding has assisted substantially in the identification of biting midges in the multiple entomological survey projects which were initiated in many European countries...... following the bluetongue outbreak in 2006–2009. These studies revealed potentially new species and “species-complexes” with large genetic and morphological variability. Here we use molecular barcoding, together with morphological analysis, to study subgenus Culicoides Latreille from Scandinavia with focus...

  4. Submicrometre geometrically encoded fluorescent barcodes self-assembled from DNA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Chenxiang; Jungmann, Ralf; Leifer, Andrew M.; Li, Chao; Levner, Daniel; Church, George M.; Shih, William M.; Yin, Peng

    2012-10-01

    The identification and differentiation of a large number of distinct molecular species with high temporal and spatial resolution is a major challenge in biomedical science. Fluorescence microscopy is a powerful tool, but its multiplexing ability is limited by the number of spectrally distinguishable fluorophores. Here, we used (deoxy)ribonucleic acid (DNA)-origami technology to construct submicrometre nanorods that act as fluorescent barcodes. We demonstrate that spatial control over the positioning of fluorophores on the surface of a stiff DNA nanorod can produce 216 distinct barcodes that can be decoded unambiguously using epifluorescence or total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy. Barcodes with higher spatial information density were demonstrated via the construction of super-resolution barcodes with features spaced by ˜40 nm. One species of the barcodes was used to tag yeast surface receptors, which suggests their potential applications as in situ imaging probes for diverse biomolecular and cellular entities in their native environments.

  5. Two new and one newly recorded species of Polypedilum Kieffer 1912 with DNA barcodes from Oriental China (Chironomidae: Diptera).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Chuncai; Song, Chao; Liu, Ting; Zhao, Guangjun; Hou, Ziyuan; Cao, Wei; Wang, Xinhua

    2017-03-02

    Polypedilum (Tripodura) enshiense Song & Wang sp. n. and P. (Tripodura) jianfengense Song & Wang sp. n. are described and illustrated as male imagines from China. P. (Uresipedilum) paraconvictum Yamamoto, Yamamoto & Hirowatari, 2016 is recorded from China for the first time. Cytochrome coxidase subunit I (COI) sequence of above species are uploaded to Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD).

  6. A DNA barcode library for ground beetles (Insecta, Coleoptera, Carabidae) of Germany: The genus Bembidion Latreille, 1802 and allied taxa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raupach, Michael J; Hannig, Karsten; Morinière, Jérome; Hendrich, Lars

    2016-01-01

    As molecular identification method, DNA barcoding based on partial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) sequences has been proven to be a useful tool for species determination in many insect taxa including ground beetles. In this study we tested the effectiveness of DNA barcodes to discriminate species of the ground beetle genus Bembidion and some closely related taxa of Germany. DNA barcodes were obtained from 819 individuals and 78 species, including sequences from previous studies as well as more than 300 new generated DNA barcodes. We found a 1:1 correspondence between BIN and traditionally recognized species for 69 species (89%). Low interspecific distances with maximum pairwise K2P values below 2.2% were found for three species pairs, including two species pairs with haplotype sharing (Bembidion atrocaeruleum/Bembidion varicolor and Bembidion guttula/Bembidion mannerheimii). In contrast to this, deep intraspecific sequence divergences with distinct lineages were revealed for two species (Bembidion geniculatum/Ocys harpaloides). Our study emphasizes the use of DNA barcodes for the identification of the analyzed ground beetles species and represents an important step in building-up a comprehensive barcode library for the Carabidae in Germany and Central Europe as well.

  7. Reading Mammal Diversity from Flies: The Persistence Period of Amplifiable Mammal mtDNA in Blowfly Guts (Chrysomya megacephala) and a New DNA Mini-Barcode Target.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Ping-Shin; Sing, Kong-Wah; Wilson, John-James

    2015-01-01

    Most tropical mammal species are threatened or data-deficient. Data collection is impeded by the traditional monitoring approaches which can be laborious, expensive and struggle to detect cryptic diversity. Monitoring approaches using mammal DNA derived from invertebrates are emerging as cost- and time-effective alternatives. As a step towards development of blowfly-derived DNA as an effective method for mammal monitoring in the biodiversity hotspot of Peninsular Malaysia, our objectives were (i) to determine the persistence period of amplifiable mammal mtDNA in blowfly guts through a laboratory feeding experiment (ii) to design and test primers that can selectively amplify mammal COI DNA mini-barcodes in the presence of high concentrations of blowfly DNA. The persistence period of amplifiable mammal mtDNA in blowfly guts was 24 h to 96 h post-feeding indicating the need for collecting flies within 24 h of capture to detect mammal mtDNA of sufficient quantity and quality. We designed a new primer combination for a COI DNA mini-barcode that did not amplify blowfly DNA and showed 89% amplification success for a dataset of mammals from Peninsular Malaysia. The short (205 bp) DNA mini-barcode could distinguish most mammal species (including separating dark taxa) and is of suitable length for high-throughput sequencing. Our new DNA mini-barcode target and a standardized trapping protocol with retrieval of blowflies every 24 h could point the way forward in the development of blowfly-derived DNA as an effective method for mammal monitoring.

  8. Morphological description and DNA barcoding of Hydrobaenus majus sp. nov. (Diptera: Chironomidae: Orthocladiinae) from the Russian Far East.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makarchenko, Eugenyi A; Makarchenko, Marina A; Semenchenko, Alexander A

    2015-08-14

    Illustrated descriptions of adult male, pupa and fourth instar larva, as well as DNA barcoding, of Hydrobaenus majus sp. nov. in comparison with the close related species H. sikhotealinensis Makarchenko et Makarchenko from the Russian Far East are provided. The species-specificity of H. majus sp. nov. COI sequences is analyzed and the sequences are presented as diagnostic characters--molecular markers of H. majus and H. sikhotealinensis.

  9. The role of DNA barcodes in understanding and conservation of mammal diversity in southeast Asia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charles M Francis

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Southeast Asia is recognized as a region of very high biodiversity, much of which is currently at risk due to habitat loss and other threats. However, many aspects of this diversity, even for relatively well-known groups such as mammals, are poorly known, limiting ability to develop conservation plans. This study examines the value of DNA barcodes, sequences of the mitochondrial COI gene, to enhance understanding of mammalian diversity in the region and hence to aid conservation planning. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: DNA barcodes were obtained from nearly 1900 specimens representing 165 recognized species of bats. All morphologically or acoustically distinct species, based on classical taxonomy, could be discriminated with DNA barcodes except four closely allied species pairs. Many currently recognized species contained multiple barcode lineages, often with deep divergence suggesting unrecognized species. In addition, most widespread species showed substantial genetic differentiation across their distributions. Our results suggest that mammal species richness within the region may be underestimated by at least 50%, and there are higher levels of endemism and greater intra-specific population structure than previously recognized. CONCLUSIONS: DNA barcodes can aid conservation and research by assisting field workers in identifying species, by helping taxonomists determine species groups needing more detailed analysis, and by facilitating the recognition of the appropriate units and scales for conservation planning.

  10. Molecular differentiation of Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from the subgenus Culicoides Latreille in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lassen, S. B.; Nielsen, S. Achim; Skovgård, H.

    2012-01-01

    complexes are hard to distinguish. We evaluated the use of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I gene (COI) barcode region in the identification of species within the subgenus Culicoides. COI barcode sequence divergence within species was ... impunctatus, and Culicoides grisescens. Additionally, this study confirms the existence of Culicoides halophilus as a valid taxon and presents the first Culicoides deltus barcode sequences. Three additional groups of specimens were identified: Culicoides dk1 with a COI barcode diverging by 14.3% to 17.2% from...... other subgenus Culicoides species and Culicoides Kalix and Culicoides dk3, which diverged by 5.9% from each other and showed 12.5% to 17.6% divergence in COI barcode to subgenus Culicoides specimens....

  11. Integrating DNA barcodes and morphology for species delimitation in the Corynoneura group (Diptera: Chironomidae: Orthocladiinae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, F L; Wiedenbrug, S

    2014-02-01

    In this study, we use DNA barcodes for species delimitation to solve taxonomic conflicts in 86 specimens of 14 species belonging to the Corynoneura group (Diptera: Chironomidae: Orthocladiinae), from the Atlantic Forest, Brazil. Molecular analysis of cytochrome c-oxidase subunit I (COI) gene sequences supported 14 cohesive species groups, of which two similar groups were subsequently associated with morphological variation at the pupal stage. Eleven species previously described based on morphological criteria were linked to DNA markers. Furthermore, there is the possibility that there may be cryptic species within the Corynoneura group, since one group of species presented internal grouping, although no morphological divergence was observed. Our results support DNA-barcoding as an excellent tool for species delimitation in groups where taxonomy by means of morphology is difficult or even impossible.

  12. Analyzing mosquito (Diptera: culicidae diversity in Pakistan by DNA barcoding.

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    Muhammad Ashfaq

    Full Text Available Although they are important disease vectors mosquito biodiversity in Pakistan is poorly known. Recent epidemics of dengue fever have revealed the need for more detailed understanding of the diversity and distributions of mosquito species in this region. DNA barcoding improves the accuracy of mosquito inventories because morphological differences between many species are subtle, leading to misidentifications.Sequence variation in the barcode region of the mitochondrial COI gene was used to identify mosquito species, reveal genetic diversity, and map the distribution of the dengue-vector species in Pakistan. Analysis of 1684 mosquitoes from 491 sites in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during 2010-2013 revealed 32 species with the assemblage dominated by Culex quinquefasciatus (61% of the collection. The genus Aedes (Stegomyia comprised 15% of the specimens, and was represented by six taxa with the two dengue vector species, Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti, dominant and broadly distributed. Anopheles made up another 6% of the catch with An. subpictus dominating. Barcode sequence divergence in conspecific specimens ranged from 0-2.4%, while congeneric species showed from 2.3-17.8% divergence. A global haplotype analysis of disease-vectors showed the presence of multiple haplotypes, although a single haplotype of each dengue-vector species was dominant in most countries. Geographic distribution of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus showed the later species was dominant and found in both rural and urban environments.As the first DNA-based analysis of mosquitoes in Pakistan, this study has begun the construction of a barcode reference library for the mosquitoes of this region. Levels of genetic diversity varied among species. Because of its capacity to differentiate species, even those with subtle morphological differences, DNA barcoding aids accurate tracking of vector populations.

  13. Mitochondrial heteroplasmy and DNA barcoding in Hawaiian Hylaeus (Nesoprosopis bees (Hymenoptera: Colletidae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magnacca Karl N

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The past several years have seen a flurry of papers seeking to clarify the utility and limits of DNA barcoding, particularly in areas such as species discovery and paralogy due to nuclear pseudogenes. Heteroplasmy, the coexistence of multiple mitochondrial haplotypes in a single organism, has been cited as a potentially serious problem for DNA barcoding but its effect on identification accuracy has not been tested. In addition, few studies of barcoding have tested a large group of closely-related species with a well-established morphological taxonomy. In this study we examine both of these issues, by densely sampling the Hawaiian Hylaeus bee radiation. Results Individuals from 21 of the 49 a priori morphologically-defined species exhibited coding sequence heteroplasmy at levels of 1-6% or more. All homoplasmic species were successfully identified by COI using standard methods of analysis, but only 71% of heteroplasmic species. The success rate in identifying heteroplasmic species was increased to 86% by treating polymorphisms as character states rather than ambiguities. Nuclear pseudogenes (numts were also present in four species, and were distinguishable from heteroplasmic sequences by patterns of nucleotide and amino acid change. Conclusions Heteroplasmy significantly decreased the reliability of species identification. In addition, the practical issue of dealing with large numbers of polymorphisms- and resulting increased time and labor required - makes the development of DNA barcode databases considerably more complex than has previously been suggested. The impact of heteroplasmy on the utility of DNA barcoding as a bulk specimen identification tool will depend upon its frequency across populations, which remains unknown. However, DNA barcoding is still likely to remain an important identification tool for those species that are difficult or impossible to identify through morphology, as is the case for the ecologically

  14. Testing DNA barcode performance in 1000 species of European lepidoptera: large geographic distances have small genetic impacts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huemer, Peter; Mutanen, Marko; Sefc, Kristina M; Hebert, Paul D N

    2014-01-01

    This study examines the performance of DNA barcodes (mt cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene) in the identification of 1004 species of Lepidoptera shared by two localities (Finland, Austria) that are 1600 km apart. Maximum intraspecific distances for the pooled data were less than 2% for 880 species (87.6%), while deeper divergence was detected in 124 species. Despite such variation, the overall DNA barcode library possessed diagnostic COI sequences for 98.8% of the taxa. Because a reference library based on Finnish specimens was highly effective in identifying specimens from Austria, we conclude that barcode libraries based on regional sampling can often be effective for a much larger area. Moreover, dispersal ability (poor, good) and distribution patterns (disjunct, fragmented, continuous, migratory) had little impact on levels of intraspecific geographic divergence. Furthermore, the present study revealed that, despite the intensity of past taxonomic work on European Lepidoptera, nearly 20% of the species shared by Austria and Finland require further work to clarify their status. Particularly discordant BIN (Barcode Index Number) cases should be checked to ascertain possible explanatory factors such as incorrect taxonomy, hybridization, introgression, and Wolbachia infections.

  15. Testing DNA barcode performance in 1000 species of European lepidoptera: large geographic distances have small genetic impacts.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Huemer

    Full Text Available This study examines the performance of DNA barcodes (mt cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene in the identification of 1004 species of Lepidoptera shared by two localities (Finland, Austria that are 1600 km apart. Maximum intraspecific distances for the pooled data were less than 2% for 880 species (87.6%, while deeper divergence was detected in 124 species. Despite such variation, the overall DNA barcode library possessed diagnostic COI sequences for 98.8% of the taxa. Because a reference library based on Finnish specimens was highly effective in identifying specimens from Austria, we conclude that barcode libraries based on regional sampling can often be effective for a much larger area. Moreover, dispersal ability (poor, good and distribution patterns (disjunct, fragmented, continuous, migratory had little impact on levels of intraspecific geographic divergence. Furthermore, the present study revealed that, despite the intensity of past taxonomic work on European Lepidoptera, nearly 20% of the species shared by Austria and Finland require further work to clarify their status. Particularly discordant BIN (Barcode Index Number cases should be checked to ascertain possible explanatory factors such as incorrect taxonomy, hybridization, introgression, and Wolbachia infections.

  16. A comparative analysis of DNA barcode microarray feature size

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Smith Andrew M

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Microarrays are an invaluable tool in many modern genomic studies. It is generally perceived that decreasing the size of microarray features leads to arrays with higher resolution (due to greater feature density, but this increase in resolution can compromise sensitivity. Results We demonstrate that barcode microarrays with smaller features are equally capable of detecting variation in DNA barcode intensity when compared to larger feature sizes within a specific microarray platform. The barcodes used in this study are the well-characterized set derived from the Yeast KnockOut (YKO collection used for screens of pooled yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae deletion mutants. We treated these pools with the glycosylation inhibitor tunicamycin as a test compound. Three generations of barcode microarrays at 30, 8 and 5 μm features sizes independently identified the primary target of tunicamycin to be ALG7. Conclusion We show that the data obtained with 5 μm feature size is of comparable quality to the 30 μm size and propose that further shrinking of features could yield barcode microarrays with equal or greater resolving power and, more importantly, higher density.

  17. DNA barcoding and molecular systematics of the benthic and demersal organisms of the CEAMARC survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dettai, Agnes; Adamowizc, Sarah J.; Allcock, Louise; Arango, Claudia P.; Barnes, David K. A.; Barratt, Iain; Chenuil, Anne; Couloux, Arnaud; Cruaud, Corinne; David, Bruno; Denis, Françoise; Denys, Gael; Díaz, Angie; Eléaume, Marc; Féral, Jean-Pierre; Froger, Aurélie; Gallut, Cyril; Grant, Rachel; Griffiths, Huw J.; Held, Christoph; Hemery, Lenaïg G.; Hosie, Graham; Kuklinski, Piotr; Lecointre, Guillaume; Linse, Katrin; Lozouet, Pierre; Mah, Christopher; Monniot, Françoise; Norman, Mark D.; O'Hara, Timothy; Ozouf-Costaz, Catherine; Piedallu, Claire; Pierrat, Benjamin; Poulin, Elie; Puillandre, Nicolas; Riddle, Martin; Samadi, Sarah; Saucède, Thomas; Schubart, Christoph; Smith, Peter J.; Stevens, Darren W.; Steinke, Dirk; Strugnell, Jan M.; Tarnowska, K.; Wadley, Victoria; Ameziane, Nadia

    2011-08-01

    The Dumont d’Urville Sea (East Antarctic region) has been less investigated for DNA barcoding and molecular taxonomy than other parts of the Southern Ocean, such as the Ross Sea and the Antarctic Peninsula. The Collaborative East Antarctic MARine Census (CEAMARC) took place in this area during the austral summer of 2007-2008. The Australian vessel RSV Aurora Australis collected very diverse samples of demersal and benthic organisms. The specimens were sorted centrally, and then distributed to taxonomic experts for molecular and morphological taxonomy and identification, especially barcoding. The COI sequences generated from CEAMARC material provide a sizeable proportion of the Census of Antarctic Marine Life barcodes although the studies are still ongoing, and represent the only source of sequences for a number of species. Barcoding appears to be a valuable method for identification within most groups, despite low divergences and haplotype sharing in a few species, and it is also useful as a preliminary taxonomic exploration method. Several new species are being described. CEAMARC samples have already provided new material for phylogeographic and phylogenetic studies in cephalopods, pycnogonids, teleost fish, crinoids and sea urchins, helping these studies to provide a better insight in the patterns of evolution in the Southern Ocean.

  18. Genetic patterns in European geometrid moths revealed by the Barcode Index Number (BIN system.

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    Axel Hausmann

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The geometrid moths of Europe are one of the best investigated insect groups in traditional taxonomy making them an ideal model group to test the accuracy of the Barcode Index Number (BIN system of BOLD (Barcode of Life Datasystems, a method that supports automated, rapid species delineation and identification. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This study provides a DNA barcode library for 219 of the 249 European geometrid moth species (88% in five selected subfamilies. The data set includes COI sequences for 2130 specimens. Most species (93% were found to possess diagnostic barcode sequences at the European level while only three species pairs (3% were genetically indistinguishable in areas of sympatry. As a consequence, 97% of the European species we examined were unequivocally discriminated by barcodes within their natural areas of distribution. We found a 1:1 correspondence between BINs and traditionally recognized species for 67% of these species. Another 17% of the species (15 pairs, three triads shared BINs, while specimens from the remaining species (18% were divided among two or more BINs. Five of these species are mixtures, both sharing and splitting BINs. For 82% of the species with two or more BINs, the genetic splits involved allopatric populations, many of which have previously been hypothesized to represent distinct species or subspecies. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study confirms the effectiveness of DNA barcoding as a tool for species identification and illustrates the potential of the BIN system to characterize formal genetic units independently of an existing classification. This suggests the system can be used to efficiently assess the biodiversity of large, poorly known assemblages of organisms. For the moths examined in this study, cases of discordance between traditionally recognized species and BINs arose from several causes including overlooked species, synonymy, and cases where DNA barcodes revealed

  19. Forensic DNA barcoding and bio-response studies of animal horn products used in traditional medicine.

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    Dan Yan

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Animal horns (AHs have been applied to traditional medicine for more than thousands of years, of which clinical effects have been confirmed by the history. But now parts of AHs have been listed in the items of wildlife conservation, which limits the use for traditional medicine. The contradiction between the development of traditional medicine and the protection of wild resources has already become the common concern of zoophilists, traditional medical professionals, economists, sociologists. We believe that to strengthen the identification for threatened animals, to prevent the circulation of them, and to seek fertile animals of corresponding bioactivities as substitutes are effective strategies to solve this problem. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A powerful technique of DNA barcoding based on the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase I (COI was used to identify threatened animals of Bovidae and Cervidae, as well as their illegal adulterants (including 10 species and 47 specimens. Meanwhile, the microcalorimetric technique was used to characterize the differences of bio-responses when those animal specimens acted on model organism (Escherichia coli. We found that the COI gene could be used as a universal primer to identify threatened animals and illegal adulterants mentioned above. By analyzing 223 mitochondrial COI sequences, a 100% identification success rate was achieved. We further found that the horns of Mongolian Gazelle and Red Deer could be exploited as a substitute for some functions of endangered Saiga Antelope and Sika Deer in traditional medicine, respectively. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Although it needs a more comprehensive evaluation of bioequivalence in order to completely solve the problem of substitutes for threatened animals, we believe that the identification (DNA barcoding of threatened animals combined with seeking substitutions (bio-response can yet be regarded as a valid strategy for establishing a balance

  20. Novel DNA barcodes for detection, idenfication and tracking of stachybotrys and chaetomium species

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lewinska, Anna Malgorzata; Hoof, Jakob Blæsbjerg; Peuhkuri, Ruut Hannele

    2014-01-01

    Detection and identification of indoor fungi in water-damaged buildings is crucial for preventi and control of fungal growth. This study focuses on a molecular method called DNA barcoding. evaluates commonly used sequences in DNA barcoding for fungal species identification Chaetomium...... and Stachybotrys. The existing DNA barcodes: ITS, SSU, LSU, B-TUB, CMD, RP and TEF-1α do not give satisfying species resolution to be considered as DNA barcodes for the two genera. Therefore, novel barcodes for them are needed. Barcode potentials, such as HOG1 a NAHA, were identified using bioinformatics...

  1. Utility of DNA barcoding for rapid and accurate assessment of bat diversity in Malaysia in the absence of formally described species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, J-J; Sing, K-W; Halim, M R A; Ramli, R; Hashim, R; Sofian-Azirun, M

    2014-02-19

    Bats are important flagship species for biodiversity research; however, diversity in Southeast Asia is considerably underestimated in the current checklists and field guides. Incorporation of DNA barcoding into surveys has revealed numerous species-level taxa overlooked by conventional methods. Inclusion of these taxa in inventories provides a more informative record of diversity, but is problematic as these species lack formal description. We investigated how frequently documented, but undescribed, bat taxa are encountered in Peninsular Malaysia. We discuss whether a barcode library provides a means of recognizing and recording these taxa across biodiversity inventories. Tissue was sampled from bats trapped at Pasir Raja, Dungun Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia. The DNA was extracted and the COI barcode region amplified and sequenced. We identified 9 species-level taxa within our samples, based on analysis of the DNA barcodes. Six specimens matched to four previously documented taxa considered candidate species but currently lacking formal taxonomic status. This study confirms the high diversity of bats within Peninsular Malaysia (9 species in 13 samples) and demonstrates how DNA barcoding allows for inventory and documentation of known taxa lacking formal taxonomic status.

  2. Reading Mammal Diversity from Flies: The Persistence Period of Amplifiable Mammal mtDNA in Blowfly Guts (Chrysomya megacephala) and a New DNA Mini-Barcode Target

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Ping-Shin; Sing, Kong-Wah; Wilson, John-James

    2015-01-01

    Most tropical mammal species are threatened or data-deficient. Data collection is impeded by the traditional monitoring approaches which can be laborious, expensive and struggle to detect cryptic diversity. Monitoring approaches using mammal DNA derived from invertebrates are emerging as cost- and time-effective alternatives. As a step towards development of blowfly-derived DNA as an effective method for mammal monitoring in the biodiversity hotspot of Peninsular Malaysia, our objectives were (i) to determine the persistence period of amplifiable mammal mtDNA in blowfly guts through a laboratory feeding experiment (ii) to design and test primers that can selectively amplify mammal COI DNA mini-barcodes in the presence of high concentrations of blowfly DNA. The persistence period of amplifiable mammal mtDNA in blowfly guts was 24 h to 96 h post-feeding indicating the need for collecting flies within 24 h of capture to detect mammal mtDNA of sufficient quantity and quality. We designed a new primer combination for a COI DNA mini-barcode that did not amplify blowfly DNA and showed 89% amplification success for a dataset of mammals from Peninsular Malaysia. The short (205 bp) DNA mini-barcode could distinguish most mammal species (including separating dark taxa) and is of suitable length for high-throughput sequencing. Our new DNA mini-barcode target and a standardized trapping protocol with retrieval of blowflies every 24 h could point the way forward in the development of blowfly-derived DNA as an effective method for mammal monitoring. PMID:25898278

  3. Reading Mammal Diversity from Flies: The Persistence Period of Amplifiable Mammal mtDNA in Blowfly Guts (Chrysomya megacephala and a New DNA Mini-Barcode Target.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ping-Shin Lee

    Full Text Available Most tropical mammal species are threatened or data-deficient. Data collection is impeded by the traditional monitoring approaches which can be laborious, expensive and struggle to detect cryptic diversity. Monitoring approaches using mammal DNA derived from invertebrates are emerging as cost- and time-effective alternatives. As a step towards development of blowfly-derived DNA as an effective method for mammal monitoring in the biodiversity hotspot of Peninsular Malaysia, our objectives were (i to determine the persistence period of amplifiable mammal mtDNA in blowfly guts through a laboratory feeding experiment (ii to design and test primers that can selectively amplify mammal COI DNA mini-barcodes in the presence of high concentrations of blowfly DNA. The persistence period of amplifiable mammal mtDNA in blowfly guts was 24 h to 96 h post-feeding indicating the need for collecting flies within 24 h of capture to detect mammal mtDNA of sufficient quantity and quality. We designed a new primer combination for a COI DNA mini-barcode that did not amplify blowfly DNA and showed 89% amplification success for a dataset of mammals from Peninsular Malaysia. The short (205 bp DNA mini-barcode could distinguish most mammal species (including separating dark taxa and is of suitable length for high-throughput sequencing. Our new DNA mini-barcode target and a standardized trapping protocol with retrieval of blowflies every 24 h could point the way forward in the development of blowfly-derived DNA as an effective method for mammal monitoring.

  4. An In silico approach for the evaluation of DNA barcodes

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    Shehzad Wasim

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background DNA barcoding is a key tool for assessing biodiversity in both taxonomic and environmental studies. Essential features of barcodes include their applicability to a wide spectrum of taxa and their ability to identify even closely related species. Several DNA regions have been proposed as barcodes and the region selected strongly influences the output of a study. However, formal comparisons between barcodes remained limited until now. Here we present a standard method for evaluating barcode quality, based on the use of a new bioinformatic tool that performs in silico PCR over large databases. We illustrate this approach by comparing the taxonomic coverage and the resolution of several DNA regions already proposed for the barcoding of vertebrates. To assess the relationship between in silico and in vitro PCR, we also developed specific primers amplifying different species of Felidae, and we tested them using both kinds of PCR Results Tests on specific primers confirmed the correspondence between in silico and in vitro PCR. Nevertheless, results of in silico and in vitro PCRs can be somehow different, also because tuning PCR conditions can increase the performance of primers with limited taxonomic coverage. The in silico evaluation of DNA barcodes showed a strong variation of taxonomic coverage (i.e., universality: barcodes based on highly degenerated primers and those corresponding to the conserved region of the Cyt-b showed the highest coverage. As expected, longer barcodes had a better resolution than shorter ones, which are however more convenient for ecological studies analysing environmental samples. Conclusions In silico PCR could be used to improve the performance of a study, by allowing the preliminary comparison of several DNA regions in order to identify the most appropriate barcode depending on the study aims.

  5. DNA barcoding as a useful tool in the systematic study of wild bees of the tribe Augochlorini (Hymenoptera: Halictidae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    González-Vaquero, Rocío Ana; Roig-Alsina, Arturo; Packer, Laurence

    2016-10-01

    Special care is needed in the delimitation and identification of halictid bee species, which are renowned for being morphologically monotonous. Corynura Spinola and Halictillus Moure (Halictidae: Augochlorini) contain species that are key elements in southern South American ecosystems. These bees are very difficult to identify due to close morphological similarity among species and high sexual dimorphism. We analyzed 170 barcode-compliant COI sequences from 19 species. DNA barcodes were useful to confirm gender associations and to detect two new cryptic species. Interspecific distances were significantly higher than those reported for other bees. Maximum intraspecific divergence was less than 1% in 14 species. Barcode index numbers (BINs) were useful to identify putative species that need further study. More than one BIN was assigned to five species. The name Corynura patagonica (Cockerell) probably refers to two cryptic species. The results suggest that Corynura and Halictillus species can be identified using DNA barcodes. The sequences of the species included in this study can be used as a reference to assess the identification of unknown specimens. This study provides additional support for the use of DNA barcodes in bee taxonomy and the identification of specimens, which is particularly relevant in insects of ecological importance such as pollinators.

  6. Detection of gametophytes in the maerl-forming species Phymatolithon calcareum (Melobesioideae, Corallinales) assessed by DNA barcoding

    OpenAIRE

    Peña, V; Hernandez-Kantun, J; Grall, J; Pardo, C; Lopez, L; Barbara, I; Le Gall, L; Barreiro, R

    2014-01-01

    Fertile gametangial plants of Phymatolithon calcareum, which are seldom reported in the Atlantic European coasts, were collected as encrusting, epilithic plants in a subtidal maerl bed in Brittany (France). Based on their morphological features, the plants were identified as P. calcareum. This identification was further confirmed by DNA barcodes using as a reference COI-5P sequences obtained from the neotype together with recent collections from the Atlantic European maerl beds. The reproduct...

  7. How many species and under what names? Using DNA barcoding and GenBank data for west Central African amphibian conservation.

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    Jessica L Deichmann

    Full Text Available Development projects in west Central Africa are proceeding at an unprecedented rate, often with little concern for their effects on biodiversity. In an attempt to better understand potential impacts of a road development project on the anuran amphibian community, we conducted a biodiversity assessment employing multiple methodologies (visual encounter transects, auditory surveys, leaf litter plots and pitfall traps to inventory species prior to construction of a new road within the buffer zone of Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, Gabon. Because of difficulties in morphological identification and taxonomic uncertainty of amphibian species observed in the area, we integrated a DNA barcoding analysis into the project to improve the overall quality and accuracy of the species inventory. Based on morphology alone, 48 species were recognized in the field and voucher specimens of each were collected. We used tissue samples from specimens collected at our field site, material available from amphibians collected in other parts of Gabon and the Republic of Congo to initiate a DNA barcode library for west Central African amphibians. We then compared our sequences with material in GenBank for the genera recorded at the study site to assist in identifications. The resulting COI and 16S barcode library allowed us to update the number of species documented at the study site to 28, thereby providing a more accurate assessment of diversity and distributions. We caution that because sequence data maintained in GenBank are often poorly curated by the original submitters and cannot be amended by third-parties, these data have limited utility for identification purposes. Nevertheless, the use of DNA barcoding is likely to benefit biodiversity inventories and long-term monitoring, particularly for taxa that can be difficult to identify based on morphology alone; likewise, inventory and monitoring programs can contribute invaluable data to the DNA barcode library and

  8. Design of character-based DNA barcode motif for species identification: A computational approach and its validation in fishes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chakraborty, Mohua; Dhar, Bishal; Ghosh, Sankar Kumar

    2017-11-01

    The DNA barcodes are generally interpreted using distance-based and character-based methods. The former uses clustering of comparable groups, based on the relative genetic distance, while the latter is based on the presence or absence of discrete nucleotide substitutions. The distance-based approach has a limitation in defining a universal species boundary across the taxa as the rate of mtDNA evolution is not constant throughout the taxa. However, character-based approach more accurately defines this using a unique set of nucleotide characters. The character-based analysis of full-length barcode has some inherent limitations, like sequencing of the full-length barcode, use of a sparse-data matrix and lack of a uniform diagnostic position for each group. A short continuous stretch of a fragment can be used to resolve the limitations. Here, we observe that a 154-bp fragment, from the transversion-rich domain of 1367 COI barcode sequences can successfully delimit species in the three most diverse orders of freshwater fishes. This fragment is used to design species-specific barcode motifs for 109 species by the character-based method, which successfully identifies the correct species using a pattern-matching program. The motifs also correctly identify geographically isolated population of the Cypriniformes species. Further, this region is validated as a species-specific mini-barcode for freshwater fishes by successful PCR amplification and sequencing of the motif (154 bp) using the designed primers. We anticipate that use of such motifs will enhance the diagnostic power of DNA barcode, and the mini-barcode approach will greatly benefit the field-based system of rapid species identification. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Inferring the provenance of an alien species with DNA barcodes: the neotropical butterfly Dryas iulia in Thailand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burg, Noah A; Pradhan, Ashman; Gonzalez, Rebecca M; Morban, Emely Z; Zhen, Erica W; Sakchoowong, Watana; Lohman, David J

    2014-01-01

    The Neotropical butterfly Dryas iulia has been collected from several locations in Thailand and Malaysia since 2007, and has been observed breeding in the wild, using introduced Passiflora foetida as a larval host plant. The butterfly is bred by a butterfly house in Phuket, Thailand, for release at weddings and Buddhist ceremonies, and we hypothesized that this butterfly house was the source of wild, Thai individuals. We compared wing patterns and COI barcodes from two, wild Thai populations with individuals obtained from this butterfly house. All Thai individuals resemble the subspecies D. iulia modesta, and barcodes from wild and captive Thai specimens were identical. This unique, Thai barcode was not found in any of the 30 specimens sampled from the wild in the species' native range, but is most similar to specimens from Costa Rica, where many exporting butterfly farms are located. These data implicate the butterfly house as the source of Thailand's wild D. iulia populations, which are currently so widespread that eradication efforts are unlikely to be successful.

  10. Inferring the provenance of an alien species with DNA barcodes: the neotropical butterfly Dryas iulia in Thailand.

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    Noah A Burg

    Full Text Available The Neotropical butterfly Dryas iulia has been collected from several locations in Thailand and Malaysia since 2007, and has been observed breeding in the wild, using introduced Passiflora foetida as a larval host plant. The butterfly is bred by a butterfly house in Phuket, Thailand, for release at weddings and Buddhist ceremonies, and we hypothesized that this butterfly house was the source of wild, Thai individuals. We compared wing patterns and COI barcodes from two, wild Thai populations with individuals obtained from this butterfly house. All Thai individuals resemble the subspecies D. iulia modesta, and barcodes from wild and captive Thai specimens were identical. This unique, Thai barcode was not found in any of the 30 specimens sampled from the wild in the species' native range, but is most similar to specimens from Costa Rica, where many exporting butterfly farms are located. These data implicate the butterfly house as the source of Thailand's wild D. iulia populations, which are currently so widespread that eradication efforts are unlikely to be successful.

  11. Unexpectedly High Levels of Cryptic Diversity Uncovered by a Complete DNA Barcoding of Reptiles of the Socotra Archipelago.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasconcelos, Raquel; Montero-Mendieta, Santiago; Simó-Riudalbas, Marc; Sindaco, Roberto; Santos, Xavier; Fasola, Mauro; Llorente, Gustavo; Razzetti, Edoardo; Carranza, Salvador

    2016-01-01

    Few DNA barcoding studies of squamate reptiles have been conducted. Due to the significance of the Socotra Archipelago (a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site and a biodiversity hotspot) and the conservation interest of its reptile fauna (94% endemics), we performed the most comprehensive DNA barcoding study on an island group to date to test its applicability to specimen identification and species discovery. Reptiles constitute Socotra's most important vertebrate fauna, yet their taxonomy remains under-studied. We successfully DNA-barcoded 380 individuals of all 31 presently recognized species. The specimen identification success rate is moderate to high, and almost all species presented local barcoding gaps. The unexpected high levels of intra-specific variability found within some species suggest cryptic diversity. Species richness may be under-estimated by 13.8-54.4%. This has implications in the species' ranges and conservation status that should be considered for conservation planning. Other phylogenetic studies using mitochondrial and nuclear markers are congruent with our results. We conclude that, despite its reduced length (663 base pairs), cytochrome c oxidase 1, COI, is very useful for specimen identification and for detecting intra-specific diversity, and has a good phylogenetic signal. We recommend DNA barcoding to be applied to other biodiversity hotspots for quickly and cost-efficiently flagging species discovery, preferentially incorporated into an integrative taxonomic framework.

  12. Unexpectedly High Levels of Cryptic Diversity Uncovered by a Complete DNA Barcoding of Reptiles of the Socotra Archipelago.

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    Raquel Vasconcelos

    Full Text Available Few DNA barcoding studies of squamate reptiles have been conducted. Due to the significance of the Socotra Archipelago (a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site and a biodiversity hotspot and the conservation interest of its reptile fauna (94% endemics, we performed the most comprehensive DNA barcoding study on an island group to date to test its applicability to specimen identification and species discovery. Reptiles constitute Socotra's most important vertebrate fauna, yet their taxonomy remains under-studied. We successfully DNA-barcoded 380 individuals of all 31 presently recognized species. The specimen identification success rate is moderate to high, and almost all species presented local barcoding gaps. The unexpected high levels of intra-specific variability found within some species suggest cryptic diversity. Species richness may be under-estimated by 13.8-54.4%. This has implications in the species' ranges and conservation status that should be considered for conservation planning. Other phylogenetic studies using mitochondrial and nuclear markers are congruent with our results. We conclude that, despite its reduced length (663 base pairs, cytochrome c oxidase 1, COI, is very useful for specimen identification and for detecting intra-specific diversity, and has a good phylogenetic signal. We recommend DNA barcoding to be applied to other biodiversity hotspots for quickly and cost-efficiently flagging species discovery, preferentially incorporated into an integrative taxonomic framework.

  13. PCR cycles above routine numbers do not compromise high-throughput DNA barcoding results.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vierna, J; Doña, J; Vizcaíno, A; Serrano, D; Jovani, R

    2017-10-01

    High-throughput DNA barcoding has become essential in ecology and evolution, but some technical questions still remain. Increasing the number of PCR cycles above the routine 20-30 cycles is a common practice when working with old-type specimens, which provide little amounts of DNA, or when facing annealing issues with the primers. However, increasing the number of cycles can raise the number of artificial mutations due to polymerase errors. In this work, we sequenced 20 COI libraries in the Illumina MiSeq platform. Libraries were prepared with 40, 45, 50, 55, and 60 PCR cycles from four individuals belonging to four species of four genera of cephalopods. We found no relationship between the number of PCR cycles and the number of mutations despite using a nonproofreading polymerase. Moreover, even when using a high number of PCR cycles, the resulting number of mutations was low enough not to be an issue in the context of high-throughput DNA barcoding (but may still remain an issue in DNA metabarcoding due to chimera formation). We conclude that the common practice of increasing the number of PCR cycles should not negatively impact the outcome of a high-throughput DNA barcoding study in terms of the occurrence of point mutations.

  14. Pitfalls of establishing DNA barcoding systems in protists: the cryptophyceae as a test case.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoef-Emden, Kerstin

    2012-01-01

    A DNA barcode is a preferrably short and highly variable region of DNA supposed to facilitate a rapid identification of species. In many protistan lineages, a lack of species-specific morphological characters hampers an identification of species by light or electron microscopy, and difficulties to perform mating experiments in laboratory cultures also do not allow for an identification of biological species. Thus, testing candidate barcode markers as well as establishment of accurately working species identification systems are more challenging than in multicellular organisms. In cryptic species complexes the performance of a potential barcode marker can not be monitored using morphological characters as a feedback, but an inappropriate choice of DNA region may result in artifactual species trees for several reasons. Therefore a priori knowledge of the systematics of a group is required. In addition to identification of known species, methods for an automatic delimitation of species with DNA barcodes have been proposed. The Cryptophyceae provide a mixture of systematically well characterized as well as badly characterized groups and are used in this study to test the suitability of some of the methods for protists. As species identification method the performance of blast in searches against badly to well-sampled reference databases has been tested with COI-5P and 5'-partial LSU rDNA (domains A to D of the nuclear LSU rRNA gene). In addition the performance of two different methods for automatic species delimitation, fixed thresholds of genetic divergence and the general mixed Yule-coalescent model (GMYC), have been examined. The study demonstrates some pitfalls of barcoding methods that have to be taken care of. Also a best-practice approach towards establishing a DNA barcode system in protists is proposed.

  15. Pitfalls of establishing DNA barcoding systems in protists: the cryptophyceae as a test case.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kerstin Hoef-Emden

    Full Text Available A DNA barcode is a preferrably short and highly variable region of DNA supposed to facilitate a rapid identification of species. In many protistan lineages, a lack of species-specific morphological characters hampers an identification of species by light or electron microscopy, and difficulties to perform mating experiments in laboratory cultures also do not allow for an identification of biological species. Thus, testing candidate barcode markers as well as establishment of accurately working species identification systems are more challenging than in multicellular organisms. In cryptic species complexes the performance of a potential barcode marker can not be monitored using morphological characters as a feedback, but an inappropriate choice of DNA region may result in artifactual species trees for several reasons. Therefore a priori knowledge of the systematics of a group is required. In addition to identification of known species, methods for an automatic delimitation of species with DNA barcodes have been proposed. The Cryptophyceae provide a mixture of systematically well characterized as well as badly characterized groups and are used in this study to test the suitability of some of the methods for protists. As species identification method the performance of blast in searches against badly to well-sampled reference databases has been tested with COI-5P and 5'-partial LSU rDNA (domains A to D of the nuclear LSU rRNA gene. In addition the performance of two different methods for automatic species delimitation, fixed thresholds of genetic divergence and the general mixed Yule-coalescent model (GMYC, have been examined. The study demonstrates some pitfalls of barcoding methods that have to be taken care of. Also a best-practice approach towards establishing a DNA barcode system in protists is proposed.

  16. Pitfalls of Establishing DNA Barcoding Systems in Protists: The Cryptophyceae as a Test Case

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoef-Emden, Kerstin

    2012-01-01

    A DNA barcode is a preferrably short and highly variable region of DNA supposed to facilitate a rapid identification of species. In many protistan lineages, a lack of species-specific morphological characters hampers an identification of species by light or electron microscopy, and difficulties to perform mating experiments in laboratory cultures also do not allow for an identification of biological species. Thus, testing candidate barcode markers as well as establishment of accurately working species identification systems are more challenging than in multicellular organisms. In cryptic species complexes the performance of a potential barcode marker can not be monitored using morphological characters as a feedback, but an inappropriate choice of DNA region may result in artifactual species trees for several reasons. Therefore a priori knowledge of the systematics of a group is required. In addition to identification of known species, methods for an automatic delimitation of species with DNA barcodes have been proposed. The Cryptophyceae provide a mixture of systematically well characterized as well as badly characterized groups and are used in this study to test the suitability of some of the methods for protists. As species identification method the performance of blast in searches against badly to well-sampled reference databases has been tested with COI-5P and 5′-partial LSU rDNA (domains A to D of the nuclear LSU rRNA gene). In addition the performance of two different methods for automatic species delimitation, fixed thresholds of genetic divergence and the general mixed Yule-coalescent model (GMYC), have been examined. The study demonstrates some pitfalls of barcoding methods that have to be taken care of. Also a best-practice approach towards establishing a DNA barcode system in protists is proposed. PMID:22970104

  17. One-dimensional barcode reading: an information theoretic approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Houni, Karim; Sawaya, Wadih; Delignon, Yves

    2008-03-01

    In the convergence context of identification technology and information-data transmission, the barcode found its place as the simplest and the most pervasive solution for new uses, especially within mobile commerce, bringing youth to this long-lived technology. From a communication theory point of view, a barcode is a singular coding based on a graphical representation of the information to be transmitted. We present an information theoretic approach for 1D image-based barcode reading analysis. With a barcode facing the camera, distortions and acquisition are modeled as a communication channel. The performance of the system is evaluated by means of the average mutual information quantity. On the basis of this theoretical criterion for a reliable transmission, we introduce two new measures: the theoretical depth of field and the theoretical resolution. Simulations illustrate the gain of this approach.

  18. Starting a DNA barcode reference library for shallow water polychaetes from the southern European Atlantic coast.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lobo, Jorge; Teixeira, Marcos A L; Borges, Luisa M S; Ferreira, Maria S G; Hollatz, Claudia; Gomes, Pedro T; Sousa, Ronaldo; Ravara, Ascensão; Costa, Maria H; Costa, Filipe O

    2016-01-01

    Annelid polychaetes have been seldom the focus of dedicated DNA barcoding studies, despite their ecological relevance and often dominance, particularly in soft-bottom estuarine and coastal marine ecosystems. Here, we report the first assessment of the performance of DNA barcodes in the discrimination of shallow water polychaete species from the southern European Atlantic coast, focusing on specimens collected in estuaries and coastal ecosystems of Portugal. We analysed cytochrome oxidase I DNA barcodes (COI-5P) from 164 specimens, which were assigned to 51 morphospecies. To our data set from Portugal, we added available published sequences selected from the same species, genus or family, to inspect for taxonomic congruence among studies and collection location. The final data set comprised 290 specimens and 79 morphospecies, which generated 99 Barcode Index Numbers (BINs) within Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD). Among these, 22 BINs were singletons, 47 other BINs were concordant, confirming the initial identification based on morphological characters, and 30 were discordant, most of which consisted on multiple BINs found for the same morphospecies. Some of the most prominent cases in the latter category include Hediste diversicolor (O.F. Müller, 1776) (7), Eulalia viridis (Linnaeus, 1767) (2) and Owenia fusiformis (delle Chiaje, 1844) (5), all of them reported from Portugal and frequently used in ecological studies as environmental quality indicators. Our results for these species showed discordance between molecular lineages and morphospecies, or added additional relatively divergent lineages. The potential inaccuracies in environmental assessments, where underpinning polychaete species diversity is poorly resolved or clarified, demand additional and extensive investigation of the DNA barcode diversity in this group, in parallel with alpha taxonomy efforts. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. DNA barcoding a nightmare taxon: assessing barcode index numbers and barcode gaps for sweat bees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibbs, Jason

    2018-01-01

    There is an ongoing campaign to DNA barcode the world's >20 000 bee species. Recent revisions of Lasioglossum (Dialictus) (Hymenoptera: Halictidae) for Canada and the eastern United States were completed using integrative taxonomy. DNA barcode data from 110 species of L. (Dialictus) are examined for their value in identification and discovering additional taxonomic diversity. Specimen identification success was estimated using the best close match method. Error rates were 20% relative to current taxonomic understanding. Barcode Index Numbers (BINs) assigned using Refined Single Linkage Analysis (RESL) and barcode gaps using the Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery (ABGD) method were also assessed. RESL was incongruent for 44.5% of species, although some cryptic diversity may exist. Forty-three of 110 species were part of merged BINs with multiple species. The barcode gap is non-existent for the data set as a whole and ABGD showed levels of discordance similar to the RESL. The viridatum species-group is particularly problematic, so that DNA barcodes alone would be misleading for species delimitation and specimen identification. Character-based methods using fixed nucleotide substitutions could improve specimen identification success in some cases. The use of DNA barcoding for species discovery for standard taxonomic practice in the absence of a well-defined barcode gap is discussed.

  20. Multilocus inference of species trees and DNA barcoding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mallo, Diego; Posada, David

    2016-09-05

    The unprecedented amount of data resulting from next-generation sequencing has opened a new era in phylogenetic estimation. Although large datasets should, in theory, increase phylogenetic resolution, massive, multilocus datasets have uncovered a great deal of phylogenetic incongruence among different genomic regions, due both to stochastic error and to the action of different evolutionary process such as incomplete lineage sorting, gene duplication and loss and horizontal gene transfer. This incongruence violates one of the fundamental assumptions of the DNA barcoding approach, which assumes that gene history and species history are identical. In this review, we explain some of the most important challenges we will have to face to reconstruct the history of species, and the advantages and disadvantages of different strategies for the phylogenetic analysis of multilocus data. In particular, we describe the evolutionary events that can generate species tree-gene tree discordance, compare the most popular methods for species tree reconstruction, highlight the challenges we need to face when using them and discuss their potential utility in barcoding. Current barcoding methods sacrifice a great amount of statistical power by only considering one locus, and a transition to multilocus barcodes would not only improve current barcoding methods, but also facilitate an eventual transition to species-tree-based barcoding strategies, which could better accommodate scenarios where the barcode gap is too small or inexistent.This article is part of the themed issue 'From DNA barcodes to biomes'. © 2016 The Authors.

  1. A DNA-based registry for all animal species: the barcode index number (BIN system.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sujeevan Ratnasingham

    Full Text Available Because many animal species are undescribed, and because the identification of known species is often difficult, interim taxonomic nomenclature has often been used in biodiversity analysis. By assigning individuals to presumptive species, called operational taxonomic units (OTUs, these systems speed investigations into the patterning of biodiversity and enable studies that would otherwise be impossible. Although OTUs have conventionally been separated through their morphological divergence, DNA-based delineations are not only feasible, but have important advantages. OTU designation can be automated, data can be readily archived, and results can be easily compared among investigations. This study exploits these attributes to develop a persistent, species-level taxonomic registry for the animal kingdom based on the analysis of patterns of nucleotide variation in the barcode region of the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI gene. It begins by examining the correspondence between groups of specimens identified to a species through prior taxonomic work and those inferred from the analysis of COI sequence variation using one new (RESL and four established (ABGD, CROP, GMYC, jMOTU algorithms. It subsequently describes the implementation, and structural attributes of the Barcode Index Number (BIN system. Aside from a pragmatic role in biodiversity assessments, BINs will aid revisionary taxonomy by flagging possible cases of synonymy, and by collating geographical information, descriptive metadata, and images for specimens that are likely to belong to the same species, even if it is undescribed. More than 274,000 BIN web pages are now available, creating a biodiversity resource that is positioned for rapid growth.

  2. Using DNA-barcoding to make the necrobiont beetle family Cholevidae accessible for forensic entomology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schilthuizen, Menno; Scholte, Cindy; van Wijk, Renske E J; Dommershuijzen, Jessy; van der Horst, Devi; Zu Schlochtern, Melanie Meijer; Lievers, Rik; Groenenberg, Dick S J

    2011-07-15

    The beetle family Cholevidae (Coleoptera: Staphylinoidea), sometimes viewed as the subfamily Cholevinae of the Leiodidae, consists of some 1700 species worldwide. With the exception of specialized cave-dwelling species and species living in bird and mammal nests and burrows, the species are generalized soil-dwellers that, at least in temperate regions, are mostly found on vertebrate cadavers. Although they have been regularly reported from human corpses, and offer potential because of many species' peak activity in the cold season, they have not been a focus of forensic entomologists so far. This is probably due to their small size and the difficulty in identifying the adults and their larvae. In this paper, we show that DNA-barcoding can help make this group of necrobiont beetles available as a tool for forensic research. We collected 86 specimens of 20 species of the genera Catops, Fissocatops, Apocatops, Choleva, Nargus, Ptomaphagus, and Sciodrepoides from the Netherlands and France and show that a broad "barcoding gap" allows almost all species to be easily and unambiguously identified by the sequence of the "barcoding gene" cytochrome c oxidase I (COI). This opens up the possibility of adding Cholevidae to the set of insect taxa routinely used in forensic entomology. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Hierarchical Trust Management of COI in Heterogeneous Mobile Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-08-01

    Report: Hierarchical Trust Management of COI in Heterogeneous Mobile Networks The views, opinions and/or findings contained in this report are those of...Institute & State University Title: Hierarchical Trust Management of COI in Heterogeneous Mobile Networks Report Term: 0-Other Email: irchen@vt.edu...Reconfigurability, Survivability and Intrusion Tolerance for Community of Interest (COI) Applications – Our proposed COI trust management protocol will

  4. Quantifying Species Diversity with a DNA Barcoding-Based Method: Tibetan Moth Species (Noctuidae) on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Qian; Han, Huilin; Hu, XiMin; Li, XinHai; Zhu, ChaoDong; Ho, Simon Y. W.; Ward, Robert D.; Zhang, Ai-bing

    2013-01-01

    With the ongoing loss of biodiversity, there is a great need for fast and effective ways to assess species richness and diversity: DNA barcoding provides a powerful new tool for this. We investigated this approach by focusing on the Tibetan plateau, which is one of the world's top biodiversity hotspots. There have been few studies of its invertebrates, although they constitute the vast majority of the region's diversity. Here we investigated species diversity of the lepidopteran family Noctuidae, across different environmental gradients, using measurements based on traditional morphology as well as on DNA barcoding. The COI barcode showed an average interspecific K2P distance of , which is about four times larger than the mean intraspecific distance (). Using six diversity indices, we did not detect any significant differences in estimated species diversity between measurements based on traditional morphology and on DNA barcoding. Furthermore, we found strong positive correlations between them, indicating that barcode-based measures of species diversity can serve as a good surrogate for morphology-based measures in most situations tested. Eastern communities were found to have significantly higher diversity than Western ones. Among 22 environmental factors tested, we found that three (precipitation of driest month, precipitation of driest quarter, and precipitation of coldest quarter) were significantly correlated with species diversity. Our results indicate that these factors could be the key ecological factors influencing the species diversity of the lepidopteran family Noctuidae on the Tibetan plateau. PMID:23741330

  5. A DNA barcode library for Germany's mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morinière, Jérôme; Hendrich, Lars; Balke, Michael; Beermann, Arne J; König, Tobias; Hess, Monika; Koch, Stefan; Müller, Reinhard; Leese, Florian; Hebert, Paul D N; Hausmann, Axel; Schubart, Christoph D; Haszprunar, Gerhard

    2017-11-01

    Mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera) are prominent representatives of aquatic macroinvertebrates, commonly used as indicator organisms for water quality and ecosystem assessments. However, unambiguous morphological identification of EPT species, especially their immature life stages, is a challenging, yet fundamental task. A comprehensive DNA barcode library based upon taxonomically well-curated specimens is needed to overcome the problematic identification. Once available, this library will support the implementation of fast, cost-efficient and reliable DNA-based identifications and assessments of ecological status. This study represents a major step towards a DNA barcode reference library as it covers for two-thirds of Germany's EPT species including 2,613 individuals belonging to 363 identified species. As such, it provides coverage for 38 of 44 families (86%) and practically all major bioindicator species. DNA barcode compliant sequences (≥500 bp) were recovered from 98.74% of the analysed specimens. Whereas most species (325, i.e., 89.53%) were unambiguously assigned to a single Barcode Index Number (BIN) by its COI sequence, 38 species (18 Ephemeroptera, nine Plecoptera and 11 Trichoptera) were assigned to a total of 89 BINs. Most of these additional BINs formed nearest neighbour clusters, reflecting the discrimination of geographical subclades of a currently recognized species. BIN sharing was uncommon, involving only two species pairs of Ephemeroptera. Interestingly, both maximum pairwise and nearest neighbour distances were substantially higher for Ephemeroptera compared to Plecoptera and Trichoptera, possibly indicating older speciation events, stronger positive selection or faster rate of molecular evolution. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. Ten years of barcoding at the African Centre for DNA Barcoding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bezeng, B S; Davies, T J; Daru, B H; Kabongo, R M; Maurin, O; Yessoufou, K; van der Bank, H; van der Bank, M

    2017-07-01

    The African Centre for DNA Barcoding (ACDB) was established in 2005 as part of a global initiative to accurately and rapidly survey biodiversity using short DNA sequences. The mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene (CO1) was rapidly adopted as the de facto barcode for animals. Following the evaluation of several candidate loci for plants, the Plant Working Group of the Consortium for the Barcoding of Life in 2009 recommended that two plastid genes, rbcLa and matK, be adopted as core DNA barcodes for terrestrial plants. To date, numerous studies continue to test the discriminatory power of these markers across various plant lineages. Over the past decade, we at the ACDB have used these core DNA barcodes to generate a barcode library for southern Africa. To date, the ACDB has contributed more than 21 000 plant barcodes and over 3000 CO1 barcodes for animals to the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD). Building upon this effort, we at the ACDB have addressed questions related to community assembly, biogeography, phylogenetic diversification, and invasion biology. Collectively, our work demonstrates the diverse applications of DNA barcoding in ecology, systematics, evolutionary biology, and conservation.

  7. Combining and Comparing Coalescent, Distance and Character-Based Approaches for Barcoding Microalgaes: A Test with Chlorella-Like Species (Chlorophyta.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shanmei Zou

    Full Text Available Several different barcoding methods of distinguishing species have been advanced, but which method is the best is still controversial. Chlorella is becoming particularly promising in the development of second-generation biofuels. However, the taxonomy of Chlorella-like organisms is easily confused. Here we report a comprehensive barcoding analysis of Chlorella-like species from Chlorella, Chloroidium, Dictyosphaerium and Actinastrum based on rbcL, ITS, tufA and 16S sequences to test the efficiency of traditional barcoding, GMYC, ABGD, PTP, P ID and character-based barcoding methods. First of all, the barcoding results gave new insights into the taxonomic assessment of Chlorella-like organisms studied, including the clear species discrimination and resolution of potentially cryptic species complexes in C. sorokiniana, D. ehrenbergianum and C. Vulgaris. The tufA proved to be the most efficient barcoding locus, which thus could be as potential "specific barcode" for Chlorella-like species. The 16S failed in discriminating most closely related species. The resolution of GMYC, PTP, P ID, ABGD and character-based barcoding methods were variable among rbcL, ITS and tufA genes. The best resolution for species differentiation appeared in tufA analysis where GMYC, PTP, ABGD and character-based approaches produced consistent groups while the PTP method over-split the taxa. The character analysis of rbcL, ITS and tufA sequences could clearly distinguish all taxonomic groups respectively, including the potentially cryptic lineages, with many character attributes. Thus, the character-based barcoding provides an attractive complement to coalescent and distance-based barcoding. Our study represents the test that proves the efficiency of multiple DNA barcoding in species discrimination of microalgaes.

  8. Quantifying species diversity with a DNA barcoding-based method: Tibetan moth species (Noctuidae on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qian Jin

    Full Text Available With the ongoing loss of biodiversity, there is a great need for fast and effective ways to assess species richness and diversity: DNA barcoding provides a powerful new tool for this. We investigated this approach by focusing on the Tibetan plateau, which is one of the world's top biodiversity hotspots. There have been few studies of its invertebrates, although they constitute the vast majority of the region's diversity. Here we investigated species diversity of the lepidopteran family Noctuidae, across different environmental gradients, using measurements based on traditional morphology as well as on DNA barcoding. The COI barcode showed an average interspecific K2P distance of 9.45±2.08%, which is about four times larger than the mean intraspecific distance (1.85±3.20%. Using six diversity indices, we did not detect any significant differences in estimated species diversity between measurements based on traditional morphology and on DNA barcoding. Furthermore, we found strong positive correlations between them, indicating that barcode-based measures of species diversity can serve as a good surrogate for morphology-based measures in most situations tested. Eastern communities were found to have significantly higher diversity than Western ones. Among 22 environmental factors tested, we found that three (precipitation of driest month, precipitation of driest quarter, and precipitation of coldest quarter were significantly correlated with species diversity. Our results indicate that these factors could be the key ecological factors influencing the species diversity of the lepidopteran family Noctuidae on the Tibetan plateau.

  9. Community Phylogenetics: Assessing Tree Reconstruction Methods and the Utility of DNA Barcodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyle, Elizabeth E.; Adamowicz, Sarah J.

    2015-01-01

    Studies examining phylogenetic community structure have become increasingly prevalent, yet little attention has been given to the influence of the input phylogeny on metrics that describe phylogenetic patterns of co-occurrence. Here, we examine the influence of branch length, tree reconstruction method, and amount of sequence data on measures of phylogenetic community structure, as well as the phylogenetic signal (Pagel’s λ) in morphological traits, using Trichoptera larval communities from Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. We find that model-based tree reconstruction methods and the use of a backbone family-level phylogeny improve estimations of phylogenetic community structure. In addition, trees built using the barcode region of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) alone accurately predict metrics of phylogenetic community structure obtained from a multi-gene phylogeny. Input tree did not alter overall conclusions drawn for phylogenetic signal, as significant phylogenetic structure was detected in two body size traits across input trees. As the discipline of community phylogenetics continues to expand, it is important to investigate the best approaches to accurately estimate patterns. Our results suggest that emerging large datasets of DNA barcode sequences provide a vast resource for studying the structure of biological communities. PMID:26110886

  10. New primers for amplification of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I barcode region designed for species of Decapoda (Crustacea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernando L. Mantelatto

    Full Text Available Abstract We designed 14 new primers for amplification of the COI barcode region of decapod crustacean species. We tested, with high level of success, the generation of ~ 640 ± 49 base-pair sequences in selected groups of decapods (hermit crabs, squat lobsters, marine and freshwater crabs and shrimps, encompassing representatives of 27 genera of 15 families, 11 of Pleocyemata (Anomura, Brachyura, and Caridea and 4 of Dendrobranchiata. Based on the results we expect the applicability of these primers for several studies with different taxa within Decapoda.

  11. Assessment of mangroves from Goa, west coast India using DNA barcode.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saddhe, Ankush Ashok; Jamdade, Rahul Arvind; Kumar, Kundan

    2016-01-01

    Mangroves are salt-tolerant forest ecosystems of tropical and subtropical intertidal regions. They are among most productive, diverse, biologically important ecosystem and inclined toward threatened system. Identification of mangrove species is of critical importance in conserving and utilizing biodiversity, which apparently hindered by a lack of taxonomic expertise. In recent years, DNA barcoding using plastid markers rbcL and matK has been suggested as an effective method to enrich traditional taxonomic expertise for rapid species identification and biodiversity inventories. In the present study, we performed assessment of available 14 mangrove species of Goa, west coast India based on core DNA barcode markers, rbcL and matK. PCR amplification success rate, intra- and inter-specific genetic distance variation and the correct identification percentage were taken into account to assess candidate barcode regions. PCR and sequence success rate were high in rbcL (97.7 %) and matK (95.5 %) region. The two candidate chloroplast barcoding regions (rbcL, matK) yielded barcode gaps. Our results clearly demonstrated that matK locus assigned highest correct identification rates (72.09 %) based on TaxonDNA Best Match criteria. The concatenated rbcL + matK loci were able to adequately discriminate all mangrove genera and species to some extent except those in Rhizophora, Sonneratia and Avicennia. Our study provides the first endorsement of the species resolution among mangroves using plastid genes with few exceptions. Our future work will be focused on evaluation of other barcode markers to delineate complete resolution of mangrove species and identification of putative hybrids.

  12. Tetrodotoxin detection and species identification of pufferfish in retail roasted fish fillet by DNA barcoding in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Nan; Shen, Qing; Wang, Jiahui; Han, Chunhui; Ji, Rong; Li, Fengqin; Jiang, Tao

    2015-01-01

    This study identifies the pufferfish species and detects tetrodotoxin (TTX) in roasted fish fillet samples collected in Beijing, Qingdao and Xiamen, China. The cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene was used as the target gene for identification of the pufferfish species in the samples. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) screened the TTX levels in samples that had been detected as containing pufferfish by DNA barcode. A total of 125 samples were identified by DNA barcodes; 32 (26%) samples contained pufferfish composition and, among them, 26 (81%) were the highly toxic species Lagocephalus lunaris. All 32 samples containing the pufferfish composition were positive for TTX with levels ranging from 100 to 63,800 ng g(-1). Most of the 32 samples contained the highly toxic L. lunaris. Based on the results, we suggest that the monitoring of roasted fish fillet should be strengthened and the processing procedures should be standardised to minimise TTX poisoning caused by pufferfish.

  13. Potential efficacy of mitochondrial genes for animal DNA barcoding: a case study using eutherian mammals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Arong; Zhang, Aibing; Ho, Simon Yw; Xu, Weijun; Zhang, Yanzhou; Shi, Weifeng; Cameron, Stephen L; Zhu, Chaodong

    2011-01-28

    A well-informed choice of genetic locus is central to the efficacy of DNA barcoding. Current DNA barcoding in animals involves the use of the 5' half of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 gene (CO1) to diagnose and delimit species. However, there is no compelling a priori reason for the exclusive focus on this region, and it has been shown that it performs poorly for certain animal groups. To explore alternative mitochondrial barcoding regions, we compared the efficacy of the universal CO1 barcoding region with the other mitochondrial protein-coding genes in eutherian mammals. Four criteria were used for this comparison: the number of recovered species, sequence variability within and between species, resolution to taxonomic levels above that of species, and the degree of mutational saturation. Based on 1,179 mitochondrial genomes of eutherians, we found that the universal CO1 barcoding region is a good representative of mitochondrial genes as a whole because the high species-recovery rate (> 90%) was similar to that of other mitochondrial genes, and there were no significant differences in intra- or interspecific variability among genes. However, an overlap between intra- and interspecific variability was still problematic for all mitochondrial genes. Our results also demonstrated that any choice of mitochondrial gene for DNA barcoding failed to offer significant resolution at higher taxonomic levels. We suggest that the CO1 barcoding region, the universal DNA barcode, is preferred among the mitochondrial protein-coding genes as a molecular diagnostic at least for eutherian species identification. Nevertheless, DNA barcoding with this marker may still be problematic for certain eutherian taxa and our approach can be used to test potential barcoding loci for such groups.

  14. Species-Level Para- and Polyphyly in DNA Barcode Gene Trees: Strong Operational Bias in European Lepidoptera.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mutanen, Marko; Kivelä, Sami M; Vos, Rutger A; Doorenweerd, Camiel; Ratnasingham, Sujeevan; Hausmann, Axel; Huemer, Peter; Dincă, Vlad; van Nieukerken, Erik J; Lopez-Vaamonde, Carlos; Vila, Roger; Aarvik, Leif; Decaëns, Thibaud; Efetov, Konstantin A; Hebert, Paul D N; Johnsen, Arild; Karsholt, Ole; Pentinsaari, Mikko; Rougerie, Rodolphe; Segerer, Andreas; Tarmann, Gerhard; Zahiri, Reza; Godfray, H Charles J

    2016-11-01

    The proliferation of DNA data is revolutionizing all fields of systematic research. DNA barcode sequences, now available for millions of specimens and several hundred thousand species, are increasingly used in algorithmic species delimitations. This is complicated by occasional incongruences between species and gene genealogies, as indicated by situations where conspecific individuals do not form a monophyletic cluster in a gene tree. In two previous reviews, non-monophyly has been reported as being common in mitochondrial DNA gene trees. We developed a novel web service "Monophylizer" to detect non-monophyly in phylogenetic trees and used it to ascertain the incidence of species non-monophyly in COI (a.k.a. cox1) barcode sequence data from 4977 species and 41,583 specimens of European Lepidoptera, the largest data set of DNA barcodes analyzed from this regard. Particular attention was paid to accurate species identification to ensure data integrity. We investigated the effects of tree-building method, sampling effort, and other methodological issues, all of which can influence estimates of non-monophyly. We found a 12% incidence of non-monophyly, a value significantly lower than that observed in previous studies. Neighbor joining (NJ) and maximum likelihood (ML) methods yielded almost equal numbers of non-monophyletic species, but 24.1% of these cases of non-monophyly were only found by one of these methods. Non-monophyletic species tend to show either low genetic distances to their nearest neighbors or exceptionally high levels of intraspecific variability. Cases of polyphyly in COI trees arising as a result of deep intraspecific divergence are negligible, as the detected cases reflected misidentifications or methodological errors. Taking into consideration variation in sampling effort, we estimate that the true incidence of non-monophyly is ∼23%, but with operational factors still being included. Within the operational factors, we separately assessed the

  15. Spiders (Araneae) of Churchill, Manitoba: DNA barcodes and morphology reveal high species diversity and new Canadian records.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blagoev, Gergin A; Nikolova, Nadya I; Sobel, Crystal N; Hebert, Paul D N; Adamowicz, Sarah J

    2013-11-26

    Arctic ecosystems, especially those near transition zones, are expected to be strongly impacted by climate change. Because it is positioned on the ecotone between tundra and boreal forest, the Churchill area is a strategic locality for the analysis of shifts in faunal composition. This fact has motivated the effort to develop a comprehensive biodiversity inventory for the Churchill region by coupling DNA barcoding with morphological studies. The present study represents one element of this effort; it focuses on analysis of the spider fauna at Churchill. 198 species were detected among 2704 spiders analyzed, tripling the count for the Churchill region. Estimates of overall diversity suggest that another 10-20 species await detection. Most species displayed little intraspecific sequence variation (maximum Churchill, but the other species represents a range extension from the USA. The first description of the female of S. monticola was also presented. As well, one probable new species of Alopecosa (Lycosidae) was recognized. This study provides the first comprehensive DNA barcode reference library for the spider fauna of any region. Few cryptic species of spiders were detected, a result contrasting with the prevalence of undescribed species in several other terrestrial arthropod groups at Churchill. Because most (97.5%) sequence clusters at COI corresponded with a named taxon, DNA barcoding reliably identifies spiders in the Churchill fauna. The capacity of DNA barcoding to enable the identification of otherwise taxonomically ambiguous specimens (juveniles, females) also represents a major advance for future monitoring efforts on this group.

  16. Combining and Comparing Coalescent, Distance and Character-Based Approaches for Barcoding Microalgaes: A Test with Chlorella-Like Species (Chlorophyta)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zou, Shanmei; Fei, Cong; Song, Jiameng; Bao, Yachao; He, Meilin; Wang, Changhai

    2016-01-01

    Several different barcoding methods of distinguishing species have been advanced, but which method is the best is still controversial. Chlorella is becoming particularly promising in the development of second-generation biofuels. However, the taxonomy of Chlorella–like organisms is easily confused. Here we report a comprehensive barcoding analysis of Chlorella-like species from Chlorella, Chloroidium, Dictyosphaerium and Actinastrum based on rbcL, ITS, tufA and 16S sequences to test the efficiency of traditional barcoding, GMYC, ABGD, PTP, P ID and character-based barcoding methods. First of all, the barcoding results gave new insights into the taxonomic assessment of Chlorella-like organisms studied, including the clear species discrimination and resolution of potentially cryptic species complexes in C. sorokiniana, D. ehrenbergianum and C. Vulgaris. The tufA proved to be the most efficient barcoding locus, which thus could be as potential “specific barcode” for Chlorella-like species. The 16S failed in discriminating most closely related species. The resolution of GMYC, PTP, P ID, ABGD and character-based barcoding methods were variable among rbcL, ITS and tufA genes. The best resolution for species differentiation appeared in tufA analysis where GMYC, PTP, ABGD and character-based approaches produced consistent groups while the PTP method over-split the taxa. The character analysis of rbcL, ITS and tufA sequences could clearly distinguish all taxonomic groups respectively, including the potentially cryptic lineages, with many character attributes. Thus, the character-based barcoding provides an attractive complement to coalescent and distance-based barcoding. Our study represents the test that proves the efficiency of multiple DNA barcoding in species discrimination of microalgaes. PMID:27092945

  17. Mosquitoes of eastern Amazonian Ecuador: biodiversity, bionomics and barcodes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yvonne-Marie Linton

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Two snapshot surveys to establish the diversity and ecological preferences of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae in the terra firme primary rain forest surrounding the Tiputini Biodiversity Station in the UNESCO Yasuní Biosphere Reserve of eastern Amazonian Ecuador were carried out in November 1998 and May 1999. The mosquito fauna of this region is poorly known; the focus of this study was to obtain high quality link-reared specimens that could be used to unequivocally confirm species level diversity through integrated systematic study of all life stages and DNA sequences. A total of 2,284 specimens were preserved; 1,671 specimens were link-reared with associated immature exuviae, all but 108 of which are slide mounted. This study identified 68 unique taxa belonging to 17 genera and 27 subgenera. Of these, 12 are new to science and 37 comprise new country records. DNA barcodes [658-bp of the mtDNA cytochrome c oxidase ( COI I gene] are presented for 58 individuals representing 20 species and nine genera. DNA barcoding proved useful in uncovering and confirming new species and we advocate an integrated systematics approach to biodiversity studies in future. Associated bionomics of all species collected are discussed. An updated systematic checklist of the mosquitoes of Ecuador (n = 179 is presented for the first time in 60 years.

  18. E-Learning dengan Menggunakan COI Framework

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lydiawati Kosasih

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available This study discusses some considerations in education to achieve a good quality of learning by utilizing technological advances such as E-Learning. This study uses a model of Community of Inquiry (COI as a comparative study to improve the quality of E-Learning program. Implementation of COI model in discussionforum on BiNusMaya through E-Learning is able to improve the quality of a discussion as improvement of knowledge management. This study aims to provide a proposal to the Department of Information Systems Bina Nusantara University in enhancing the effectiveness of the use of discussion forums on BiNusMaya (ELearning. By presenting the survey results related to the Binusmaya current condition,s such constraints and development expectations of both the lecturers and students for Binusmaya can be described. In addition, theapplication of CoI model is presented in a learning process especially when meeting outside of class (without face-to-face. The results of this study is expected to be the basis for developing a COI model design and implementation plan in Management Information Systems course, that may improve the quality of the use of discussion forums as part of the knowledge management process in future study.

  19. Conflicting patterns of DNA barcoding and taxonomy in the cicada genus Tettigettalna from Southern Europe (Hemiptera: Cicadidae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nunes, Vera L; Mendes, Raquel; Marabuto, Eduardo; Novais, Bruno M; Hertach, Thomas; Quartau, José A; Seabra, Sofia G; Paulo, Octávio S; Simões, Paula C

    2014-01-01

    DNA barcodes have great potential to assist in species identification, especially when high taxonomical expertise is required. We investigated the utility of the 5' mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) region to discriminate between 13 European cicada species. These included all nine species currently recognized under the genus Tettigettalna, from which seven are endemic to the southern Iberian Peninsula. These cicadas have species-specific male calling songs but are morphologically very similar. Mean COI divergence between congeners ranged from 0.4% to 10.6%, but this gene was proven insufficient to determine species limits within genus Tettigettalna because a barcoding gap was absent for several of its species, that is, the highest intraspecific distance exceeded the lowest interspecific distance. The genetic data conflicted with current taxonomic classification for T. argentata and T. mariae. Neighbour-joining and Bayesian analyses revealed that T. argentata is geographically structured (clades North and South) and might constitute a species complex together with T. aneabi and T. mariae. The latter diverges very little from the southern clade of T. argentata and shares with it its most common haplotype. T. mariae is often in sympatry with T. argentata but it remains unclear whether introgression or incomplete lineage sorting may be responsible for the sharing of haplotypes. T. helianthemi and T. defauti also show high intraspecific variation that might signal hidden cryptic diversity. These taxonomic conflicts must be re-evaluated with further studies using additional genes and extensive morphological and acoustic analyses. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. DNA barcode sequencing from old type specimens as a tool in taxonomy: a case study in the diverse genus Eois (Lepidoptera: Geometridae.

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    Patrick Strutzenberger

    Full Text Available In this study we report on the sequencing of the COI barcode region from 96 historical specimens (92 type specimens +4 non-types of Eois. Eois is a diverse clade of tropical geometrid moths and is the target of a number of ongoing studies on life-histories, phylogeny, co-evolution with host plants or parasitoids, and diversity patterns across temporal and spatial dimensions. The unequivocal application of valid names is crucial for all aspects of biodiversity research as well as monitoring and conservation efforts. The availability of barcodes from historical type specimens has the potential to facilitate the much-needed acceleration of species description. We performed non-destructive DNA extraction on the abdomens of Eois specimens between 79 and 157 years of age. We used six primer combinations (recovering between 109 and 130 bp each to target the full-length barcode sequence of each specimen. We were able to obtain sequences for 91 of 96 specimens (success rate 94.8%. Sequence length ranged from 121 bp to full barcode sequences (658 bp, the average sequence length was ~500 bp. We detected a moderately strong and statistically significant negative correlation between specimen age and total sequence length, which is in agreement with expectations. The abdomen proved to be an exceedingly valuable source of DNA in old specimens of Lepidoptera. Barcode sequences obtained in this study are currently being used in an effort towards a step-wise taxonomic revision of Eois. We encourage that DNA barcodes obtained from types specimens should be included in all species descriptions and revisions whenever feasible.

  1. Hybrid analysis (barcode-high resolution melting) for authentication of Thai herbal products, Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Wall.ex Nees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osathanunkul, Maslin; Suwannapoom, Chatmongkon; Khamyong, Nuttaluck; Pintakum, Danupol; Lamphun, Santisuk Na; Triwitayakorn, Kanokporn; Osathanunkul, Kitisak; Madesis, Panagiotis

    2016-01-01

    Andrographis paniculata Nees is a medicinal plant with multiple pharmacological properties. It has been used over many centuries as a household remedy. A. paniculata products sold on the markets are in processed forms so it is difficult to authenticate. Therefore buying the herbal products poses a high-risk of acquiring counterfeited, substituted and/or adulterated products. Due to these issues, a reliable method to authenticate products is needed. High resolution melting analysis coupled with DNA barcoding (Bar-HRM) was applied to detect adulteration in commercial herbal products. The rbcL barcode was selected to use in primers design for HRM analysis to produce standard melting profile of A. paniculata species. DNA of the tested commercial products was isolated and their melting profiles were then generated and compared with the standard A. paniculata. The melting profiles of the rbcL amplicons of the three closely related herbal species (A. paniculata, Acanthus ebracteatus and Rhinacanthus nasutus) are clearly separated so that they can be distinguished by the developed method. The method was then used to authenticate commercial herbal products. HRM curves of all 10 samples tested are similar to A. paniculata which indicated that all tested products were contained the correct species as labeled. The method described in this study has been proved to be useful in aiding identification and/or authenticating A. paniculata. This Bar-HRM analysis has allowed us easily to determine the A. paniculata species in herbal products on the markets even they are in processed forms. We propose the use of DNA barcoding combined with High Resolution Melting analysis for authenticating of Andrographis paniculata products.The developed method can be used regardless of the type of the DNA template (fresh or dried tissue, leaf, and stem).rbcL region was chosen for the analysis and work well with our samplesWe can easily determine the A. paniculata species in herbal products tested

  2. Establishing a community-wide DNA barcode library as a new tool for arctic research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wirta, H; Várkonyi, G; Rasmussen, C; Kaartinen, R; Schmidt, N M; Hebert, P D N; Barták, M; Blagoev, G; Disney, H; Ertl, S; Gjelstrup, P; Gwiazdowicz, D J; Huldén, L; Ilmonen, J; Jakovlev, J; Jaschhof, M; Kahanpää, J; Kankaanpää, T; Krogh, P H; Labbee, R; Lettner, C; Michelsen, V; Nielsen, S A; Nielsen, T R; Paasivirta, L; Pedersen, S; Pohjoismäki, J; Salmela, J; Vilkamaa, P; Väre, H; von Tschirnhaus, M; Roslin, T

    2016-05-01

    DNA sequences offer powerful tools for describing the members and interactions of natural communities. In this study, we establish the to-date most comprehensive library of DNA barcodes for a terrestrial site, including all known macroscopic animals and vascular plants of an intensively studied area of the High Arctic, the Zackenberg Valley in Northeast Greenland. To demonstrate its utility, we apply the library to identify nearly 20 000 arthropod individuals from two Malaise traps, each operated for two summers. Drawing on this material, we estimate the coverage of previous morphology-based species inventories, derive a snapshot of faunal turnover in space and time and describe the abundance and phenology of species in the rapidly changing arctic environment. Overall, 403 terrestrial animal and 160 vascular plant species were recorded by morphology-based techniques. DNA barcodes (CO1) offered high resolution in discriminating among the local animal taxa, with 92% of morphologically distinguishable taxa assigned to unique Barcode Index Numbers (BINs) and 93% to monophyletic clusters. For vascular plants, resolution was lower, with 54% of species forming monophyletic clusters based on barcode regions rbcLa and ITS2. Malaise catches revealed 122 BINs not detected by previous sampling and DNA barcoding. The insect community was dominated by a few highly abundant taxa. Even closely related taxa differed in phenology, emphasizing the need for species-level resolution when describing ongoing shifts in arctic communities and ecosystems. The DNA barcode library now established for Zackenberg offers new scope for such explorations, and for the detailed dissection of interspecific interactions throughout the community. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Forensic botany II, DNA barcode for land plants: Which markers after the international agreement?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferri, G; Corradini, B; Ferrari, F; Santunione, A L; Palazzoli, F; Alu', M

    2015-03-01

    The ambitious idea of using a short piece of DNA for large-scale species identification (DNA barcoding) is already a powerful tool for scientists and the application of this standard technique seems promising in a range of fields including forensic genetics. While DNA barcoding enjoyed a remarkable success for animal identification through cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) analysis, the attempts to identify a single barcode for plants remained a vain hope for a longtime. From the beginning, the Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) showed a lack of agreement on a core plant barcode, reflecting the diversity of viewpoints. Different research groups advocated various markers with divergent set of criteria until the recent publication by the CBOL-Plant Working Group. After a four-year effort, in 2009 the International Team concluded to agree on standard markers promoting a multilocus solution (rbcL and matK), with 70-75% of discrimination to the species level. In 2009 our group firstly proposed the broad application of DNA barcoding principles as a tool for identification of trace botanical evidence through the analysis of two chloroplast loci (trnH-psbA and trnL-trnF) in plant species belonging to local flora. Difficulties and drawbacks that were encountered included a poor coverage of species in specific databases and the lack of authenticated reference sequences for the selected markers. Successful preliminary results were obtained providing an approach to progressively identify unknown plant specimens to a given taxonomic rank, usable by any non-specialist botanist or in case of a shortage of taxonomic expertise. Now we considered mandatory to update and to compare our previous findings with the new selected plastid markers (matK+rbcL), taking into account forensic requirements. Features of all the four loci (the two previously analyzed trnH-psbA+trnL-trnF and matK+rbcL) were compared singly and in multilocus solutions to assess the most suitable combination for

  4. Molecular identification of birds: performance of distance-based DNA barcoding in three genes to delimit parapatric species.

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    Mansour Aliabadian

    Full Text Available DNA barcoding based on the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (cox1 or COI has been successful in species identification across a wide array of taxa but in some cases failed to delimit the species boundaries of closely allied allopatric species or of hybridising sister species.In this study we extend the sample size of prior studies in birds for cox1 (2776 sequences, 756 species and target especially species that are known to occur parapatrically, and/or are known to hybridise, on a Holarctic scale. In order to obtain a larger set of taxa (altogether 2719 species, we include also DNA sequences of two other mitochondrial genes: cytochrome b (cob (4614 sequences, 2087 species and 16S (708 sequences, 498 species. Our results confirm the existence of a wide gap between intra- and interspecies divergences for both cox1 and cob, and indicate that distance-based DNA barcoding provides sufficient information to identify and delineate bird species in 98% of all possible pairwise comparisons. This DNA barcoding gap was not statistically influenced by the number of individuals sequenced per species. However, most of the hybridising parapatric species pairs have average divergences intermediate between intraspecific and interspecific distances for both cox1 and cob.DNA barcoding, if used as a tool for species discovery, would thus fail to identify hybridising parapatric species pairs. However, most of them can probably still assigned to known species by character-based approaches, although development of complementary nuclear markers will be necessary to account for mitochondrial introgression in hybridising species.

  5. Sliding window analyses for optimal selection of mini-barcodes, and application to 454-pyrosequencing for specimen identification from degraded DNA.

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    Stephane Boyer

    Full Text Available DNA barcoding remains a challenge when applied to diet analyses, ancient DNA studies, environmental DNA samples and, more generally, in any cases where DNA samples have not been adequately preserved. Because the size of the commonly used barcoding marker (COI is over 600 base pairs (bp, amplification fails when the DNA molecule is degraded into smaller fragments. However, relevant information for specimen identification may not be evenly distributed along the barcoding region, and a shorter target can be sufficient for identification purposes. This study proposes a new, widely applicable, method to compare the performance of all potential 'mini-barcodes' for a given molecular marker and to objectively select the shortest and most informative one. Our method is based on a sliding window analysis implemented in the new R package SPIDER (Species IDentity and Evolution in R. This method is applicable to any taxon and any molecular marker. Here, it was tested on earthworm DNA that had been degraded through digestion by carnivorous landsnails. A 100 bp region of 16 S rDNA was selected as the shortest informative fragment (mini-barcode required for accurate specimen identification. Corresponding primers were designed and used to amplify degraded earthworm (prey DNA from 46 landsnail (predator faeces using 454-pyrosequencing. This led to the detection of 18 earthworm species in the diet of the snail. We encourage molecular ecologists to use this method to objectively select the most informative region of the gene they aim to amplify from degraded DNA. The method and tools provided here, can be particularly useful (1 when dealing with degraded DNA for which only small fragments can be amplified, (2 for cases where no consensus has yet been reached on the appropriate barcode gene, or (3 to allow direct analysis of short reads derived from massively parallel sequencing without the need for bioinformatic consolidation.

  6. Sliding window analyses for optimal selection of mini-barcodes, and application to 454-pyrosequencing for specimen identification from degraded DNA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyer, Stephane; Brown, Samuel D J; Collins, Rupert A; Cruickshank, Robert H; Lefort, Marie-Caroline; Malumbres-Olarte, Jagoba; Wratten, Stephen D

    2012-01-01

    DNA barcoding remains a challenge when applied to diet analyses, ancient DNA studies, environmental DNA samples and, more generally, in any cases where DNA samples have not been adequately preserved. Because the size of the commonly used barcoding marker (COI) is over 600 base pairs (bp), amplification fails when the DNA molecule is degraded into smaller fragments. However, relevant information for specimen identification may not be evenly distributed along the barcoding region, and a shorter target can be sufficient for identification purposes. This study proposes a new, widely applicable, method to compare the performance of all potential 'mini-barcodes' for a given molecular marker and to objectively select the shortest and most informative one. Our method is based on a sliding window analysis implemented in the new R package SPIDER (Species IDentity and Evolution in R). This method is applicable to any taxon and any molecular marker. Here, it was tested on earthworm DNA that had been degraded through digestion by carnivorous landsnails. A 100 bp region of 16 S rDNA was selected as the shortest informative fragment (mini-barcode) required for accurate specimen identification. Corresponding primers were designed and used to amplify degraded earthworm (prey) DNA from 46 landsnail (predator) faeces using 454-pyrosequencing. This led to the detection of 18 earthworm species in the diet of the snail. We encourage molecular ecologists to use this method to objectively select the most informative region of the gene they aim to amplify from degraded DNA. The method and tools provided here, can be particularly useful (1) when dealing with degraded DNA for which only small fragments can be amplified, (2) for cases where no consensus has yet been reached on the appropriate barcode gene, or (3) to allow direct analysis of short reads derived from massively parallel sequencing without the need for bioinformatic consolidation.

  7. A Tri-Oceanic Perspective: DNA Barcoding Reveals Geographic Structure and Cryptic Diversity in Canadian Polychaetes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carr, Christina M.; Hardy, Sarah M.; Brown, Tanya M.; Macdonald, Tara A.; Hebert, Paul D. N.

    2011-01-01

    Background Although polychaetes are one of the dominant taxa in marine communities, their distributions and taxonomic diversity are poorly understood. Recent studies have shown that many species thought to have broad distributions are actually a complex of allied species. In Canada, 12% of polychaete species are thought to occur in Atlantic, Arctic, and Pacific Oceans, but the extent of gene flow among their populations has not been tested. Methodology/Principal Findings Sequence variation in a segment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene was employed to compare morphological versus molecular diversity estimates, to examine gene flow among populations of widespread species, and to explore connectivity patterns among Canada's three oceans. Analysis of 1876 specimens, representing 333 provisional species, revealed 40 times more sequence divergence between than within species (16.5% versus 0.38%). Genetic data suggest that one quarter of previously recognized species actually include two or more divergent lineages, indicating that richness in this region is currently underestimated. Few species with a tri-oceanic distribution showed genetic cohesion. Instead, large genetic breaks occur between Pacific and Atlantic-Arctic lineages, suggesting their long-term separation. High connectivity among Arctic and Atlantic regions and low connectivity with the Pacific further supports the conclusion that Canadian polychaetes are partitioned into two distinct faunas. Conclusions/Significance Results of this study confirm that COI sequences are an effective tool for species identification in polychaetes, and suggest that DNA barcoding will aid the recognition of species overlooked by the current taxonomic system. The consistent geographic structuring within presumed widespread species suggests that historical range fragmentation during the Pleistocene ultimately increased Canadian polychaete diversity and that the coastal British Columbia fauna played a minor

  8. A tri-oceanic perspective: DNA barcoding reveals geographic structure and cryptic diversity in Canadian polychaetes.

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    Christina M Carr

    Full Text Available Although polychaetes are one of the dominant taxa in marine communities, their distributions and taxonomic diversity are poorly understood. Recent studies have shown that many species thought to have broad distributions are actually a complex of allied species. In Canada, 12% of polychaete species are thought to occur in Atlantic, Arctic, and Pacific Oceans, but the extent of gene flow among their populations has not been tested.Sequence variation in a segment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI gene was employed to compare morphological versus molecular diversity estimates, to examine gene flow among populations of widespread species, and to explore connectivity patterns among Canada's three oceans. Analysis of 1876 specimens, representing 333 provisional species, revealed 40 times more sequence divergence between than within species (16.5% versus 0.38%. Genetic data suggest that one quarter of previously recognized species actually include two or more divergent lineages, indicating that richness in this region is currently underestimated. Few species with a tri-oceanic distribution showed genetic cohesion. Instead, large genetic breaks occur between Pacific and Atlantic-Arctic lineages, suggesting their long-term separation. High connectivity among Arctic and Atlantic regions and low connectivity with the Pacific further supports the conclusion that Canadian polychaetes are partitioned into two distinct faunas.Results of this study confirm that COI sequences are an effective tool for species identification in polychaetes, and suggest that DNA barcoding will aid the recognition of species overlooked by the current taxonomic system. The consistent geographic structuring within presumed widespread species suggests that historical range fragmentation during the Pleistocene ultimately increased Canadian polychaete diversity and that the coastal British Columbia fauna played a minor role in Arctic recolonization following deglaciation

  9. Species diversity of planktonic gastropods (Pteropoda and Heteropoda) from six ocean regions based on DNA barcode analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jennings, Robert M.; Bucklin, Ann; Ossenbrügger, Holger; Hopcroft, Russell R.

    2010-12-01

    Pteropods and heteropods are two distinct groups of holoplanktonic gastropods whose species and genetic diversity remain poorly understood, despite their ubiquity in the world's oceans. Some species apparently attain near cosmopolitan distributions, implying long-distance dispersal or cryptic species assemblages. We present the first multi-regional and species-rich molecular dataset of holoplanktonic gastropods, comprising DNA barcodes from the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I subunit gene (COI) from 115 individuals of 41 species sampled from six ocean regions across the globe. Molecular analysis and assessment of barcoding utility supported the validity of several morphological subspecies and forms (e.g. of Creseis virgula and Limacina helicina), while others were not supported (e.g. Cavolinia uncinata). Significant genetic variation was observed among conspecific specimens collected in different geographic regions for some species, particularly in euthecosomatous pteropods. Several species of euthecosomes showed no evidence of genetic separation among distant ocean regions. Overall, we suggest some taxonomic revision of the holoplanktonic gastropods will be required, pending a more complete molecular inventory of these groups.

  10. Nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region as a universal DNA barcode marker for Fungi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoch, Conrad L; Seifert, Keith A; Huhndorf, Sabine; Robert, Vincent; Spouge, John L; Levesque, C André; Chen, Wen

    2012-04-17

    Six DNA regions were evaluated as potential DNA barcodes for Fungi, the second largest kingdom of eukaryotic life, by a multinational, multilaboratory consortium. The region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 used as the animal barcode was excluded as a potential marker, because it is difficult to amplify in fungi, often includes large introns, and can be insufficiently variable. Three subunits from the nuclear ribosomal RNA cistron were compared together with regions of three representative protein-coding genes (largest subunit of RNA polymerase II, second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II, and minichromosome maintenance protein). Although the protein-coding gene regions often had a higher percent of correct identification compared with ribosomal markers, low PCR amplification and sequencing success eliminated them as candidates for a universal fungal barcode. Among the regions of the ribosomal cistron, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region has the highest probability of successful identification for the broadest range of fungi, with the most clearly defined barcode gap between inter- and intraspecific variation. The nuclear ribosomal large subunit, a popular phylogenetic marker in certain groups, had superior species resolution in some taxonomic groups, such as the early diverging lineages and the ascomycete yeasts, but was otherwise slightly inferior to the ITS. The nuclear ribosomal small subunit has poor species-level resolution in fungi. ITS will be formally proposed for adoption as the primary fungal barcode marker to the Consortium for the Barcode of Life, with the possibility that supplementary barcodes may be developed for particular narrowly circumscribed taxonomic groups.

  11. Study on Phylogenetic Status of Javan Plover Bird (Charadrius, Charadriidae, Charadriiformes through DNA Barcoding Analysis

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    Hidayat Ashari

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Javan Plover named Charadrius javanicus is taxonomically under controversy and phylogenetically unresolved yet. Through an analysis of DNA barcode, this study aims (1 to confirm whether Javan Plover is separated species named Charadrius javanicus or a subspecies of C. alexandrinus which named C. a. javanicus and (2 to determine a relationship within this genus. Totally 666 bp DNA sequences of COI barcode gene were analyzed.  The results showed that a sequence divergence between Javan Plover and C. alexandrinus alexandrinus was only 1.2%, while sequence divergences between C.a.alexandrinus and others species, or between Javan Plover and others species were ranged from 9-12%.  Neighbour-joining (NJ and maximum-parsimony (MP analyses showed that all individuals of both Javan Plover and Kenith Plover were clustered together, and supported by 99 % and 100 % of bootstrap value in NJ and MP, respectively. This study tends to support the previous findings that Javan Plover was not a separated species named C. javanicus, but it was as a subspecies of C. alexandrinus; named C. a. javanicus. There were two groups of Plover in this study; (C. leschenaultii and C. javanicus + C.a.alexandrinus, and (C.dubius and C. melodus + C. semipalmatus. DNA barcoding analysis can give certainty taxonomic status of the bird. Then, this study has implication as a basic data that can be used to provide and support the planning of Javan plover conservation programs. 

  12. Who's there? - First morphological and DNA barcoding catalogue of the shallow Hawai'ian sponge fauna.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Núñez Pons, Laura; Calcinai, Barbara; Gates, Ruth D

    2017-01-01

    The sponge fauna has been largely overlooked in the Archipelago of Hawai'i, notwithstanding the paramount role of this taxon in marine ecosystems. The lack of knowledge about Porifera populations inhabiting the Hawai'ian reefs limits the development of ecological studies aimed at understanding the functioning of these marine systems. Consequently, this project addresses this gap by describing the most representative sponge species in the shallow waters of the enigmatic bay of Kane'ohe Bay, in O'ahu Island. A total of 30 species (28 demosponges and two calcareous sponges) living associated to the reef structures are here reported. Six of these species are new records to the Hawai'ian Porifera catalogue and are suspected to be recent introductions to these islands. Morphological descriptions of the voucher specimens are provided, along with sequencing data of two partitions involving the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) marker and a fragment covering partial (18S and 28S) and full (ITS-1, 5.8S and ITS-2) nuclear ribosomal genes. Species delimitations based on genetic distances were calculated to valitate how taxonomic assignments from DNA barcoding aligned with morphological identifications. Of the 60 sequences submitted to GenBank ~88% are the first sequencing records for the corresponding species and genetic marker. This work compiles the first catalogue combining morphological characters with DNA barcoding of Hawai'ian sponges, and contributes to the repository of public databases through the Sponge Barcoding Project initiative.

  13. Who's there? - First morphological and DNA barcoding catalogue of the shallow Hawai'ian sponge fauna.

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    Laura Núñez Pons

    Full Text Available The sponge fauna has been largely overlooked in the Archipelago of Hawai'i, notwithstanding the paramount role of this taxon in marine ecosystems. The lack of knowledge about Porifera populations inhabiting the Hawai'ian reefs limits the development of ecological studies aimed at understanding the functioning of these marine systems. Consequently, this project addresses this gap by describing the most representative sponge species in the shallow waters of the enigmatic bay of Kane'ohe Bay, in O'ahu Island. A total of 30 species (28 demosponges and two calcareous sponges living associated to the reef structures are here reported. Six of these species are new records to the Hawai'ian Porifera catalogue and are suspected to be recent introductions to these islands. Morphological descriptions of the voucher specimens are provided, along with sequencing data of two partitions involving the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI marker and a fragment covering partial (18S and 28S and full (ITS-1, 5.8S and ITS-2 nuclear ribosomal genes. Species delimitations based on genetic distances were calculated to valitate how taxonomic assignments from DNA barcoding aligned with morphological identifications. Of the 60 sequences submitted to GenBank ~88% are the first sequencing records for the corresponding species and genetic marker. This work compiles the first catalogue combining morphological characters with DNA barcoding of Hawai'ian sponges, and contributes to the repository of public databases through the Sponge Barcoding Project initiative.

  14. Identification of exotic North American crayfish in Europe by DNA barcoding

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    Filipová L.

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Several alien crayfish of North American origin have become established in Europe in recent decades, but their identification is often confusing. Our aim was to verify the taxonomic status of their European populations by DNA barcoding. We sequenced the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI gene fragment of individuals representing all American crayfish known from European waters, and compared the results with reference sequences from North America. Our results confirm the morphological identification of Orconectes juvenilis from a population in eastern France, and of the marbled crayfish (Marmorkrebs, i.e., a parthenogenetic form of Procambarus fallax, from south-western Germany. Sequences of most individuals of presumed Procambarus acutus from the Netherlands were similar to American P. cf. acutus, but one was divergent, closer to a sequence of a reference individual of P. cf. zonangulus. However, divergences among three American P. cf. zonangulus samples were also high, comparable to interspecific variation within cambarid species complexes. The divergence between O. immunis from Europe and America also reached values corresponding to those observed among distinct Orconectes species. Genetic variation in the American range of these crayfish should therefore be further studied. Our study shows that DNA barcoding is useful for the rapid and accurate identification of exotic crayfish in Europe, and also provides insights into overall variation within these taxa.

  15. Species-specific identification from incomplete sampling: applying DNA barcodes to monitoring invasive solanum plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Wei; Fan, Xiaohong; Zhu, Shuifang; Zhao, Hong; Fu, Lianzhong

    2013-01-01

    Comprehensive sampling is crucial to DNA barcoding, but it is rarely performed because materials are usually unavailable. In practice, only a few rather than all species of a genus are required to be identified. Thus identification of a given species using a limited sample is of great importance in current application of DNA barcodes. Here, we selected 70 individuals representing 48 species from each major lineage of Solanum, one of the most species-rich genera of seed plants, to explore whether DNA barcodes can provide reliable specific-species discrimination in the context of incomplete sampling. Chloroplast genes ndhF and trnS-trnG and the nuclear gene waxy, the commonly used markers in Solanum phylogeny, were selected as the supplementary barcodes. The tree-building and modified barcode gap methods were employed to assess species resolution. The results showed that four Solanum species of quarantine concern could be successfully identified through the two-step barcoding sampling strategy. In addition, discrepancies between nuclear and cpDNA barcodes in some samples demonstrated the ability to discriminate hybrid species, and highlights the necessity of using barcode regions with different modes of inheritance. We conclude that efficient phylogenetic markers are good candidates as the supplementary barcodes in a given taxonomic group. Critically, we hypothesized that a specific-species could be identified from a phylogenetic framework using incomplete sampling-through this, DNA barcoding will greatly benefit the current fields of its application.

  16. DNA Barcoding of Birds at a Migratory Hotspot in Eastern Turkey Highlights Continental Phylogeographic Relationships.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raşit Bilgin

    Full Text Available The combination of habitat loss, climate change, direct persecution, introduced species and other components of the global environmental crisis has resulted in a rapid loss of biodiversity, including species, population and genetic diversity. Birds, which inhabit a wide spectrum of different habitat types, are particularly sensitive to and indicative of environmental changes. The Caucasus endemic bird area, part of which covers northeastern Turkey, is one of the world's key regions harboring a unique bird community threatened with habitat loss. More than 75% of all bird species native to Turkey have been recorded in this region, in particular along the Kars-Iğdır migratory corridor, stopover, wintering and breeding sites along the Aras River, whose wetlands harbor at least 264 bird species. In this study, DNA barcoding technique was used for evaluating the genetic diversity of land bird species of Aras River Bird Paradise at the confluence of Aras River and Iğdır Plains key biodiversity areas. Seventy three COI sequences from 33 common species and 26 different genera were newly generated and used along with 301 sequences that were retrieved from the Barcoding of Life Database (BOLD. Using the sequences obtained in this study, we made global phylogeographic comparisons to define four categories of species, based on barcoding suitability, intraspecific divergence and taxonomy. Our findings indicate that the landbird community of northeastern Turkey has a genetical signature mostly typical of northern Palearctic bird communities while harboring some unique variations. The study also provides a good example of how DNA barcoding can build upon its primary mission of species identification and use available data to integrate genetic variation investigated at the local scale into a global framework. However, the rich bird community of the Aras River wetlands is highly threatened with the imminent construction of the Tuzluca Dam by the government.

  17. DNA Barcoding the Canadian Arctic Flora: Core Plastid Barcodes (rbcL + matK) for 490 Vascular Plant Species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saarela, Jeffery M.; Sokoloff, Paul C.; Gillespie, Lynn J.; Consaul, Laurie L.; Bull, Roger D.

    2013-01-01

    Accurate identification of Arctic plant species is critical for understanding potential climate-induced changes in their diversity and distributions. To facilitate rapid identification we generated DNA barcodes for the core plastid barcode loci (rbcL and matK) for 490 vascular plant species, representing nearly half of the Canadian Arctic flora and 93% of the flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Sequence recovery was higher for rbcL than matK (93% and 81%), and rbcL was easier to recover than matK from herbarium specimens (92% and 77%). Distance-based and sequence-similarity analyses of combined rbcL + matK data discriminate 97% of genera, 56% of species, and 7% of infraspecific taxa. There is a significant negative correlation between the number of species sampled per genus and the percent species resolution per genus. We characterize barcode variation in detail in the ten largest genera sampled (Carex, Draba, Festuca, Pedicularis, Poa, Potentilla, Puccinellia, Ranunculus, Salix, and Saxifraga) in the context of their phylogenetic relationships and taxonomy. Discrimination with the core barcode loci in these genera ranges from 0% in Salix to 85% in Carex. Haplotype variation in multiple genera does not correspond to species boundaries, including Taraxacum, in which the distribution of plastid haplotypes among Arctic species is consistent with plastid variation documented in non-Arctic species. Introgression of Poa glauca plastid DNA into multiple individuals of P. hartzii is problematic for identification of these species with DNA barcodes. Of three supplementary barcode loci (psbA–trnH, psbK–psbI, atpF–atpH) collected for a subset of Poa and Puccinellia species, only atpF–atpH improved discrimination in Puccinellia, compared with rbcL and matK. Variation in matK in Vaccinium uliginosum and rbcL in Saxifraga oppositifolia corresponds to variation in other loci used to characterize the phylogeographic histories of these Arctic-alpine species. PMID

  18. Spectral Barcoding of Quantum Dots: Deciphering Structural Motifs from the Excitonic Spectra

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mlinar, V.; Zunger, A.

    2009-01-01

    Self-assembled semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) show in high-resolution single-dot spectra a multitude of sharp lines, resembling a barcode, due to various neutral and charged exciton complexes. Here we propose the 'spectral barcoding' method that deciphers structural motifs of dots by using such barcode as input to an artificial-intelligence learning system. Thus, we invert the common practice of deducing spectra from structure by deducing structure from spectra. This approach (i) lays the foundation for building a much needed structure-spectra understanding for large nanostructures and (ii) can guide future design of desired optical features of QDs by controlling during growth only those structural motifs that decide given optical features.

  19. Código de barras del ADN y sus posibles aplicaciones en el campo de la Entomología DNA barcoding and its possible applications to the field of Entomology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Analía A. Lanteri

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available En este artículo se abordan algunos aspectos de la controversia sobre la iniciativa «Código de barras del ADN», y se hace hincapié en sus potenciales aplicaciones en Entomología. Esta iniciativa propone emplear información dentro de una misma región génica (gen mitocondrial de la Citocromo c Oxidasa I = COI, en todas las especies vivientes y con condiciones de secuenciación universalmente aceptadas y estandarizadas. En la actualidad, no pretende sustituir la taxonomía alfa y la filogenia sino agilizar las tareas de identificación, especialmente en el campo de la Biomedicina (identificación de patógenos, parásitos y vectores, el control de plagas (intercepción de especies invasoras, cualquiera sea su estado de desarrollo ontogenético y los estudios sobre conservación de la biodiversidad. Para arribar a una correcta delimitación de las especies biológicas es preciso contar con las secuencias de COI de numerosos individuos a lo largo de todo su rango geográfico y además, secuencias de genes nucleares e información morfológica y biológica detallada. Las «Unidades Evolutivas Significativas», identificadas sobre la base del «código de barras», podrían corresponder tanto a morfoespecies como a especies crípticas y a subespecies o linajes con diferentes preferencias de huéspedes. La integración del «código de barras del ADN», el trabajo de campo, las colecciones de museos y la investigación científica resultan imprescindibles para que esta herramienta redunde en avances significativos en el campo de la Sistemática Entomológica.This article deals with some of the most controversial issues of the DNA barcode initiative, focusing on its potential applications to Entomology. The barcoding proposes using information within the same gene region (Cytocrome c Oxidase I= COI mitochondrial gene, in all living species and under standard conditions of sequencing. At present, it does not attempt to replace alpha taxonomy or

  20. Application of DNA barcoding in biodiversity studies of shallow-water octocorals: molecular proxies agree with morphological estimates of species richness in Palau

    Science.gov (United States)

    McFadden, C. S.; Brown, A. S.; Brayton, C.; Hunt, C. B.; van Ofwegen, L. P.

    2014-06-01

    The application of DNA barcoding to anthozoan cnidarians has been hindered by their slow rates of mitochondrial gene evolution and the failure to identify alternative molecular markers that distinguish species reliably. Among octocorals, however, multilocus barcodes can distinguish up to 70 % of morphospecies, thereby facilitating the identification of species that are ecologically important but still very poorly known taxonomically. We tested the ability of these imperfect DNA barcodes to estimate species richness in a biodiversity survey of the shallow-water octocoral fauna of Palau using multilocus ( COI, mtMutS, 28S rDNA) sequences obtained from 305 specimens representing 38 genera of octocorals. Numbers and identities of species were estimated independently (1) by a taxonomic expert using morphological criteria and (2) by assigning sequences to molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) using predefined genetic distance thresholds. Estimated numbers of MOTUs ranged from 73 to 128 depending on the barcode and distance threshold applied, bracketing the estimated number of 118 morphospecies. Concordance between morphospecies identifications and MOTUs ranged from 71 to 75 % and differed little among barcodes. For the speciose and ecologically dominant genus Sinularia, however, we were able to identify 95 % of specimens correctly simply by comparing mtMutS sequences and in situ photographs of colonies to an existing vouchered database. Because we lack a clear understanding of species boundaries in most of these taxa, numbers of morphospecies and MOTUs are both estimates of the true species diversity, and we cannot currently determine which is more accurate. Our results suggest, however, that the two methods provide comparable estimates of species richness for shallow-water Indo-Pacific octocorals. Use of molecular barcodes in biodiversity surveys will facilitate comparisons of species richness and composition among localities and over time, data that do not

  1. Insect barcode information system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pratheepa, Maria; Jalali, Sushil Kumar; Arokiaraj, Robinson Silvester; Venkatesan, Thiruvengadam; Nagesh, Mandadi; Panda, Madhusmita; Pattar, Sharath

    2014-01-01

    Insect Barcode Information System called as Insect Barcode Informática (IBIn) is an online database resource developed by the National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Insects, Bangalore. This database provides acquisition, storage, analysis and publication of DNA barcode records of agriculturally important insects, for researchers specifically in India and other countries. It bridges a gap in bioinformatics by integrating molecular, morphological and distribution details of agriculturally important insects. IBIn was developed using PHP/My SQL by using relational database management concept. This database is based on the client- server architecture, where many clients can access data simultaneously. IBIn is freely available on-line and is user-friendly. IBIn allows the registered users to input new information, search and view information related to DNA barcode of agriculturally important insects.This paper provides a current status of insect barcode in India and brief introduction about the database IBIn. http://www.nabg-nbaii.res.in/barcode.

  2. BioBarcode: a general DNA barcoding database and server platform for Asian biodiversity resources

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-01-01

    Background DNA barcoding provides a rapid, accurate, and standardized method for species-level identification using short DNA sequences. Such a standardized identification method is useful for mapping all the species on Earth, particularly when DNA sequencing technology is cheaply available. There are many nations in Asia with many biodiversity resources that need to be mapped and registered in databases. Results We have built a general DNA barcode data processing system, BioBarcode, with open source software - which is a general purpose database and server. It uses mySQL RDBMS 5.0, BLAST2, and Apache httpd server. An exemplary database of BioBarcode has around 11,300 specimen entries (including GenBank data) and registers the biological species to map their genetic relationships. The BioBarcode database contains a chromatogram viewer which improves the performance in DNA sequence analyses. Conclusion Asia has a very high degree of biodiversity and the BioBarcode database server system aims to provide an efficient bioinformatics protocol that can be freely used by Asian researchers and research organizations interested in DNA barcoding. The BioBarcode promotes the rapid acquisition of biological species DNA sequence data that meet global standards by providing specialized services, and provides useful tools that will make barcoding cheaper and faster in the biodiversity community such as standardization, depository, management, and analysis of DNA barcode data. The system can be downloaded upon request, and an exemplary server has been constructed with which to build an Asian biodiversity system http://www.asianbarcode.org. PMID:19958506

  3. Who’s there? – First morphological and DNA barcoding catalogue of the shallow Hawai’ian sponge fauna

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gates, Ruth D.

    2017-01-01

    The sponge fauna has been largely overlooked in the Archipelago of Hawai’i, notwithstanding the paramount role of this taxon in marine ecosystems. The lack of knowledge about Porifera populations inhabiting the Hawai’ian reefs limits the development of ecological studies aimed at understanding the functioning of these marine systems. Consequently, this project addresses this gap by describing the most representative sponge species in the shallow waters of the enigmatic bay of Kane’ohe Bay, in O’ahu Island. A total of 30 species (28 demosponges and two calcareous sponges) living associated to the reef structures are here reported. Six of these species are new records to the Hawai’ian Porifera catalogue and are suspected to be recent introductions to these islands. Morphological descriptions of the voucher specimens are provided, along with sequencing data of two partitions involving the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) marker and a fragment covering partial (18S and 28S) and full (ITS-1, 5.8S and ITS-2) nuclear ribosomal genes. Species delimitations based on genetic distances were calculated to valitate how taxonomic assignments from DNA barcoding aligned with morphological identifications. Of the 60 sequences submitted to GenBank ~88% are the first sequencing records for the corresponding species and genetic marker. This work compiles the first catalogue combining morphological characters with DNA barcoding of Hawai’ian sponges, and contributes to the repository of public databases through the Sponge Barcoding Project initiative. PMID:29267311

  4. Plant DNA barcodes can accurately estimate species richness in poorly known floras.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costion, Craig; Ford, Andrew; Cross, Hugh; Crayn, Darren; Harrington, Mark; Lowe, Andrew

    2011-01-01

    Widespread uptake of DNA barcoding technology for vascular plants has been slow due to the relatively poor resolution of species discrimination (∼70%) and low sequencing and amplification success of one of the two official barcoding loci, matK. Studies to date have mostly focused on finding a solution to these intrinsic limitations of the markers, rather than posing questions that can maximize the utility of DNA barcodes for plants with the current technology. Here we test the ability of plant DNA barcodes using the two official barcoding loci, rbcLa and matK, plus an alternative barcoding locus, trnH-psbA, to estimate the species diversity of trees in a tropical rainforest plot. Species discrimination accuracy was similar to findings from previous studies but species richness estimation accuracy proved higher, up to 89%. All combinations which included the trnH-psbA locus performed better at both species discrimination and richness estimation than matK, which showed little enhanced species discriminatory power when concatenated with rbcLa. The utility of the trnH-psbA locus is limited however, by the occurrence of intraspecific variation observed in some angiosperm families to occur as an inversion that obscures the monophyly of species. We demonstrate for the first time, using a case study, the potential of plant DNA barcodes for the rapid estimation of species richness in taxonomically poorly known areas or cryptic populations revealing a powerful new tool for rapid biodiversity assessment. The combination of the rbcLa and trnH-psbA loci performed better for this purpose than any two-locus combination that included matK. We show that although DNA barcodes fail to discriminate all species of plants, new perspectives and methods on biodiversity value and quantification may overshadow some of these shortcomings by applying barcode data in new ways.

  5. Complex species status for extinct moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes from the genus Euryapteryx.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leon Huynen

    Full Text Available The exact species status of New Zealand's extinct moa remains unknown. In particular, moa belonging to the genus Euryapteryx have been difficult to classify. We use the DNA barcoding sequence on a range of Euryapteryx samples in an attempt to resolve the species status for this genus. We obtained mitochondrial control region and the barcoding region from Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit I (COI from a number of new moa samples and use available sequences from previous moa phylogenies and eggshell data to try and clarify the species status of Euryapteryx. Using the COI barcoding region we show that species status in Euryapteryx is complex with no clear separation between various individuals. Eggshell, soil, and bone data suggests that a Euryapteryx subspecies likely exists on New Zealand's North Island and can be characterized by a single mitochondrial control region SNP. COI divergences between Euryapteryx individuals from the south of New Zealand's South Island and those from the Far North of the North Island exceed 1.6% and are likely to represent separate species. Individuals from other areas of New Zealand were unable to be clearly separated based on COI differences possibly as a result of repeated hybridisation events. Despite the accuracy of the COI barcoding region to determine species status in birds, including that for the other moa genera, for moa from the genus Euryapteryx, COI barcoding fails to provide a clear result, possibly as a consequence of repeated hybridisation events between these moa. A single control region SNP was identified however that segregates with the two general morphological variants determined for Euryapteryx; a smaller subspecies restricted to the North Island of New Zealand, and a larger subspecies, found on both New Zealand's North and South Island.

  6. Complex species status for extinct moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes) from the genus Euryapteryx.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huynen, Leon; Lambert, David M

    2014-01-01

    The exact species status of New Zealand's extinct moa remains unknown. In particular, moa belonging to the genus Euryapteryx have been difficult to classify. We use the DNA barcoding sequence on a range of Euryapteryx samples in an attempt to resolve the species status for this genus. We obtained mitochondrial control region and the barcoding region from Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit I (COI) from a number of new moa samples and use available sequences from previous moa phylogenies and eggshell data to try and clarify the species status of Euryapteryx. Using the COI barcoding region we show that species status in Euryapteryx is complex with no clear separation between various individuals. Eggshell, soil, and bone data suggests that a Euryapteryx subspecies likely exists on New Zealand's North Island and can be characterized by a single mitochondrial control region SNP. COI divergences between Euryapteryx individuals from the south of New Zealand's South Island and those from the Far North of the North Island exceed 1.6% and are likely to represent separate species. Individuals from other areas of New Zealand were unable to be clearly separated based on COI differences possibly as a result of repeated hybridisation events. Despite the accuracy of the COI barcoding region to determine species status in birds, including that for the other moa genera, for moa from the genus Euryapteryx, COI barcoding fails to provide a clear result, possibly as a consequence of repeated hybridisation events between these moa. A single control region SNP was identified however that segregates with the two general morphological variants determined for Euryapteryx; a smaller subspecies restricted to the North Island of New Zealand, and a larger subspecies, found on both New Zealand's North and South Island.

  7. Efficient alignment-free DNA barcode analytics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuksa, Pavel; Pavlovic, Vladimir

    2009-11-10

    In this work we consider barcode DNA analysis problems and address them using alternative, alignment-free methods and representations which model sequences as collections of short sequence fragments (features). The methods use fixed-length representations (spectrum) for barcode sequences to measure similarities or dissimilarities between sequences coming from the same or different species. The spectrum-based representation not only allows for accurate and computationally efficient species classification, but also opens possibility for accurate clustering analysis of putative species barcodes and identification of critical within-barcode loci distinguishing barcodes of different sample groups. New alignment-free methods provide highly accurate and fast DNA barcode-based identification and classification of species with substantial improvements in accuracy and speed over state-of-the-art barcode analysis methods. We evaluate our methods on problems of species classification and identification using barcodes, important and relevant analytical tasks in many practical applications (adverse species movement monitoring, sampling surveys for unknown or pathogenic species identification, biodiversity assessment, etc.) On several benchmark barcode datasets, including ACG, Astraptes, Hesperiidae, Fish larvae, and Birds of North America, proposed alignment-free methods considerably improve prediction accuracy compared to prior results. We also observe significant running time improvements over the state-of-the-art methods. Our results show that newly developed alignment-free methods for DNA barcoding can efficiently and with high accuracy identify specimens by examining only few barcode features, resulting in increased scalability and interpretability of current computational approaches to barcoding.

  8. Evaluating the Feasibility of Five Candidate DNA Barcoding Loci for Philippine Lasianthus Jack (Lasiantheae: Rubiaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arshed, Muhammad Jefte C; Valdez, Marcos B; Alejandro, Grecebio Jonathan D

    2017-01-01

    The pantropical genus Lasianthus Jack is identified for high phenotypic plasticity making traditional taxonomic identification difficult. Having some members with important medicinal properties, a precise complimentary identification through DNA barcoding is needed for species delineation. In this study, 12 samples representing six Philippine Lasianthus species were used to determine the most efficient barcoding loci among the cpDNA markers ( mat K, rbc L, rps 16, and trn T-F) and nrDNA (ITS) based on the criteria of universality, discriminatory power, and resolution of species. The results revealed that ITS has the recommended primer universality, greatest interspecific divergences, and average resolution of species. Among the cpDNA markers, mat K and rbc L are recommended but with minimal resolution of species. While trn T-F showed moderate interspecific variations and resolution of Lasianthus species, rps 16 has the lowest interspecific divergence and resolution of species. Consequently, ITS is the potential ideal DNA barcode for Lasianthus species. ITS, mat K, and rps 16 markers have the excellent amplification and sequence qualityITS marker has the highest interspecific divergence with the maximum values, followed by mat K, rbc L, trn T-F, and rps 16, respectivelyAll markers except rps 16 yielded average resolution to Lasianthus speciesITS marker is the most ideal locus in terms of excellent universality, high interspecific discriminatory ability, and average species resolution. Abbreviations used: ITS: Internal Transcribe Spacer, mat K: maturase K, rbc L: ribulose-1,5-biphospahte-carboxylase, rps 16: ribosomal protein 16 small subunit gene.

  9. Potential DNA barcodes for Melilotus species based on five single loci and their combinations.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fan Wu

    Full Text Available Melilotus, an annual or biennial herb, belongs to the tribe Trifolieae (Leguminosae and consists of 19 species. As an important green manure crop, diverse Melilotus species have different values as feed and medicine. To identify different Melilotus species, we examined the efficiency of five candidate regions as barcodes, including the internal transcribed spacer (ITS and two chloroplast loci, rbcL and matK, and two non-coding loci, trnH-psbA and trnL-F. In total, 198 individuals from 98 accessions representing 18 Melilotus species were sequenced for these five potential barcodes. Based on inter-specific divergence, we analysed sequences and confirmed that each candidate barcode was able to identify some of the 18 species. The resolution of a single barcode and its combinations ranged from 33.33% to 88.89%. Analysis of pairwise distances showed that matK+rbcL+trnL-F+trnH-psbA+ITS (MRTPI had the greatest value and rbcL the least. Barcode gap values and similarity value analyses confirmed these trends. The results indicated that an ITS region, successfully identifying 13 of 18 species, was the most appropriate single barcode and that the combination of all five potential barcodes identified 16 of the 18 species. We conclude that MRTPI is the most effective tool for Melilotus species identification. Taking full advantage of the barcode system, a clear taxonomic relationship can be applied to identify Melilotus species and enhance their practical production.

  10. Discovering hidden biodiversity: the use of complementary monitoring of fish diet based on DNA barcoding in freshwater ecosystems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jo, Hyunbin; Ventura, Marc; Vidal, Nicolas; Gim, Jeong-Soo; Buchaca, Teresa; Barmuta, Leon A; Jeppesen, Erik; Joo, Gea-Jae

    2016-01-01

    Ecological monitoring contributes to the understanding of complex ecosystem functions. The diets of fish reflect the surrounding environment and habitats and may, therefore, act as useful integrating indicators of environmental status. It is, however, often difficult to visually identify items in gut contents to species level due to digestion of soft-bodied prey beyond visual recognition, but new tools rendering this possible are now becoming available. We used a molecular approach to determine the species identities of consumed diet items of an introduced generalist feeder, brown trout (Salmo trutta), in 10 Tasmanian lakes and compared the results with those obtained from visual quantification of stomach contents. We obtained 44 unique taxa (OTUs) belonging to five phyla, including seven classes, using the barcode of life approach from cytochrome oxidase I (COI). Compared with visual quantification, DNA analysis showed greater accuracy, yielding a 1.4-fold higher number of OTUs. Rarefaction curve analysis showed saturation of visually inspected taxa, while the curves from the DNA barcode did not saturate. The OTUs with the highest proportions of haplotypes were the families of terrestrial insects Formicidae, Chrysomelidae, and Torbidae and the freshwater Chironomidae. Haplotype occurrence per lake was negatively correlated with lake depth and transparency. Nearly all haplotypes were only found in one fish gut from a single lake. Our results indicate that DNA barcoding of fish diets is a useful and complementary method for discovering hidden biodiversity.

  11. Barcoded microchips for biomolecular assays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yi; Sun, Jiashu; Zou, Yu; Chen, Wenwen; Zhang, Wei; Xi, Jianzhong Jeff; Jiang, Xingyu

    2015-01-20

    Multiplexed assay of analytes is of great importance for clinical diagnostics and other analytical applications. Barcode-based bioassays with the ability to encode and decode may realize this goal in a straightforward and consistent manner. We present here a microfluidic barcoded chip containing several sets of microchannels with different widths, imitating the commonly used barcode. A single barcoded microchip can carry out tens of individual protein/nucleic acid assays (encode) and immediately yield all assay results by a portable barcode reader or a smartphone (decode). The applicability of a barcoded microchip is demonstrated by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) immunoassays for simultaneous detection of three targets (anti-gp41 antibody, anti-gp120 antibody, and anti-gp36 antibody) from six human serum samples. We can also determine seven pathogen-specific oligonucleotides by a single chip containing both positive and negative controls.

  12. Testing the potential of a ribosomal 16S marker for DNA metabarcoding of insects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vasco Elbrecht

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Cytochrome c oxidase I (COI is a powerful marker for DNA barcoding of animals, with good taxonomic resolution and a large reference database. However, when used for DNA metabarcoding, estimation of taxa abundances and species detection are limited due to primer bias caused by highly variable primer binding sites across the COI gene. Therefore, we explored the ability of the 16S ribosomal DNA gene as an alternative metabarcoding marker for species level assessments. Ten bulk samples, each containing equal amounts of tissue from 52 freshwater invertebrate taxa, were sequenced with the Illumina NextSeq 500 system. The 16S primers amplified three more insect species than the Folmer COI primers and amplified more equally, probably due to decreased primer bias. Estimation of biomass might be less biased with 16S than with COI, although variation in read abundances of two orders of magnitudes is still observed. According to these results, the marker choice depends on the scientific question. If the goal is to obtain a taxonomic identification at the species level, then COI is more appropriate due to established reference databases and known taxonomic resolution of this marker, knowing that a greater proportion of insects will be missed using COI Folmer primers. If the goal is to obtain a more comprehensive survey the 16S marker, which requires building a local reference database, or optimised degenerated COI primers could be more appropriate.

  13. DNA Barcoding the Geometrid Fauna of Bavaria (Lepidoptera): Successes, Surprises, and Questions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hausmann, Axel; Haszprunar, Gerhard; Hebert, Paul D. N.

    2011-01-01

    Background The State of Bavaria is involved in a research program that will lead to the construction of a DNA barcode library for all animal species within its territorial boundaries. The present study provides a comprehensive DNA barcode library for the Geometridae, one of the most diverse of insect families. Methodology/Principal Findings This study reports DNA barcodes for 400 Bavarian geometrid species, 98 per cent of the known fauna, and approximately one per cent of all Bavarian animal species. Although 98.5% of these species possess diagnostic barcode sequences in Bavaria, records from neighbouring countries suggest that species-level resolution may be compromised in up to 3.5% of cases. All taxa which apparently share barcodes are discussed in detail. One case of modest divergence (1.4%) revealed a species overlooked by the current taxonomic system: Eupithecia goossensiata Mabille, 1869 stat.n. is raised from synonymy with Eupithecia absinthiata (Clerck, 1759) to species rank. Deep intraspecific sequence divergences (>2%) were detected in 20 traditionally recognized species. Conclusions/Significance The study emphasizes the effectiveness of DNA barcoding as a tool for monitoring biodiversity. Open access is provided to a data set that includes records for 1,395 geometrid specimens (331 species) from Bavaria, with 69 additional species from neighbouring regions. Taxa with deep intraspecific sequence divergences are undergoing more detailed analysis to ascertain if they represent cases of cryptic diversity. PMID:21423340

  14. Identification and reassessment of the specific status of some tropical freshwater midges (Diptera: Chironomidae) using DNA barcode data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pramual, Pairot; Simwisat, Kusumart; Martin, Jon

    2016-01-28

    Chironomidae are a highly diverse group of insects. Members of this family are often included in programs monitoring the health of freshwater ecosystems. However, a difficulty in morphological identification, particularly of larval stages is the major obstacle to this application. In this study, we tested the efficiency of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) sequences as the DNA barcoding region for species identification of Chironomidae in Thailand. The results revealed 14 species with a high success rate (>90%) for the correct species identification, which suggests the potential usefulness of the technique. However, some morphological species possess high (>3%) intraspecific genetic divergence that suggests these species could be species complexes and need further morphological or cytological examination. Sequence-based species delimitation analyses indicated that most specimens identified as Chironomus kiiensis, Tokunaga 1936, in Japan are conspecific with C. striatipennis, Kieffer 1912, although a small number form a separate cluster. A review of the descriptions of Kiefferulus tainanus (Kieffer 1912) and its junior synonym, K. biroi (Kieffer 1918), following our results, suggests that this synonymy is probably not correct and that K. tainanus occurs in Japan, China and Singapore, while K. biroi occurs in India and Thailand. Our results therefore revealed the usefulness of DNA barcoding for correct species identification of Chironomidae, particularly the immature stages. In addition, DNA barcodes could also uncover hidden diversity that can guide further taxonomic study, and offer a more efficient way to identify species than morphological analysis where large numbers of specimens are involved, provided the identifications of DNA barcodes in the databases are correct. Our studies indicate that this is not the case, and we identify cases of misidentifications for C. flaviplumus, Tokunaga 1940 and K. tainanus.

  15. Plant DNA barcodes can accurately estimate species richness in poorly known floras.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Craig Costion

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Widespread uptake of DNA barcoding technology for vascular plants has been slow due to the relatively poor resolution of species discrimination (∼70% and low sequencing and amplification success of one of the two official barcoding loci, matK. Studies to date have mostly focused on finding a solution to these intrinsic limitations of the markers, rather than posing questions that can maximize the utility of DNA barcodes for plants with the current technology. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we test the ability of plant DNA barcodes using the two official barcoding loci, rbcLa and matK, plus an alternative barcoding locus, trnH-psbA, to estimate the species diversity of trees in a tropical rainforest plot. Species discrimination accuracy was similar to findings from previous studies but species richness estimation accuracy proved higher, up to 89%. All combinations which included the trnH-psbA locus performed better at both species discrimination and richness estimation than matK, which showed little enhanced species discriminatory power when concatenated with rbcLa. The utility of the trnH-psbA locus is limited however, by the occurrence of intraspecific variation observed in some angiosperm families to occur as an inversion that obscures the monophyly of species. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We demonstrate for the first time, using a case study, the potential of plant DNA barcodes for the rapid estimation of species richness in taxonomically poorly known areas or cryptic populations revealing a powerful new tool for rapid biodiversity assessment. The combination of the rbcLa and trnH-psbA loci performed better for this purpose than any two-locus combination that included matK. We show that although DNA barcodes fail to discriminate all species of plants, new perspectives and methods on biodiversity value and quantification may overshadow some of these shortcomings by applying barcode data in new ways.

  16. Testing the Efficacy of DNA Barcodes for Identifying the Vascular Plants of Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braukmann, Thomas W A; Kuzmina, Maria L; Sills, Jesse; Zakharov, Evgeny V; Hebert, Paul D N

    2017-01-01

    Their relatively slow rates of molecular evolution, as well as frequent exposure to hybridization and introgression, often make it difficult to discriminate species of vascular plants with the standard barcode markers (rbcL, matK, ITS2). Previous studies have examined these constraints in narrow geographic or taxonomic contexts, but the present investigation expands analysis to consider the performance of these gene regions in discriminating the species in local floras at sites across Canada. To test identification success, we employed a DNA barcode reference library with sequence records for 96% of the 5108 vascular plant species known from Canada, but coverage varied from 94% for rbcL to 60% for ITS2 and 39% for matK. Using plant lists from 27 national parks and one scientific reserve, we tested the efficacy of DNA barcodes in identifying the plants in simulated species assemblages from six biogeographic regions of Canada using BLAST and mothur. Mean pairwise distance (MPD) and mean nearest taxon distance (MNTD) were strong predictors of barcode performance for different plant families and genera, and both metrics supported ITS2 as possessing the highest genetic diversity. All three genes performed strongly in assigning the taxa present in local floras to the correct genus with values ranging from 91% for rbcL to 97% for ITS2 and 98% for matK. However, matK delivered the highest species discrimination (~81%) followed by ITS2 (~72%) and rbcL (~44%). Despite the low number of plant taxa in the Canadian Arctic, DNA barcodes had the least success in discriminating species from this biogeographic region with resolution ranging from 36% with rbcL to 69% with matK. Species resolution was higher in the other settings, peaking in the Woodland region at 52% for rbcL and 87% for matK. Our results indicate that DNA barcoding is very effective in identifying Canadian plants to a genus, and that it performs well in discriminating species in regions where floristic diversity is

  17. [Significance of COI disclosure in medical research in Japan].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sone, Saburo

    2011-11-01

    In medical research, remarkable increase in collaboration with industry, public organizations such as universities, research institutions, and academic societies makes researchers to be more deeply involved with the activities of commercial entities. Activities of education and research, which are the responsibilities of academic institutions and societies, conflict with the interests of individuals associated with industrial-academic collaboration. Management of such conflict of interest (COI) is of much importance for academic institutions and societies to appropriately promote industrial-academic collaborative activities. Particularly, participation not only by healthy individuals, but also patients, is essential in the medical field as subjects of clinical research. For those involved in medical research, the deeper the level of COI with commercial entities, who are the financial or benefit provider, becomes serious, the more human rights of subjects could be violated, safety of life could be endangered, and research methods, data analysis and interpretation of results could be distorted. It is also possible that research may be unfairly evaluated or not published, even if the results are accurate, sometimes resulting in the ascertained effects of reporting bias included the overestimation of efficacy and the underestimation of safety risks of interventions. According to the COI management guideline of the Japanese Association of Medical Science (JAMS), significance of COI management is discussed.

  18. Broad-lined Supernova 2016coi with a Helium Envelope

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamanaka, Masayuki [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Konan University, Okamoto, Kobe, Hyogo 658-8501 (Japan); Nakaoka, Tatsuya; Kawabata, Miho [Department of Physical Science, Hiroshima University, Kagamiyama 1-3-1, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8526 (Japan); Tanaka, Masaomi [National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588 (Japan); Maeda, Keiichi [Department of Astronomy, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan); Honda, Satoshi; Hosoya, Kensuke; Karita, Mayu; Morihana, Kumiko [Nishi-Harima Astronomical Observatory, Center for Astronomy, University of Hyogo, 407-2 Nishigaichi, Sayo-cho, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5313 (Japan); Hanayama, Hidekazu [Ishigakijima Astronomical Observatory, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, 1024-1 Arakawa, Ishigaki, Okinawa 907-0024 (Japan); Morokuma, Tomoki [Institute of Astronomy, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-0015 (Japan); Imai, Masataka [Department of Cosmosciences, Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University, Kita 10 Nishi8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0810 (Japan); Kinugasa, Kenzo [Nobeyama Radio Observatory, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, 462-2 Nobeyama, Minamimaki, Minamisaku, Nagano 384-1305 (Japan); Murata, Katsuhiro L. [Department of Astrophysics, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602 (Japan); Nishimori, Takefumi; Gima, Hirotaka; Ito, Ayano; Morikawa, Yuto; Murakami, Kotone [Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Kagoshima University, 1-21-35 Korimoto, Kagoshima 890-0065 (Japan); Hashimoto, Osamu, E-mail: yamanaka@center.konan-u.ac.jp [Gunma Astronomical Observatory, Takayama, Gunma 377-0702 (Japan); and others

    2017-03-01

    We present the early-phase spectra and the light curves of the broad-lined (BL) supernova (SN) 2016coi from t = 7 to 67 days after the estimated explosion date. This SN was initially reported as a BL Type SN Ic (SN Ic-BL). However, we found that spectra up to t = 12 days exhibited the He i λ 5876, λ 6678, and λ 7065 absorption lines. We show that the smoothed and blueshifted spectra of normal SNe Ib are remarkably similar to the observed spectrum of SN 2016coi. The line velocities of SN 2016coi were similar to those of SNe Ic-BL and significantly faster than those of SNe Ib. Analyses of the line velocity and light curve suggest that the kinetic energy and the total ejecta mass of SN 2016coi are similar to those of SNe Ic-BL. Together with BL SNe 2009bb and 2012ap, for which the detection of He i was also reported, these SNe could be transitional objects between SNe Ic-BL and SNe Ib, and be classified as BL Type “Ib” SNe (SNe “Ib”-BL). Our work demonstrates the diversity of the outermost layer in BL SNe, which should be related to the variety of the evolutionary paths.

  19. Polylox barcoding reveals haematopoietic stem cell fates realized in vivo

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rössler, Jens; Wang, Xi; Postrach, Daniel; Busch, Katrin; Rode, Immanuel; Klapproth, Kay; Dietlein, Nikolaus; Quedenau, Claudia; Chen, Wei; Sauer, Sascha; Wolf, Stephan; Höfer, Thomas; Rodewald, Hans-Reimer

    2017-01-01

    Developmental deconvolution of complex organs and tissues at the level of individual cells remains challenging. Non-invasive genetic fate mapping1 has been widely used, but the low number of distinct fluorescent marker proteins limits its resolution. Much higher numbers of cell markers have been generated using viral integration sites2, viral barcodes3, and strategies based on transposons4 and CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing5; however, temporal and tissue-specific induction of barcodes in situ has not been achieved. Here we report the development of an artificial DNA recombination locus (termed Polylox) that enables broadly applicable endogenous barcoding based on the Cre-loxP recombination system6,7. Polylox recombination in situ reaches a practical diversity of several hundred thousand barcodes, allowing tagging of single cells. We have used this experimental system, combined with fate mapping, to assess haematopoietic stem cell (HSC) fates in vivo. Classical models of haematopoietic lineage specification assume a tree with few major branches. More recently, driven in part by the development of more efficient single-cell assays and improved transplantation efficiencies, different models have been proposed, in which unilineage priming may occur in mice and humans at the level of HSCs8–10. We have introduced barcodes into HSC progenitors in embryonic mice, and found that the adult HSC compartment is a mosaic of embryo-derived HSC clones, some of which are unexpectedly large. Most HSC clones gave rise to multilineage or oligolineage fates, arguing against unilineage priming, and suggesting coherent usage of the potential of cells in a clone. The spreading of barcodes, both after induction in embryos and in adult mice, revealed a basic split between common myeloid-erythroid development and common lymphocyte development, supporting the long-held but contested view of a tree-like haematopoietic structure. PMID:28813413

  20. Polylox barcoding reveals haematopoietic stem cell fates realized in vivo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pei, Weike; Feyerabend, Thorsten B; Rössler, Jens; Wang, Xi; Postrach, Daniel; Busch, Katrin; Rode, Immanuel; Klapproth, Kay; Dietlein, Nikolaus; Quedenau, Claudia; Chen, Wei; Sauer, Sascha; Wolf, Stephan; Höfer, Thomas; Rodewald, Hans-Reimer

    2017-08-24

    Developmental deconvolution of complex organs and tissues at the level of individual cells remains challenging. Non-invasive genetic fate mapping has been widely used, but the low number of distinct fluorescent marker proteins limits its resolution. Much higher numbers of cell markers have been generated using viral integration sites, viral barcodes, and strategies based on transposons and CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing; however, temporal and tissue-specific induction of barcodes in situ has not been achieved. Here we report the development of an artificial DNA recombination locus (termed Polylox) that enables broadly applicable endogenous barcoding based on the Cre-loxP recombination system. Polylox recombination in situ reaches a practical diversity of several hundred thousand barcodes, allowing tagging of single cells. We have used this experimental system, combined with fate mapping, to assess haematopoietic stem cell (HSC) fates in vivo. Classical models of haematopoietic lineage specification assume a tree with few major branches. More recently, driven in part by the development of more efficient single-cell assays and improved transplantation efficiencies, different models have been proposed, in which unilineage priming may occur in mice and humans at the level of HSCs. We have introduced barcodes into HSC progenitors in embryonic mice, and found that the adult HSC compartment is a mosaic of embryo-derived HSC clones, some of which are unexpectedly large. Most HSC clones gave rise to multilineage or oligolineage fates, arguing against unilineage priming, and suggesting coherent usage of the potential of cells in a clone. The spreading of barcodes, both after induction in embryos and in adult mice, revealed a basic split between common myeloid-erythroid development and common lymphocyte development, supporting the long-held but contested view of a tree-like haematopoietic structure.

  1. DNA BARCODING IKAN HIAS INTRODUKSI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melta Rini Fahmi

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Identifikasi spesies menjadi tantangan dalam pengelolaan ikan hias introduksi baik untuk tujuan budidaya maupun konservasi. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk melakukan identifikasi molekuler ikan hias introduksi yang beredar di pembudidaya dan pasar ikan hias Indonesia dengan menggunakan barcode DNA gen COI. Sampel ikan diperoleh dari pembudidaya dan importir ikan hias di kawasan Bandung dan Jakarta. Total DNA diekstraksi dari jaringan sirip ekor dengan menggunakan metode kolom. Amplifikasi gen target dilakukan dengan menggunakan primer FishF1, FishF2, FishR1, dan FishR2. Hasil pembacaan untai DNA disejajarkan dengan sekuen yang terdapat pada genbank melalui program BLAST. Identifikasi dilakukan melalui kekerabatan pohon filogenetik dan presentasi indeks kesamaan dengan sekuen genbank. Hasil identifikasi menunjukkan sampel yang diuji terbagi menjadi lima grup, yaitu: Synodontis terdiri atas lima spesies, Corydoras: empat spesies, Phseudoplatystoma: tiga spesies, Botia: tiga spesies, dan Leporinus: tiga spesies dengan nilai boostrap 99-100. Indeks kesamaan sekuen menunjukkan sebanyak 11 spesies memiliki indeks kesamaan 99%-100% dengan data genbank yaitu Synodontis decorus, Synodontis eupterus, Synodontis greshoffi, Botia kubotai, Botia lohachata, Rasbora erythromicron, Corydoras aeneus, Gyrinocheilus aymonieri, Eigenmannia virescens, Leporinus affinis, Phractocephalus hemioliopterus. Dua spesies teridentifikasi sebagai hasil hibridisasi (kawin silang yaitu Leopard catfish (100% identik dengan Pseudoplatystoma faciatum dan Synodontis leopard (100% identik dengan Synodontis notatus. Hasil analisis nukleotida penciri diperoleh tujuh nukleotida untuk Synodontis decora, 10 nukleotida untuk Synodontis tanganyicae, 13 nukleotida untuk Synodontis euterus, empat nukleotida untuk Synodontis notatus, dan 14 untuk Synodontis grashoffi. Kejelasan identifikasi spesies ikan menjadi kunci utama dalam budidaya, perdagangan, manajemen, konservasi, dan pengembangan

  2. Molecularly barcoded Zika virus libraries to probe in vivo evolutionary dynamics.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew T Aliota

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Defining the complex dynamics of Zika virus (ZIKV infection in pregnancy and during transmission between vertebrate hosts and mosquito vectors is critical for a thorough understanding of viral transmission, pathogenesis, immune evasion, and potential reservoir establishment. Within-host viral diversity in ZIKV infection is low, which makes it difficult to evaluate infection dynamics. To overcome this biological hurdle, we constructed a molecularly barcoded ZIKV. This virus stock consists of a "synthetic swarm" whose members are genetically identical except for a run of eight consecutive degenerate codons, which creates approximately 64,000 theoretical nucleotide combinations that all encode the same amino acids. Deep sequencing this region of the ZIKV genome enables counting of individual barcodes to quantify the number and relative proportions of viral lineages present within a host. Here we used these molecularly barcoded ZIKV variants to study the dynamics of ZIKV infection in pregnant and non-pregnant macaques as well as during mosquito infection/transmission. The barcoded virus had no discernible fitness defects in vivo, and the proportions of individual barcoded virus templates remained stable throughout the duration of acute plasma viremia. ZIKV RNA also was detected in maternal plasma from a pregnant animal infected with barcoded virus for 67 days. The complexity of the virus population declined precipitously 8 days following infection of the dam, consistent with the timing of typical resolution of ZIKV in non-pregnant macaques and remained low for the subsequent duration of viremia. Our approach showed that synthetic swarm viruses can be used to probe the composition of ZIKV populations over time in vivo to understand vertical transmission, persistent reservoirs, bottlenecks, and evolutionary dynamics.

  3. A DNA mini-barcode for land plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little, Damon P

    2014-05-01

    Small portions of the barcode region - mini-barcodes - may be used in place of full-length barcodes to overcome DNA degradation for samples with poor DNA preservation. 591,491,286 rbcL mini-barcode primer combinations were electronically evaluated for PCR universality, and two novel highly universal sets of priming sites were identified. Novel and published rbcL mini-barcode primers were evaluated for PCR amplification [determined with a validated electronic simulation (n = 2765) and empirically (n = 188)], Sanger sequence quality [determined empirically (n = 188)], and taxonomic discrimination [determined empirically (n = 30,472)]. PCR amplification for all mini-barcodes, as estimated by validated electronic simulation, was successful for 90.2-99.8% of species. Overall Sanger sequence quality for mini-barcodes was very low - the best mini-barcode tested produced sequences of adequate quality (B20 ≥ 0.5) for 74.5% of samples. The majority of mini-barcodes provide correct identifications of families in excess of 70.1% of the time. Discriminatory power noticeably decreased at lower taxonomic levels. At the species level, the discriminatory power of the best mini-barcode was less than 38.2%. For samples believed to contain DNA from only one species, an investigator should attempt to sequence, in decreasing order of utility and probability of success, mini-barcodes F (rbcL1/rbcLB), D (F52/R193) and K (F517/R604). For samples believed to contain DNA from more than one species, an investigator should amplify and sequence mini-barcode D (F52/R193). © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Development of a single nucleotide polymorphism barcode to genotype Plasmodium vivax infections.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mary Lynn Baniecki

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Plasmodium vivax, one of the five species of Plasmodium parasites that cause human malaria, is responsible for 25-40% of malaria cases worldwide. Malaria global elimination efforts will benefit from accurate and effective genotyping tools that will provide insight into the population genetics and diversity of this parasite. The recent sequencing of P. vivax isolates from South America, Africa, and Asia presents a new opportunity by uncovering thousands of novel single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs. Genotyping a selection of these SNPs provides a robust, low-cost method of identifying parasite infections through their unique genetic signature or barcode. Based on our experience in generating a SNP barcode for P. falciparum using High Resolution Melting (HRM, we have developed a similar tool for P. vivax. We selected globally polymorphic SNPs from available P. vivax genome sequence data that were located in putatively selectively neutral sites (i.e., intergenic, intronic, or 4-fold degenerate coding. From these candidate SNPs we defined a barcode consisting of 42 SNPs. We analyzed the performance of the 42-SNP barcode on 87 P. vivax clinical samples from parasite populations in South America (Brazil, French Guiana, Africa (Ethiopia and Asia (Sri Lanka. We found that the P. vivax barcode is robust, as it requires only a small quantity of DNA (limit of detection 0.3 ng/μl to yield reproducible genotype calls, and detects polymorphic genotypes with high sensitivity. The markers are informative across all clinical samples evaluated (average minor allele frequency > 0.1. Population genetic and statistical analyses show the barcode captures high degrees of population diversity and differentiates geographically distinct populations. Our 42-SNP barcode provides a robust, informative, and standardized genetic marker set that accurately identifies a genomic signature for P. vivax infections.

  5. Development of a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Barcode to Genotype Plasmodium vivax Infections

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baniecki, Mary Lynn; Faust, Aubrey L.; Schaffner, Stephen F.; Park, Daniel J.; Galinsky, Kevin; Daniels, Rachel F.; Hamilton, Elizabeth; Ferreira, Marcelo U.; Karunaweera, Nadira D.; Serre, David; Zimmerman, Peter A.; Sá, Juliana M.; Wellems, Thomas E.; Musset, Lise; Legrand, Eric; Melnikov, Alexandre; Neafsey, Daniel E.; Volkman, Sarah K.; Wirth, Dyann F.; Sabeti, Pardis C.

    2015-01-01

    Plasmodium vivax, one of the five species of Plasmodium parasites that cause human malaria, is responsible for 25–40% of malaria cases worldwide. Malaria global elimination efforts will benefit from accurate and effective genotyping tools that will provide insight into the population genetics and diversity of this parasite. The recent sequencing of P. vivax isolates from South America, Africa, and Asia presents a new opportunity by uncovering thousands of novel single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Genotyping a selection of these SNPs provides a robust, low-cost method of identifying parasite infections through their unique genetic signature or barcode. Based on our experience in generating a SNP barcode for P. falciparum using High Resolution Melting (HRM), we have developed a similar tool for P. vivax. We selected globally polymorphic SNPs from available P. vivax genome sequence data that were located in putatively selectively neutral sites (i.e., intergenic, intronic, or 4-fold degenerate coding). From these candidate SNPs we defined a barcode consisting of 42 SNPs. We analyzed the performance of the 42-SNP barcode on 87 P. vivax clinical samples from parasite populations in South America (Brazil, French Guiana), Africa (Ethiopia) and Asia (Sri Lanka). We found that the P. vivax barcode is robust, as it requires only a small quantity of DNA (limit of detection 0.3 ng/μl) to yield reproducible genotype calls, and detects polymorphic genotypes with high sensitivity. The markers are informative across all clinical samples evaluated (average minor allele frequency > 0.1). Population genetic and statistical analyses show the barcode captures high degrees of population diversity and differentiates geographically distinct populations. Our 42-SNP barcode provides a robust, informative, and standardized genetic marker set that accurately identifies a genomic signature for P. vivax infections. PMID:25781890

  6. The Barcode of Life Data Portal: Bridging the Biodiversity Informatics Divide for DNA Barcoding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarkar, Indra Neil; Trizna, Michael

    2011-01-01

    With the volume of molecular sequence data that is systematically being generated globally, there is a need for centralized resources for data exploration and analytics. DNA Barcode initiatives are on track to generate a compendium of molecular sequence–based signatures for identifying animals and plants. To date, the range of available data exploration and analytic tools to explore these data have only been available in a boutique form—often representing a frustrating hurdle for many researchers that may not necessarily have resources to install or implement algorithms described by the analytic community. The Barcode of Life Data Portal (BDP) is a first step towards integrating the latest biodiversity informatics innovations with molecular sequence data from DNA barcoding. Through establishment of community driven standards, based on discussion with the Data Analysis Working Group (DAWG) of the Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL), the BDP provides an infrastructure for incorporation of existing and next-generation DNA barcode analytic applications in an open forum. PMID:21818249

  7. Review and future prospects for DNA barcoding methods in forensic palynology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, Karen L; Burgess, Kevin S; Okamoto, Kazufusa C; Aranda, Roman; Brosi, Berry J

    2016-03-01

    Pollen can be a critical forensic marker in cases where determining geographic origin is important, including investigative leads, missing persons cases, and intelligence applications. However, its use has previously been limited by the need for a high level of specialization by expert palynologists, slow speeds of identification, and relatively poor taxonomic resolution (typically to the plant family or genus level). By contrast, identification of pollen through DNA barcoding has the potential to overcome all three of these limitations, and it may seem surprising that the method has not been widely implemented. Despite what might seem a straightforward application of DNA barcoding to pollen, there are technical issues that have delayed progress. However, recent developments of standard methods for DNA barcoding of pollen, along with improvements in high-throughput sequencing technology, have overcome most of these technical issues. Based on these recent methodological developments in pollen DNA barcoding, we believe that now is the time to start applying these techniques in forensic palynology. In this article, we discuss the potential for these methods, and outline directions for future research to further improve on the technology and increase its applicability to a broader range of situations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. The neotype barcode of the cotton aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae: Aphis gossypii Glover, 1877) and a proposal for type barcodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    A type barcode is a DNA barcode unequivocally tied to an authoritatively identified specimen, preferably the primary type specimen. Type barcodes are analogous, albeit subordinate, to type specimens, providing a stable reference to which other barcodes can be compared. We here designate and describe...

  9. Spatial heterogeneity in the Mediterranean Biodiversity Hotspot affects barcoding accuracy of its freshwater fishes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geiger, M F; Herder, F; Monaghan, M T; Almada, V; Barbieri, R; Bariche, M; Berrebi, P; Bohlen, J; Casal-Lopez, M; Delmastro, G B; Denys, G P J; Dettai, A; Doadrio, I; Kalogianni, E; Kärst, H; Kottelat, M; Kovačić, M; Laporte, M; Lorenzoni, M; Marčić, Z; Özuluğ, M; Perdices, A; Perea, S; Persat, H; Porcelotti, S; Puzzi, C; Robalo, J; Šanda, R; Schneider, M; Šlechtová, V; Stoumboudi, M; Walter, S; Freyhof, J

    2014-11-01

    Incomplete knowledge of biodiversity remains a stumbling block for conservation planning and even occurs within globally important Biodiversity Hotspots (BH). Although technical advances have boosted the power of molecular biodiversity assessments, the link between DNA sequences and species and the analytics to discriminate entities remain crucial. Here, we present an analysis of the first DNA barcode library for the freshwater fish fauna of the Mediterranean BH (526 spp.), with virtually complete species coverage (498 spp., 98% extant species). In order to build an identification system supporting conservation, we compared species determination by taxonomists to multiple clustering analyses of DNA barcodes for 3165 specimens. The congruence of barcode clusters with morphological determination was strongly dependent on the method of cluster delineation, but was highest with the general mixed Yule-coalescent (GMYC) model-based approach (83% of all species recovered as GMYC entity). Overall, genetic morphological discontinuities suggest the existence of up to 64 previously unrecognized candidate species. We found reduced identification accuracy when using the entire DNA-barcode database, compared with analyses on databases for individual river catchments. This scale effect has important implications for barcoding assessments and suggests that fairly simple identification pipelines provide sufficient resolution in local applications. We calculated Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered scores in order to identify candidate species for conservation priority and argue that the evolutionary content of barcode data can be used to detect priority species for future IUCN assessments. We show that large-scale barcoding inventories of complex biotas are feasible and contribute directly to the evaluation of conservation priorities. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  10. Barcoding poplars (Populus L. from western China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianju Feng

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Populus is an ecologically and economically important genus of trees, but distinguishing between wild species is relatively difficult due to extensive interspecific hybridization and introgression, and the high level of intraspecific morphological variation. The DNA barcoding approach is a potential solution to this problem. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, we tested the discrimination power of five chloroplast barcodes and one nuclear barcode (ITS among 95 trees that represent 21 Populus species from western China. Among all single barcode candidates, the discrimination power is highest for the nuclear ITS, progressively lower for chloroplast barcodes matK (M, trnG-psbK (G and psbK-psbI (P, and trnH-psbA (H and rbcL (R; the discrimination efficiency of the nuclear ITS (I is also higher than any two-, three-, or even the five-locus combination of chloroplast barcodes. Among the five combinations of a single chloroplast barcode plus the nuclear ITS, H+I and P+I differentiated the highest and lowest portion of species, respectively. The highest discrimination rate for the barcodes or barcode combinations examined here is 55.0% (H+I, and usually discrimination failures occurred among species from sympatric or parapatric areas. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: In this case study, we showed that when discriminating Populus species from western China, the nuclear ITS region represents a more promising barcode than any maternally inherited chloroplast region or combination of chloroplast regions. Meanwhile, combining the ITS region with chloroplast regions may improve the barcoding success rate and assist in detecting recent interspecific hybridizations. Failure to discriminate among several groups of Populus species from sympatric or parapatric areas may have been the result of incomplete lineage sorting, frequent interspecific hybridizations and introgressions. We agree with a previous proposal for constructing a tiered barcoding system in

  11. How DNA barcoding can be more effective in microalgae identification: a case of cryptic diversity revelation in Scenedesmus (Chlorophyceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zou, Shanmei; Fei, Cong; Wang, Chun; Gao, Zhan; Bao, Yachao; He, Meilin; Wang, Changhai

    2016-11-09

    Microalgae identification is extremely difficult. The efficiency of DNA barcoding in microalgae identification involves ideal gene markers and approaches employed, which however, is still under the way. Although Scenedesmus has obtained much research in producing lipids its identification is difficult. Here we present a comprehensive coalescent, distance and character-based DNA barcoding for 118 Scenedesmus strains based on rbcL, tufA, ITS and 16S. The four genes, and their combined data rbcL + tufA + ITS + 16S, rbcL + tufA and ITS + 16S were analyzed by all of GMYC, P ID, PTP, ABGD, and character-based barcoding respectively. It was apparent that the three combined gene data showed a higher proportion of resolution success than the single gene. In comparison, the GMYC and PTP analysis produced more taxonomic lineages. The ABGD generated various resolution in discrimination among the single and combined data. The character-based barcoding was proved to be the most effective approach for species discrimination in both single and combined data which produced consistent species identification. All the integrated results recovered 11 species, five out of which were revealed as potential cryptic species. We suggest that the character-based DNA barcoding together with other approaches based on multiple genes and their combined data could be more effective in microalgae diversity revelation.

  12. 76 FR 34871 - Mobile Barcode Promotion

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-15

    .... The mobile barcodes must be used for marketing, promotional or educational purposes. They may not be... POSTAL SERVICE 39 CFR Part 111 Mobile Barcode Promotion AGENCY: Postal Service TM . ACTION: Final... and flats, and Standard Mail[reg] letters and flats bearing two-dimensional mobile barcodes. DATES...

  13. Candidate DNA Barcode Tags Combined With High Resolution Melting (Bar-HRM) Curve Analysis for Authentication of Senna alexandrina Mill. With Validation in Crude Drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mishra, Priyanka; Shukla, Ashutosh K; Sundaresan, Velusamy

    2018-01-01

    Senna alexandrina (Fabaceae) is a globally recognized medicinal plant for its laxative properties as well as the only source of sennosides, and is highly exported bulk herb from India. Its major procurement is exclusively from limited cultivation, which leads to risks of deliberate or unintended adulteration. The market raw materials are in powdered or finished product form, which lead to difficulties in authentication. Here, DNA barcode tags based on chloroplast genes ( rbcL and matK ) and intergenic spacers ( psbA-trnH and ITS ) were developed for S. alexandrina along with the allied species. The ability and performance of the ITS1 region to discriminate among the Senna species resulted in the present proposal of the ITS1 tags as successful barcode. Further, these tags were coupled with high-resolution melting (HRM) curve analysis in a real-time PCR genotyping method to derive Bar-HRM (Barcoding-HRM) assays. Suitable HRM primer sets were designed through SNP detection and mutation scanning in genomic signatures of Senna species. The melting profiles of S. alexandrina and S . italica subsp. micrantha were almost identical and the remaining five species were clearly separated so that they can be differentiated by HRM method. The sensitivity of the method was utilized to authenticate market samples [Herbal Sample Assays (HSAs)]. HSA01 ( S. alexandrina crude drug sample from Bangalore) and HSA06 ( S. alexandrina crude drug sample from Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, India) were found to be highly contaminated with S . italica subsp. micrantha . Species admixture samples mixed in varying percentage was identified sensitively with detection of contamination as low as 1%. The melting profiles of PCR amplicons are clearly distinct, which enables the authentic differentiation of species by the HRM method. This study reveals that DNA barcoding coupled with HRM is an efficient molecular tool to authenticate Senna herbal products in the market for quality control in the drug supply

  14. Candidate DNA Barcode Tags Combined With High Resolution Melting (Bar-HRM Curve Analysis for Authentication of Senna alexandrina Mill. With Validation in Crude Drugs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Priyanka Mishra

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Senna alexandrina (Fabaceae is a globally recognized medicinal plant for its laxative properties as well as the only source of sennosides, and is highly exported bulk herb from India. Its major procurement is exclusively from limited cultivation, which leads to risks of deliberate or unintended adulteration. The market raw materials are in powdered or finished product form, which lead to difficulties in authentication. Here, DNA barcode tags based on chloroplast genes (rbcL and matK and intergenic spacers (psbA-trnH and ITS were developed for S. alexandrina along with the allied species. The ability and performance of the ITS1 region to discriminate among the Senna species resulted in the present proposal of the ITS1 tags as successful barcode. Further, these tags were coupled with high-resolution melting (HRM curve analysis in a real-time PCR genotyping method to derive Bar-HRM (Barcoding-HRM assays. Suitable HRM primer sets were designed through SNP detection and mutation scanning in genomic signatures of Senna species. The melting profiles of S. alexandrina and S. italica subsp. micrantha were almost identical and the remaining five species were clearly separated so that they can be differentiated by HRM method. The sensitivity of the method was utilized to authenticate market samples [Herbal Sample Assays (HSAs]. HSA01 (S. alexandrina crude drug sample from Bangalore and HSA06 (S. alexandrina crude drug sample from Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, India were found to be highly contaminated with S. italica subsp. micrantha. Species admixture samples mixed in varying percentage was identified sensitively with detection of contamination as low as 1%. The melting profiles of PCR amplicons are clearly distinct, which enables the authentic differentiation of species by the HRM method. This study reveals that DNA barcoding coupled with HRM is an efficient molecular tool to authenticate Senna herbal products in the market for quality control in the drug

  15. Primer and barcode gap identification and DNA barcode generation for species discrimination in plants

    OpenAIRE

    Deepu Mathew

    2015-01-01

    This book chapter details the protocols for DNA barcoding in plants, starting from DNA isolation, sequencing, sequence annotation using MEGA, till identification of barcode gaps. A good chapter for beginners in plant taxonomy

  16. 2D Barcode for DNA Encoding

    OpenAIRE

    Elena Purcaru; Cristian Toma

    2011-01-01

    The paper presents a solution for endcoding/decoding DNA information in 2D barcodes. First part focuses on the existing techniques and symbologies in 2D barcodes field. The 2D barcode PDF417 is presented as starting point. The adaptations and optimizations on PDF417 and on DataMatrix lead to the solution - DNA2DBC - DeoxyriboNucleic Acid Two Dimensional Barcode. The second part shows the DNA2DBC encoding/decoding process step by step. In conclusions are enumerated the most important features ...

  17. Authenticity analyses of Rhizoma Paridis using barcoding coupled with high resolution melting (Bar-HRM) analysis to control its quality for medicinal plant product.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duan, Bao-Zhong; Wang, Ya-Ping; Fang, Hai-Lan; Xiong, Chao; Li, Xi-Wen; Wang, Ping; Chen, Shi-Lin

    2018-01-01

    Rhizoma Paridis (Chonglou) is a commonly used and precious traditional Chinese medicine. Paris polyphylla Smith var. yunnanensis (Franch.) Hand. -Mazz. and Paris polyphylla Smith var . chinensis (Franch.) Hara are the two main sources of Chonglou under the monograph of Rhizoma Paridis in Chinese Pharmacopoeia. In the local marketplace, however, this medicine is prone to be accidentally contaminated, deliberately substituted or admixed with other species that are similar to Rhizoma Paridis in shape and color. Consequently, these adulterations might compromise quality control and result in considerable health concerns for consumers. This study aims to develop a rapid and sensitive method for accurate identification of Rhizoma Paridis and its common adulterants. DNA barcoding coupled with high resolution melting analysis was applied in this research to distinguish Rhizoma Paridis from its adulteration. The internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) barcode was selected for HRM analysis to produce standard melting profile of the selected species. DNA of the tested herbal medicines was isolated and their melting profiles were generated and compared with the standard melting profile of P. polyphylla var. chinensis . The results indicate that the ITS2 molecular regions coupled with HRM analysis can effectively differentiate nine herbal species, including two authentic origins of Chonglou and their seven common adulterants. Ten herbal medicines labeled "Chonglou" obtained from a local market were collected and identified with our methods, and their sequence information was analyzed to validate the accuracy of HRM analysis. DNA barcoding coupled with HRM analysis is a accurate, reliable, rapid, cost-effective and robust tool, which could contribute to the quality control of Rhizoma Paridis in the supply chain of the natural health product industry (NHP).

  18. DNA barcoding the floras of biodiversity hotspots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lahaye, Renaud; van der Bank, Michelle; Bogarin, Diego; Warner, Jorge; Pupulin, Franco; Gigot, Guillaume; Maurin, Olivier; Duthoit, Sylvie; Barraclough, Timothy G; Savolainen, Vincent

    2008-02-26

    DNA barcoding is a technique in which species identification is performed by using DNA sequences from a small fragment of the genome, with the aim of contributing to a wide range of ecological and conservation studies in which traditional taxonomic identification is not practical. DNA barcoding is well established in animals, but there is not yet any universally accepted barcode for plants. Here, we undertook intensive field collections in two biodiversity hotspots (Mesoamerica and southern Africa). Using >1,600 samples, we compared eight potential barcodes. Going beyond previous plant studies, we assessed to what extent a "DNA barcoding gap" is present between intra- and interspecific variations, using multiple accessions per species. Given its adequate rate of variation, easy amplification, and alignment, we identified a portion of the plastid matK gene as a universal DNA barcode for flowering plants. Critically, we further demonstrate the applicability of DNA barcoding for biodiversity inventories. In addition, analyzing >1,000 species of Mesoamerican orchids, DNA barcoding with matK alone reveals cryptic species and proves useful in identifying species listed in Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) appendixes.

  19. Potential of DNA sequences to identify zoanthids (Cnidaria: Zoantharia).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinniger, Frederic; Reimer, James D; Pawlowski, Jan

    2008-12-01

    The order Zoantharia is known for its chaotic taxonomy and difficult morphological identification. One method that potentially could help for examining such troublesome taxa is DNA barcoding, which identifies species using standard molecular markers. The mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) has been utilized to great success in groups such as birds and insects; however, its applicability in many other groups is controversial. Recently, some studies have suggested that barcoding is not applicable to anthozoans. Here, we examine the use of COI and mitochondrial 16S ribosomal DNA for zoanthid identification. Despite the absence of a clear barcoding gap, our results show that for most of 54 zoanthid samples, both markers could separate samples to the species, or species group, level, particularly when easily accessible ecological or distributional data were included. Additionally, we have used the short V5 region of mt 16S rDNA to identify eight old (13 to 50 years old) museum samples. We discuss advantages and disadvantages of COI and mt 16S rDNA as barcodes for Zoantharia, and recommend that either one or both of these markers be considered for zoanthid identification in the future.

  20. The loci recommended as universal barcodes for plants on the basis of floristic studies may not work with congeneric species as exemplified by DNA barcoding of Dendrobium species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Singh Hemant

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Based on the testing of several loci, predominantly against floristic backgrounds, individual or different combinations of loci have been suggested as possible universal DNA barcodes for plants. The present investigation was undertaken to check the applicability of the recommended locus/loci for congeneric species with Dendrobium species as an illustrative example. Results Six loci, matK, rbcL, rpoB, rpoC1, trnH-psbA spacer from the chloroplast genome and ITS, from the nuclear genome, were compared for their amplification, sequencing and species discrimination success rates among multiple accessions of 36 Dendrobium species. The trnH-psbA spacer could not be considered for analysis as good quality sequences were not obtained with its forward primer. Among the tested loci, ITS, recommended by some as a possible barcode for plants, provided 100% species identification. Another locus, matK, also recommended as a universal barcode for plants, resolved 80.56% species. ITS remained the best even when sequences of investigated loci of additional Dendrobium species available on the NCBI GenBank (93, 33, 20, 18 and 17 of ITS, matK, rbcL, rpoB and rpoC1, respectively were also considered for calculating the percent species resolution capabilities. The species discrimination of various combinations of the loci was also compared based on the 36 investigated species and additional 16 for which sequences of all the five loci were available on GenBank. Two-locus combination of matK+rbcL recommended by the Plant Working Group of Consortium for Barcoding of Life (CBOL could discriminate 86.11% of 36 species. The species discriminating ability of this barcode was reduced to 80.77% when additional sequences available on NCBI were included in the analysis. Among the recommended combinations, the barcode based on three loci - matK, rpoB and rpoC1- resolved maximum number of species. Conclusions Any recommended barcode based on the loci tested so

  1. The loci recommended as universal barcodes for plants on the basis of floristic studies may not work with congeneric species as exemplified by DNA barcoding of Dendrobium species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Hemant Kumar; Parveen, Iffat; Raghuvanshi, Saurabh; Babbar, Shashi B

    2012-01-19

    Based on the testing of several loci, predominantly against floristic backgrounds, individual or different combinations of loci have been suggested as possible universal DNA barcodes for plants. The present investigation was undertaken to check the applicability of the recommended locus/loci for congeneric species with Dendrobium species as an illustrative example. Six loci, matK, rbcL, rpoB, rpoC1, trnH-psbA spacer from the chloroplast genome and ITS, from the nuclear genome, were compared for their amplification, sequencing and species discrimination success rates among multiple accessions of 36 Dendrobium species. The trnH-psbA spacer could not be considered for analysis as good quality sequences were not obtained with its forward primer. Among the tested loci, ITS, recommended by some as a possible barcode for plants, provided 100% species identification. Another locus, matK, also recommended as a universal barcode for plants, resolved 80.56% species. ITS remained the best even when sequences of investigated loci of additional Dendrobium species available on the NCBI GenBank (93, 33, 20, 18 and 17 of ITS, matK, rbcL, rpoB and rpoC1, respectively) were also considered for calculating the percent species resolution capabilities. The species discrimination of various combinations of the loci was also compared based on the 36 investigated species and additional 16 for which sequences of all the five loci were available on GenBank. Two-locus combination of matK+rbcL recommended by the Plant Working Group of Consortium for Barcoding of Life (CBOL) could discriminate 86.11% of 36 species. The species discriminating ability of this barcode was reduced to 80.77% when additional sequences available on NCBI were included in the analysis. Among the recommended combinations, the barcode based on three loci - matK, rpoB and rpoC1- resolved maximum number of species. Any recommended barcode based on the loci tested so far, is not likely to provide 100% species identification

  2. Barcode server: a visualization-based genome analysis system.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fenglou Mao

    Full Text Available We have previously developed a computational method for representing a genome as a barcode image, which makes various genomic features visually apparent. We have demonstrated that this visual capability has made some challenging genome analysis problems relatively easy to solve. We have applied this capability to a number of challenging problems, including (a identification of horizontally transferred genes, (b identification of genomic islands with special properties and (c binning of metagenomic sequences, and achieved highly encouraging results. These application results inspired us to develop this barcode-based genome analysis server for public service, which supports the following capabilities: (a calculation of the k-mer based barcode image for a provided DNA sequence; (b detection of sequence fragments in a given genome with distinct barcodes from those of the majority of the genome, (c clustering of provided DNA sequences into groups having similar barcodes; and (d homology-based search using Blast against a genome database for any selected genomic regions deemed to have interesting barcodes. The barcode server provides a job management capability, allowing processing of a large number of analysis jobs for barcode-based comparative genome analyses. The barcode server is accessible at http://csbl1.bmb.uga.edu/Barcode.

  3. A DNA barcode for land plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-08-04

    DNA barcoding involves sequencing a standard region of DNA as a tool for species identification. However, there has been no agreement on which region(s) should be used for barcoding land plants. To provide a community recommendation on a standard plant barcode, we have compared the performance of 7 leading candidate plastid DNA regions (atpF-atpH spacer, matK gene, rbcL gene, rpoB gene, rpoC1 gene, psbK-psbI spacer, and trnH-psbA spacer). Based on assessments of recoverability, sequence quality, and levels of species discrimination, we recommend the 2-locus combination of rbcL+matK as the plant barcode. This core 2-locus barcode will provide a universal framework for the routine use of DNA sequence data to identify specimens and contribute toward the discovery of overlooked species of land plants.

  4. Choosing and Using a Plant DNA Barcode

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hollingsworth, Peter M.; Graham, Sean W.; Little, Damon P.

    2011-01-01

    The main aim of DNA barcoding is to establish a shared community resource of DNA sequences that can be used for organismal identification and taxonomic clarification. This approach was successfully pioneered in animals using a portion of the cytochrome oxidase 1 (CO1) mitochondrial gene. In plants, establishing a standardized DNA barcoding system has been more challenging. In this paper, we review the process of selecting and refining a plant barcode; evaluate the factors which influence the discriminatory power of the approach; describe some early applications of plant barcoding and summarise major emerging projects; and outline tool development that will be necessary for plant DNA barcoding to advance. PMID:21637336

  5. Choosing and using a plant DNA barcode.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter M Hollingsworth

    Full Text Available The main aim of DNA barcoding is to establish a shared community resource of DNA sequences that can be used for organismal identification and taxonomic clarification. This approach was successfully pioneered in animals using a portion of the cytochrome oxidase 1 (CO1 mitochondrial gene. In plants, establishing a standardized DNA barcoding system has been more challenging. In this paper, we review the process of selecting and refining a plant barcode; evaluate the factors which influence the discriminatory power of the approach; describe some early applications of plant barcoding and summarise major emerging projects; and outline tool development that will be necessary for plant DNA barcoding to advance.

  6. A DNA barcode for land plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hollingsworth, Peter M.; Forrest, Laura L.; Spouge, John L.; Hajibabaei, Mehrdad; Ratnasingham, Sujeevan; van der Bank, Michelle; Chase, Mark W.; Cowan, Robyn S.; Erickson, David L.; Fazekas, Aron J.; Graham, Sean W.; James, Karen E.; Kim, Ki-Joong; Kress, W. John; Schneider, Harald; van AlphenStahl, Jonathan; Barrett, Spencer C.H.; van den Berg, Cassio; Bogarin, Diego; Burgess, Kevin S.; Cameron, Kenneth M.; Carine, Mark; Chacón, Juliana; Clark, Alexandra; Clarkson, James J.; Conrad, Ferozah; Devey, Dion S.; Ford, Caroline S.; Hedderson, Terry A.J.; Hollingsworth, Michelle L.; Husband, Brian C.; Kelly, Laura J.; Kesanakurti, Prasad R.; Kim, Jung Sung; Kim, Young-Dong; Lahaye, Renaud; Lee, Hae-Lim; Long, David G.; Madriñán, Santiago; Maurin, Olivier; Meusnier, Isabelle; Newmaster, Steven G.; Park, Chong-Wook; Percy, Diana M.; Petersen, Gitte; Richardson, James E.; Salazar, Gerardo A.; Savolainen, Vincent; Seberg, Ole; Wilkinson, Michael J.; Yi, Dong-Keun; Little, Damon P.

    2009-01-01

    DNA barcoding involves sequencing a standard region of DNA as a tool for species identification. However, there has been no agreement on which region(s) should be used for barcoding land plants. To provide a community recommendation on a standard plant barcode, we have compared the performance of 7 leading candidate plastid DNA regions (atpF–atpH spacer, matK gene, rbcL gene, rpoB gene, rpoC1 gene, psbK–psbI spacer, and trnH–psbA spacer). Based on assessments of recoverability, sequence quality, and levels of species discrimination, we recommend the 2-locus combination of rbcL+matK as the plant barcode. This core 2-locus barcode will provide a universal framework for the routine use of DNA sequence data to identify specimens and contribute toward the discovery of overlooked species of land plants. PMID:19666622

  7. Using DNA Barcodes to Identify Road-Killed Animals in Two Atlantic Forest Nature Reserves, Brazil.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angélica H Klippel

    Full Text Available Road mortality is the leading source of biodiversity loss in the world, especially due to fragmentation of natural habitats and loss of wildlife. The survey of the main species victims of roadkill is of fundamental importance for the better understanding of the problem, being necessary, for this, the correct species identification. The aim of this study was to verify if DNA barcodes can be applied to identify road-killed samples that often cannot be determined morphologically. For this purpose, 222 vertebrate samples were collected in a stretch of the BR-101 highway that crosses two Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Natural Reserves, the Sooretama Biological Reserve and the Vale Natural Reserve, in Espírito Santo, Brazil. The mitochondrial COI gene was amplified, sequenced and confronted with the BOLD database. It was possible to identify 62.16% of samples, totaling 62 different species, including Pyrrhura cruentata, Chaetomys subspinosus, Puma yagouaroundi and Leopardus wiedii considered Vulnerable in the National Official List of Species of Endangered Wildlife. The most commonly identified animals were a bat (Molossus molossus, an opossum (Didelphis aurita and a frog (Trachycephalus mesophaeus species. Only one reptile was identified using the technique, probably due to lack of reference sequences in BOLD. These data may contribute to a better understanding of the impact of roads on species biodiversity loss and to introduce the DNA barcode technique to road ecology scenarios.

  8. Improvement in two-dimensional barcode

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    SONAM WASULE

    In this paper we proposed a novel approach that will increase the capacity of barcode ... and data security and compression, over the traditional black and white ... A literature survey on 2D colour barcode brought about a new development to ...

  9. Identification of species adulteration in traded medicinal plant raw drugs using DNA barcoding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nithaniyal, Stalin; Vassou, Sophie Lorraine; Poovitha, Sundar; Raju, Balaji; Parani, Madasamy

    2017-02-01

    Plants are the major source of therapeutic ingredients in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). However, species adulteration in traded medicinal plant raw drugs threatens the reliability and safety of CAM. Since morphological features of medicinal plants are often not intact in the raw drugs, DNA barcoding was employed for species identification. Adulteration in 112 traded raw drugs was tested after creating a reference DNA barcode library consisting of 1452 rbcL and matK barcodes from 521 medicinal plant species. Species resolution of this library was 74.4%, 90.2%, and 93.0% for rbcL, matK, and rbcL + matK, respectively. DNA barcoding revealed adulteration in about 20% of the raw drugs, and at least 6% of them were derived from plants with completely different medicinal or toxic properties. Raw drugs in the form of dried roots, powders, and whole plants were found to be more prone to adulteration than rhizomes, fruits, and seeds. Morphological resemblance, co-occurrence, mislabeling, confusing vernacular names, and unauthorized or fraudulent substitutions might have contributed to species adulteration in the raw drugs. Therefore, this library can be routinely used to authenticate traded raw drugs for the benefit of all stakeholders: traders, consumers, and regulatory agencies.

  10. Alpha taxonomy of the genus Kessleria Nowicki, 1864, revisited in light of DNA-barcoding (Lepidoptera, Yponomeutidae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Huemer

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The taxonomy of Kessleria, a highly specialized montane genus of Yponomeutidae with larval host restriction to Saxifragaceae and Celastraceae (Saxifraga spp. – subgenus Kessleria; Saxifraga spp. and Parnassia spp. – subgenus Hofmannia, is revised based on external morphology, genitalia and DNA barcodes. An integrative taxonomic approach supports the existence of 29 species in Europe (the two known species from Asia and North America are not treated herein. A full 658 bp fragment of COI was obtained from 135 specimens representing 24 species, a further seven sequences are >560 bp. Five new species are described: Kessleria cottiensis sp. n. (Prov. Torino, Italy; Dep. Hautes Alpes, France, Kessleria dimorpha sp. n. (Dep. Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France, Kessleria alpmaritimae sp. n. (Dep. Alpes-Maritimes, France, Kessleria apenninica sp. n. (Prov. Rieti, Prov. L´Aquila, Italy, and Kessleria orobiae sp. n. (Prov. Bergamo, Italy.

  11. Scanning-time evaluation of Digimarc Barcode

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerlach, Rebecca; Pinard, Dan; Weaver, Matt; Alattar, Adnan

    2015-03-01

    This paper presents a speed comparison between the use of Digimarc® Barcodes and the Universal Product Code (UPC) for customer checkout at point of sale (POS). The recently introduced Digimarc Barcode promises to increase the speed of scanning packaged goods at POS. When this increase is exploited by workforce optimization systems, the retail industry could potentially save billions of dollars. The Digimarc Barcode is based on Digimarc's watermarking technology, and it is imperceptible, very robust, and does not require any special ink, material, or printing processes. Using an image-based scanner, a checker can quickly scan consumer packaged goods (CPG) embedded with the Digimarc Barcode without the need to reorient the packages with respect to the scanner. Faster scanning of packages saves money and enhances customer satisfaction. It reduces the length of the queues at checkout, reduces the cost of cashier labor, and makes self-checkout more convenient. This paper quantifies the increase in POS scanning rates resulting from the use of the Digimarc Barcode versus the traditional UPC. It explains the testing methodology, describes the experimental setup, and analyzes the obtained results. It concludes that the Digimarc Barcode increases number of items per minute (IPM) scanned at least 50% over traditional UPC.

  12. Constructing DNA Barcode Sets Based on Particle Swarm Optimization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Bin; Zheng, Xuedong; Zhou, Shihua; Zhou, Changjun; Wei, Xiaopeng; Zhang, Qiang; Wei, Ziqi

    2018-01-01

    Following the completion of the human genome project, a large amount of high-throughput bio-data was generated. To analyze these data, massively parallel sequencing, namely next-generation sequencing, was rapidly developed. DNA barcodes are used to identify the ownership between sequences and samples when they are attached at the beginning or end of sequencing reads. Constructing DNA barcode sets provides the candidate DNA barcodes for this application. To increase the accuracy of DNA barcode sets, a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm has been modified and used to construct the DNA barcode sets in this paper. Compared with the extant results, some lower bounds of DNA barcode sets are improved. The results show that the proposed algorithm is effective in constructing DNA barcode sets.

  13. The impact of COI-based storage on order-picking times

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grzegorz Tarczyński

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: The increasing competitiveness on the global markets enforces the need for a fast and reliable delivery. This task is possible to perform by improving the order-picking systems. The implementation of automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS is not always profitable. In the warehouses where the order-picking is performed in accordance with the principle of picker-to-part rule, the picking efficiency optimization includes among others: the warehouse layout, the storage policy, the routing heuristic, the way of zoning, the order-batching method, and the sequencing of pick-lists. In the paper the impact of the storage policy on the order-picking times is checked. Methods: The influence of storage based on Heskett’s cube-per-order index (COI on the average order-picking times is analyzed. The items based on increasing values of COI index are divided on classes. To determine the demand for items the analytical function proposed by Caron is used. Results: In the paper the benefits of storage based on COI index are compared with random storage and storage based only on picking frequency. It is assumed that the bin, to which the picker collects items has limited capacity – some orders has to be divided on smaller pick-lists. The analysis was performed using simulation tools. Additionally, the algorithm (taking into account different sizes of picker’s bin for order-batching is presented. Conclusions: The analysis shows that the COI-based storage is particularly effective when the size of items increases. The COI-based curve is less skewed than the curve based only on picking frequency. The choice of storage policy should be carried out together with routing heuristic. The use of batching algorithm significantly increases the effectiveness of the order-picking process, but the optimal size of picker’s bin (and batch should be optimized with consideration the sorting process.

  14. Benefits and Limitations of DNA Barcoding and Metabarcoding in Herbal Product Authentication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raclariu, Ancuta Cristina; Heinrich, Michael; Ichim, Mihael Cristin; de Boer, Hugo

    2018-03-01

    Herbal medicines play an important role globally in the health care sector and in industrialised countries they are often considered as an alternative to mono-substance medicines. Current quality and authentication assessment methods rely mainly on morphology and analytical phytochemistry-based methods detailed in pharmacopoeias. Herbal products however are often highly processed with numerous ingredients, and even if these analytical methods are accurate for quality control of specific lead or marker compounds, they are of limited suitability for the authentication of biological ingredients. To review the benefits and limitations of DNA barcoding and metabarcoding in complementing current herbal product authentication. Recent literature relating to DNA based authentication of medicinal plants, herbal medicines and products are summarised to provide a basic understanding of how DNA barcoding and metabarcoding can be applied to this field. Different methods of quality control and authentication have varying resolution and usefulness along the value chain of these products. DNA barcoding can be used for authenticating products based on single herbal ingredients and DNA metabarcoding for assessment of species diversity in processed products, and both methods should be used in combination with appropriate hyphenated chemical methods for quality control. DNA barcoding and metabarcoding have potential in the context of quality control of both well and poorly regulated supply systems. Standardisation of protocols for DNA barcoding and DNA sequence-based identification are necessary before DNA-based biological methods can be implemented as routine analytical approaches and approved by the competent authorities for use in regulated procedures. © 2017 The Authors. Phytochemical Analysis Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. © 2017 The Authors. Phytochemical Analysis Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  15. Four years of DNA barcoding: current advances and prospects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frézal, Lise; Leblois, Raphael

    2008-09-01

    Research using cytochrome c oxidase barcoding techniques on zoological specimens was initiated by Hebert et al. [Hebert, P.D.N., Ratnasingham, S., deWaard, J.R., 2003. Barcoding animal life: cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 divergences among closely related species. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 270, S96-S99]. By March 2004, the Consortium for the Barcode of Life started to promote the use of a standardized DNA barcoding approach, consisting of identifying a specimen as belonging to a certain animal species based on a single universal marker: the DNA barcode sequence. Over the last 4 years, this approach has become increasingly popular and advances as well as limitations have clearly emerged as increasing amounts of organisms have been studied. Our purpose is to briefly expose DNA Barcode of Life principles, pros and cons, relevance and universality. The initially proposed Barcode of life framework has greatly evolved, giving rise to a flexible description of DNA barcoding and a larger range of applications.

  16. Structure-based barcoding of proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metri, Rahul; Jerath, Gaurav; Kailas, Govind; Gacche, Nitin; Pal, Adityabarna; Ramakrishnan, Vibin

    2014-01-01

    A reduced representation in the format of a barcode has been developed to provide an overview of the topological nature of a given protein structure from 3D coordinate file. The molecular structure of a protein coordinate file from Protein Data Bank is first expressed in terms of an alpha-numero code and further converted to a barcode image. The barcode representation can be used to compare and contrast different proteins based on their structure. The utility of this method has been exemplified by comparing structural barcodes of proteins that belong to same fold family, and across different folds. In addition to this, we have attempted to provide an illustration to (i) the structural changes often seen in a given protein molecule upon interaction with ligands and (ii) Modifications in overall topology of a given protein during evolution. The program is fully downloadable from the website http://www.iitg.ac.in/probar/. © 2013 The Protein Society.

  17. Multiplexing clonality: combining RGB marking and genetic barcoding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cornils, Kerstin; Thielecke, Lars; Hüser, Svenja; Forgber, Michael; Thomaschewski, Michael; Kleist, Nadja; Hussein, Kais; Riecken, Kristoffer; Volz, Tassilo; Gerdes, Sebastian; Glauche, Ingmar; Dahl, Andreas; Dandri, Maura; Roeder, Ingo; Fehse, Boris

    2014-01-01

    RGB marking and DNA barcoding are two cutting-edge technologies in the field of clonal cell marking. To combine the virtues of both approaches, we equipped LeGO vectors encoding red, green or blue fluorescent proteins with complex DNA barcodes carrying color-specific signatures. For these vectors, we generated highly complex plasmid libraries that were used for the production of barcoded lentiviral vector particles. In proof-of-principle experiments, we used barcoded vectors for RGB marking of cell lines and primary murine hepatocytes. We applied single-cell polymerase chain reaction to decipher barcode signatures of individual RGB-marked cells expressing defined color hues. This enabled us to prove clonal identity of cells with one and the same RGB color. Also, we made use of barcoded vectors to investigate clonal development of leukemia induced by ectopic oncogene expression in murine hematopoietic cells. In conclusion, by combining RGB marking and DNA barcoding, we have established a novel technique for the unambiguous genetic marking of individual cells in the context of normal regeneration as well as malignant outgrowth. Moreover, the introduction of color-specific signatures in barcodes will facilitate studies on the impact of different variables (e.g. vector type, transgenes, culture conditions) in the context of competitive repopulation studies. PMID:24476916

  18. Use of mitochondrial COI gene for the identification of family Salticidae and Lycosidae of spiders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naseem, Sajida; Tahir, Hafiz Muhammad

    2018-01-01

    In recent years, DNA barcoding has become quite popular for molecular identification of species because it is simple, quick and an affordable method. Present study was conducted to identify spiders of most abundant families, i.e. Salticidae and Lycosidae from citrus orchards in Sargodha district using DNA barcoding. A total of 160 specimens were subjected to DNA barcoding but, sequences up to 600 bp were recovered for 156 specimens. This molecular approach proved helpful to assign the exact taxon to those specimens which were misidentified through morphological characters in the study. We were succeeded to discriminate six species of Lycosidae and nine species of Salticidae through DNA barcoding. Results revealed the presence of clear barcode gap (discontinuity in intra- and inter-specific divergences) for members of both families. Furthermore, the maximum intra-specific divergence was less than NN (nearest neighbour) distance for all species. This suggested the reliability of DNA barcoding for spider's identification up to species level. We got 98% success in our study. It is concluded from present study that DNA barcoding is more reliable tool especially for immature spiders, when morphological characters are ambiguous.

  19. DNA Barcoding through Quaternary LDPC Codes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tapia, Elizabeth; Spetale, Flavio; Krsticevic, Flavia; Angelone, Laura; Bulacio, Pilar

    2015-01-01

    For many parallel applications of Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies short barcodes able to accurately multiplex a large number of samples are demanded. To address these competitive requirements, the use of error-correcting codes is advised. Current barcoding systems are mostly built from short random error-correcting codes, a feature that strongly limits their multiplexing accuracy and experimental scalability. To overcome these problems on sequencing systems impaired by mismatch errors, the alternative use of binary BCH and pseudo-quaternary Hamming codes has been proposed. However, these codes either fail to provide a fine-scale with regard to size of barcodes (BCH) or have intrinsic poor error correcting abilities (Hamming). Here, the design of barcodes from shortened binary BCH codes and quaternary Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes is introduced. Simulation results show that although accurate barcoding systems of high multiplexing capacity can be obtained with any of these codes, using quaternary LDPC codes may be particularly advantageous due to the lower rates of read losses and undetected sample misidentification errors. Even at mismatch error rates of 10(-2) per base, 24-nt LDPC barcodes can be used to multiplex roughly 2000 samples with a sample misidentification error rate in the order of 10(-9) at the expense of a rate of read losses just in the order of 10(-6).

  20. DNA Barcoding through Quaternary LDPC Codes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth Tapia

    Full Text Available For many parallel applications of Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS technologies short barcodes able to accurately multiplex a large number of samples are demanded. To address these competitive requirements, the use of error-correcting codes is advised. Current barcoding systems are mostly built from short random error-correcting codes, a feature that strongly limits their multiplexing accuracy and experimental scalability. To overcome these problems on sequencing systems impaired by mismatch errors, the alternative use of binary BCH and pseudo-quaternary Hamming codes has been proposed. However, these codes either fail to provide a fine-scale with regard to size of barcodes (BCH or have intrinsic poor error correcting abilities (Hamming. Here, the design of barcodes from shortened binary BCH codes and quaternary Low Density Parity Check (LDPC codes is introduced. Simulation results show that although accurate barcoding systems of high multiplexing capacity can be obtained with any of these codes, using quaternary LDPC codes may be particularly advantageous due to the lower rates of read losses and undetected sample misidentification errors. Even at mismatch error rates of 10(-2 per base, 24-nt LDPC barcodes can be used to multiplex roughly 2000 samples with a sample misidentification error rate in the order of 10(-9 at the expense of a rate of read losses just in the order of 10(-6.

  1. COI (cytochrome oxidase-I) sequence based studies of Carangid fishes from Kakinada coast, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Persis, M; Chandra Sekhar Reddy, A; Rao, L M; Khedkar, G D; Ravinder, K; Nasruddin, K

    2009-09-01

    Mitochondrial DNA, cytochrome oxidase-1 gene sequences were analyzed for species identification and phylogenetic relationship among the very high food value and commercially important Indian carangid fish species. Sequence analysis of COI gene very clearly indicated that all the 28 fish species fell into five distinct groups, which are genetically distant from each other and exhibited identical phylogenetic reservation. All the COI gene sequences from 28 fishes provide sufficient phylogenetic information and evolutionary relationship to distinguish the carangid species unambiguously. This study proves the utility of mtDNA COI gene sequence based approach in identifying fish species at a faster pace.

  2. The practical evaluation of DNA barcode efficacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spouge, John L; Mariño-Ramírez, Leonardo

    2012-01-01

    This chapter describes a workflow for measuring the efficacy of a barcode in identifying species. First, assemble individual sequence databases corresponding to each barcode marker. A controlled collection of taxonomic data is preferable to GenBank data, because GenBank data can be problematic, particularly when comparing barcodes based on more than one marker. To ensure proper controls when evaluating species identification, specimens not having a sequence in every marker database should be discarded. Second, select a computer algorithm for assigning species to barcode sequences. No algorithm has yet improved notably on assigning a specimen to the species of its nearest neighbor within a barcode database. Because global sequence alignments (e.g., with the Needleman-Wunsch algorithm, or some related algorithm) examine entire barcode sequences, they generally produce better species assignments than local sequence alignments (e.g., with BLAST). No neighboring method (e.g., global sequence similarity, global sequence distance, or evolutionary distance based on a global alignment) has yet shown a notable superiority in identifying species. Finally, "the probability of correct identification" (PCI) provides an appropriate measurement of barcode efficacy. The overall PCI for a data set is the average of the species PCIs, taken over all species in the data set. This chapter states explicitly how to calculate PCI, how to estimate its statistical sampling error, and how to use data on PCR failure to set limits on how much improvements in PCR technology can improve species identification.

  3. International Barcode of Life Project : Engaging Developing Nations ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    But, there is growing interest in barcoding on the part of diverse countries from around the world, as demonstrated at the Third International Barcode of Life conference held in Mexico, November 2009. This project will allow iBOL to expand the application of barcoding to developing countries. This will involve establishing ...

  4. Defining operational taxonomic units using DNA barcode data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blaxter, Mark; Mann, Jenna; Chapman, Tom; Thomas, Fran; Whitton, Claire; Floyd, Robin; Abebe, Eyualem

    2005-10-29

    The scale of diversity of life on this planet is a significant challenge for any scientific programme hoping to produce a complete catalogue, whatever means is used. For DNA barcoding studies, this difficulty is compounded by the realization that any chosen barcode sequence is not the gene 'for' speciation and that taxa have evolutionary histories. How are we to disentangle the confounding effects of reticulate population genetic processes? Using the DNA barcode data from meiofaunal surveys, here we discuss the benefits of treating the taxa defined by barcodes without reference to their correspondence to 'species', and suggest that using this non-idealist approach facilitates access to taxon groups that are not accessible to other methods of enumeration and classification. Major issues remain, in particular the methodologies for taxon discrimination in DNA barcode data.

  5. An allele of Arabidopsis COI1 with hypo- and hypermorphic phenotypes in plant growth, defence and fertility.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Albor Dobón

    Full Text Available Resistance to biotrophic pathogens is largely dependent on the hormone salicylic acid (SA while jasmonic acid (JA regulates resistance against necrotrophs. JA negatively regulates SA and is, in itself, negatively regulated by SA. A key component of the JA signal transduction pathway is its receptor, the COI1 gene. Mutations in this gene can affect all the JA phenotypes, whereas mutations in other genes, either in JA signal transduction or in JA biosynthesis, lack this general effect. To identify components of the part of the resistance against biotrophs independent of SA, a mutagenised population of NahG plants (severely depleted of SA was screened for suppression of susceptibility. The screen resulted in the identification of intragenic and extragenic suppressors, and the results presented here correspond to the characterization of one extragenic suppressor, coi1-40. coi1-40 is quite different from previously described coi1 alleles, and it represents a strategy for enhancing resistance to biotrophs with low levels of SA, likely suppressing NahG by increasing the perception to the remaining SA. The phenotypes of coi1-40 lead us to speculate about a modular function for COI1, since we have recovered a mutation in COI1 which has a number of JA-related phenotypes reduced while others are equal to or above wild type levels.

  6. Locating and decoding barcodes in fuzzy images captured by smart phones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Wupeng; Hu, Jiwei; Liu, Quan; Lou, Ping

    2017-07-01

    With the development of barcodes for commercial use, people's requirements for detecting barcodes by smart phone become increasingly pressing. The low quality of barcode image captured by mobile phone always affects the decoding and recognition rates. This paper focuses on locating and decoding EAN-13 barcodes in fuzzy images. We present a more accurate locating algorithm based on segment length and high fault-tolerant rate algorithm for decoding barcodes. Unlike existing approaches, location algorithm is based on the edge segment length of EAN -13 barcodes, while our decoding algorithm allows the appearance of fuzzy region in barcode image. Experimental results are performed on damaged, contaminated and scratched digital images, and provide a quite promising result for EAN -13 barcode location and decoding.

  7. Critical factors for assembling a high volume of DNA barcodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hajibabaei, Mehrdad; deWaard, Jeremy R; Ivanova, Natalia V; Ratnasingham, Sujeevan; Dooh, Robert T; Kirk, Stephanie L; Mackie, Paula M; Hebert, Paul D.N

    2005-01-01

    Large-scale DNA barcoding projects are now moving toward activation while the creation of a comprehensive barcode library for eukaryotes will ultimately require the acquisition of some 100 million barcodes. To satisfy this need, analytical facilities must adopt protocols that can support the rapid, cost-effective assembly of barcodes. In this paper we discuss the prospects for establishing high volume DNA barcoding facilities by evaluating key steps in the analytical chain from specimens to barcodes. Alliances with members of the taxonomic community represent the most effective strategy for provisioning the analytical chain with specimens. The optimal protocols for DNA extraction and subsequent PCR amplification of the barcode region depend strongly on their condition, but production targets of 100K barcode records per year are now feasible for facilities working with compliant specimens. The analysis of museum collections is currently challenging, but PCR cocktails that combine polymerases with repair enzyme(s) promise future success. Barcode analysis is already a cost-effective option for species identification in some situations and this will increasingly be the case as reference libraries are assembled and analytical protocols are simplified. PMID:16214753

  8. 77 FR 33314 - POSTNET Barcode Discontinuation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-06

    ... eligibility for the use of POSTNET barcodes and allow only Intelligent Mail barcodes (IMbs) for automation price eligibility purposes, including Qualified Business Reply Mail (QBRM) prices. The Postal Service... and working with individual mailers and software providers to ensure that the use of an Intelligent...

  9. Identification of the vascular plants of Churchill, Manitoba, using a DNA barcode library

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kuzmina Maria L

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Because arctic plant communities are highly vulnerable to climate change, shifts in their composition require rapid, accurate identifications, often for specimens that lack diagnostic floral characters. The present study examines the role that DNA barcoding can play in aiding floristic evaluations in the arctic by testing the effectiveness of the core plant barcode regions (rbcL, matK and a supplemental ribosomal DNA (ITS2 marker for a well-studied flora near Churchill, Manitoba. Results This investigation examined 900 specimens representing 312 of the 354 species of vascular plants known from Churchill. Sequencing success was high for rbcL: 95% for fresh specimens and 85% for herbarium samples (mean age 20 years. ITS2 worked equally well for the fresh and herbarium material (89% and 88%. However, sequencing success was lower for matK, despite two rounds of PCR amplification, which reflected less effective primer binding and sensitivity to the DNA degradation (76% of fresh, 45% of herbaria samples. A species was considered as taxonomically resolved if its members showed at least one diagnostic difference from any other taxon in the study and formed a monophyletic clade. The highest species resolution (69% was obtained by combining information from all three genes. The joint sequence information for rbcL and matK distinguished 54% of 286 species, while rbcL and ITS2 distinguished 63% of 285 species. Discrimination of species within Salix, which constituted 8% of the flora, was particularly problematic. Despite incomplete resolution, the barcode results revealed 22 misidentified herbarium specimens, and enabled the identification of field specimens which were otherwise too immature to identify. Although seven cases of ITS2 paralogy were noted in the families Cyperaceae, Juncaceae and Juncaginaceae, this intergenic spacer played an important role in resolving congeneric plant species at Churchill. Conclusions Our results

  10. Identification of the vascular plants of Churchill, Manitoba, using a DNA barcode library.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuzmina, Maria L; Johnson, Karen L; Barron, Hannah R; Hebert, Paul Dn

    2012-11-28

    Because arctic plant communities are highly vulnerable to climate change, shifts in their composition require rapid, accurate identifications, often for specimens that lack diagnostic floral characters. The present study examines the role that DNA barcoding can play in aiding floristic evaluations in the arctic by testing the effectiveness of the core plant barcode regions (rbcL, matK) and a supplemental ribosomal DNA (ITS2) marker for a well-studied flora near Churchill, Manitoba. This investigation examined 900 specimens representing 312 of the 354 species of vascular plants known from Churchill. Sequencing success was high for rbcL: 95% for fresh specimens and 85% for herbarium samples (mean age 20 years). ITS2 worked equally well for the fresh and herbarium material (89% and 88%). However, sequencing success was lower for matK, despite two rounds of PCR amplification, which reflected less effective primer binding and sensitivity to the DNA degradation (76% of fresh, 45% of herbaria samples). A species was considered as taxonomically resolved if its members showed at least one diagnostic difference from any other taxon in the study and formed a monophyletic clade. The highest species resolution (69%) was obtained by combining information from all three genes. The joint sequence information for rbcL and matK distinguished 54% of 286 species, while rbcL and ITS2 distinguished 63% of 285 species. Discrimination of species within Salix, which constituted 8% of the flora, was particularly problematic. Despite incomplete resolution, the barcode results revealed 22 misidentified herbarium specimens, and enabled the identification of field specimens which were otherwise too immature to identify. Although seven cases of ITS2 paralogy were noted in the families Cyperaceae, Juncaceae and Juncaginaceae, this intergenic spacer played an important role in resolving congeneric plant species at Churchill. Our results provided fast and cost-effective solution to create a

  11. DNA Bar-Coding for Phytoplasma Identification

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Makarova, Olga; Contaldo, Nicoletta; Paltrinieri, Samanta

    2013-01-01

    Phytoplasma identi fi cation has proved dif fi cult due to their inability to be maintained in vitro. DNA barcoding is an identi fi cation method based on comparison of a short DNA sequence with known sequences from a database. A DNA barcoding tool has been developed for phytoplasma identi fi cat...... genes, can be used to identify the following phytoplasma groups: 16SrI, 16SrII, 16SrIII, 16SrIV, 16SrV, 16SrVI, 16SrVII, 16SrIX, 16SrX, 16SrXI, 16SrXII, 16SrXV, 16SrXX, 16SrXXI....... cation. While other sequencebased methods may be well adapted to identification of particular strains of phytoplasmas, often they cannot be used for the simultaneous identification of phytoplasmas from different groups. The phytoplasma DNA barcoding protocol in this chapter, based on the tuf and 16SrRNA......Phytoplasma identi fi cation has proved dif fi cult due to their inability to be maintained in vitro. DNA barcoding is an identi fi cation method based on comparison of a short DNA sequence with known sequences from a database. A DNA barcoding tool has been developed for phytoplasma identi fi...

  12. DNA barcoding reveals that the common cupped oyster in Taiwan is the Portuguese oyster Crassostrea angulata (Ostreoida; Ostreidae), not C. gigas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsiao, Sheng-Tai; Chuang, Shin-Chang; Chen, Kao-Sung; Ho, Ping-Ho; Wu, Chi-Lun; Chen, Chaolun Allen

    2016-09-01

    The Pacific cupped oyster, Crassostrea gigas, is one of the major aquacultural shellfish species that has been introduced to Europe and America from its native source in the West Pacific. In Taiwan, the cultivated cupped oysters along the west coast have been identified as C. gigas for over centuries; however, several molecular phylogenetic studies have cast doubt upon the existence of this species in Taiwan and adjacent waters. Indeed, our analyses of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) sequences from 313 Crassostrea collected from 12 locations along Taiwanese and southern Chinese coastlines confirm that all samples were the Portuguese oyster, C. angulata, rather than C. gigas. Multiple lines of evidence, including haplotypic and nucleotide diversity of the COI gene, demographic history, and population genetics, suggest that Taiwanese C. angulata is unique, probably experienced a sudden population expansion after the Last Glacial Maxima around 20,000 years ago, and has a significantly limited genetic connectivity across the Taiwan Strait. Our study applies an extended sampling and DNA barcoding to confirm the absence of C. gigas in natural and cultivated populations in Taiwan and southern China, where we only found C. angulata. We highlight the importance of conserving the gene pool of the C. angulata population in Taiwan, particularly considering the current threats by large-scale environmental disturbances such as marine pollution, habitat destruction, and climate change.

  13. 77 FR 12764 - POSTNET Barcode Discontinuation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-02

    ... Mail barcodes and POSTNET (Postal Numeric Encoding Technique) barcodes are USPS-developed methods to... sealed envelope (the preferred method) or, if unenveloped, must be sealed or glued completely along all... routing code appears in the lower right corner. * * * * * [Delete current 5.6, DPBC Numeric Equivalent, in...

  14. Quantitative phenotyping via deep barcode sequencing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Andrew M; Heisler, Lawrence E; Mellor, Joseph; Kaper, Fiona; Thompson, Michael J; Chee, Mark; Roth, Frederick P; Giaever, Guri; Nislow, Corey

    2009-10-01

    Next-generation DNA sequencing technologies have revolutionized diverse genomics applications, including de novo genome sequencing, SNP detection, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and transcriptome analysis. Here we apply deep sequencing to genome-scale fitness profiling to evaluate yeast strain collections in parallel. This method, Barcode analysis by Sequencing, or "Bar-seq," outperforms the current benchmark barcode microarray assay in terms of both dynamic range and throughput. When applied to a complex chemogenomic assay, Bar-seq quantitatively identifies drug targets, with performance superior to the benchmark microarray assay. We also show that Bar-seq is well-suited for a multiplex format. We completely re-sequenced and re-annotated the yeast deletion collection using deep sequencing, found that approximately 20% of the barcodes and common priming sequences varied from expectation, and used this revised list of barcode sequences to improve data quality. Together, this new assay and analysis routine provide a deep-sequencing-based toolkit for identifying gene-environment interactions on a genome-wide scale.

  15. DNA barcoding in Mexico: an introduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elías-Gutiérrez, M; León-Regagnon, V

    2013-11-01

    DNA barcoding has become an important current scientific trend to the understanding of the world biodiversity. In the case of mega-diverse hot spots like Mexico, this technique represents an important tool for taxonomists, allowing them to concentrate in highlighted species by the barcodes instead of analyzing entire sets of specimens. This tendency resulted in the creation of a national network named Mexican Barcode of Life (MEXBOL) which main goals are to train students, and to promote the interaction and collective work among researchers interested in this topic. As a result, the number of records in the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD) for some groups, such as the Mammalia, Actinopterygii, Polychaeta, Branchiopoda, Ostracoda, Maxillopoda, Nematoda, Pinophyta, Ascomycota and Basidiomycota place Mexico among the top ten countries in the generation of these data. This special number presents only few of the many interesting findings in this region of the world, after the use of this technique and its integration with other methodologies. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Reassessment of Species Diversity of the Subfamily Denticollinae (Coleoptera: Elateridae through DNA Barcoding.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taeman Han

    Full Text Available The subfamily Denticollinae is a taxonomically diverse group in the family Elateridae. Denticollinae includes many morphologically similar species and crop pests, as well as many undescribed species at each local fauna. To construct a rapid and reliable identification system for this subfamily, the effectiveness of molecular species identification was assessed based on 421 cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI sequences of 84 morphologically identified species. Among the 84 morphospecies, molecular species identification of 60 species (71.4% was consistent with their morphological identifications. Six cryptic and/or pseudocryptic species with large genetic divergence (>5% were confirmed by their sympatric or allopatric distributions. However, 18 species, including a subspecies, had ambiguous genetic distances and shared overlapping intra- and interspecific genetic distances (range: 2.12%-3.67% suggesting incomplete lineage sorting, introgression of mitochondrial genome, or affection by endosymbionts, such as Wolbachia infection, between species and simple genetic variation within species. In this study, we propose a conservative threshold of 3.6% for convenient molecular operational taxonomic unit (MOTU identification in the subfamily Denticollinae based on the results of pairwise genetic distances analyses using neighbor-joining, mothur, Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery analysis, and tree-based species delimitation by Poisson Tree Processes analysis. Using the 3.6% threshold, we identified 87 MOTUs and found 8 MOTUs in the interval between 2.5% to 3.5%. Evaluation of MOTUs identified in this range requires integrative species delimitation, including review of morphological and ecological differences as well as sensitive genetic markers. From this study, we confirmed that COI sequence is useful for reassessing species diversity for polymorphic and polytypic species occurring in sympatric and allopatric distributions, and for a single species having

  17. Morphological and molecular genetic analysis of Synhimantus (Synhimantus laticeps (Rudolphi, 1819 (Nematoda, Acuariidae from the barn owl (Tyto alba and the common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus in Austria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ebmer D.

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available In the framework of the biodiversity initiative and barcoding project “Austrian Barcode of Life” (ABOL post mortem examinations of the gastro-intestinal tracts of different species of wild birds were carried out and several adult helminths were retrieved. In the gizzard of two barn owls (Tyto alba and one common kestrel (Falco tinnuculus acuariid nematodes belonging to the species Synhimantus (Synhimantus laticeps (Rudolphi, 1819 were discovered. This report illustrates the identification of this parasitic nematode by morphometric comparison and scanning electron microscopic photographs. Furthermore, genetic identification of individual parasites based on a fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI gene and the nuclear 18S ribosomal RNA gene was carried out. This report constitutes the first COI-based DNA barcoding of S. (S. laticeps and its first record in the barn owl (Tyto alba in Austria.

  18. Recommendations for Using Barcode in Hospital Process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hachesu, Peyman Rezaei; Zyaei, Leila; Hassankhani, Hadi

    2016-06-01

    Lack of attention to the proper barcode using leads to lack of use or misuse in the hospitals. The present research aimed to investigate the requirements and barrier for using barcode technology and presenting suggestions to use it. The research is observational-descriptive. The data was collected using the designed checklist which its validity was assessed. This check list consists of two parts: "Requirements" and "barrier" of using the barcodes. Research community included 10 teaching hospitals and a class of 65 participants included people in the hospitals. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Required changes of workflow processes in the hospital and compliance them with the hospital policy are such requirements that had been infringed in the 90 % of hospitals. Prioritization of some hospital processes for barcoding, system integration with Hospital Information system (HIS), training of staff and budgeting are requirements for the successful implementation which had been infringed in the 80% of hospitals. Dissatisfaction with the quality of barcode labels and lacks of adequate scanners both whit the rate of 100 %, and the lack of understanding of the necessary requirements for implementation of barcodes as 80% were the most important barrier. Integrate bar code system with clinical workflow should be considered. Lack of knowledge and understanding toward the infrastructure, inadequate staff training and technologic problems are considered as the greatest barriers.

  19. Phyllanthus coi (Phyllanthaceae, a new herbaceous species from the Philippines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ming-Jou WU

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Phyllanthus coi M.J. Wu, Ferreras & Y.J. Chen, a new species from Benguet Province, Island of Luzon, the Philippines, is described and illustrated. Compared to its congeners in the same section, P. coi can be differentiated by having long plagiotropic branchlets with up to 30 leaves per side, seeds with sharp honey-comb-like ridges on the dorsal side, and three free styles that are not lying flat on the top of the ovary. The floral, seed and some vegetative features that distinguish this new species from its nearest morphologically related species, P. erythrotrichus C.B. Rob., P. urinaria L. and P. hookeri Müll. Arg. are provided.

  20. BOLDMirror: a global mirror system of DNA barcode data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, D; Liu, L; Guo, G; Wang, W; Sun, Q; Parani, M; Ma, J

    2013-11-01

    DNA barcoding is a novel concept for taxonomic identification using short, specific genetic markers and has been applied to study a large number of eukaryotes. The huge amount of data output generated by DNA barcoding requires well-organized information systems. Besides the Barcode of Life Data system (BOLD) established in Canada, the mirror system is also important for the international barcode of life project (iBOL). For this purpose, we developed the BOLDMirror, a global mirror system of DNA barcode data. It is open-sourced and can run on the LAMP (Linux + Apache + MySQL + PHP) environment. BOLDMirror has data synchronization, data representation and statistics modules, and also provides spaces to store user operation history. BOLDMirror can be accessed at http://www.boldmirror.net and several countries have used it to setup their site of DNA barcoding. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Building a DNA barcode library of Alaska's non-marine arthropods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sikes, Derek S; Bowser, Matthew; Morton, John M; Bickford, Casey; Meierotto, Sarah; Hildebrandt, Kyndall

    2017-03-01

    Climate change may result in ecological futures with novel species assemblages, trophic mismatch, and mass extinction. Alaska has a limited taxonomic workforce to address these changes. We are building a DNA barcode library to facilitate a metabarcoding approach to monitoring non-marine arthropods. Working with the Canadian Centre for DNA Barcoding, we obtained DNA barcodes from recently collected and authoritatively identified specimens in the University of Alaska Museum (UAM) Insect Collection and the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge collection. We submitted tissues from 4776 specimens, of which 81% yielded DNA barcodes representing 1662 species and 1788 Barcode Index Numbers (BINs), of primarily terrestrial, large-bodied arthropods. This represents 84% of the species available for DNA barcoding in the UAM Insect Collection. There are now 4020 Alaskan arthropod species represented by DNA barcodes, after including all records in Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) of species that occur in Alaska - i.e., 48.5% of the 8277 Alaskan, non-marine-arthropod, named species have associated DNA barcodes. An assessment of the identification power of the library in its current state yielded fewer species-level identifications than expected, but the results were not discouraging. We believe we are the first to deliberately begin development of a DNA barcode library of the entire arthropod fauna for a North American state or province. Although far from complete, this library will become increasingly valuable as more species are added and costs to obtain DNA sequences fall.

  2. DNA barcoding simplifies environmental risk assessment of genetically modified crops in biodiverse regions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chinyere V Nzeduru

    Full Text Available Transgenes encoding for insecticidal crystal (Cry proteins from the soil-dwelling bacterium Bacillus Thuringiensis have been widely introduced into Genetically Modified (GM crops to confer protection against insect pests. Concern that these transgenes may also harm beneficial or otherwise valued insects (so-called Non Target Organisms, NTOs represents a major element of the Environmental Risk Assessments (ERAs used by all countries prior to commercial release. Compiling a comprehensive list of potentially susceptible NTOs is therefore a necessary part of an ERA for any Cry toxin-containing GM crop. In partly-characterised and biodiverse countries, NTO identification is slowed by the need for taxonomic expertise and time to enable morphological identifications. This limitation represents a potentially serious barrier to timely adoption of GM technology in some developing countries. We consider Bt Cry1A cowpea (Vigna unguiculata in Nigeria as an exemplar to demonstrate how COI barcoding can provide a simple and cost-effective means of addressing this problem. Over a period of eight weeks, we collected 163 insects from cowpea flowers across the agroecological and geographic range of the crop in Nigeria. These individuals included 32 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs spanning four Orders and that could mostly be assigned to genus or species level. They included 12 Lepidopterans and two Coleopterans (both potentially sensitive to different groups of Cry proteins. Thus, barcode-assisted diagnoses were highly harmonised across groups (typically to genus or species level and so were insensitive to expertise or knowledge gaps. Decisively, the entire study was completed within four months at a cost of less than 10,000 US$. The broader implications of the findings for food security and the capacity for safe adoption of GM technology are briefly explored.

  3. Relative profile analysis of molecular markers for identification and genetic discrimination of loaches (Pisces, Nemacheilidae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patil, Tejas Suresh; Tamboli, Asif Shabodin; Patil, Swapnil Mahadeo; Bhosale, Amrut Ravindra; Govindwar, Sanjay Prabhu; Muley, Dipak Vishwanathrao

    2016-01-01

    Genus Nemacheilus, Nemachilichthys and Schistura belong to the family Nemacheilidae of the order Cypriniformes. The present investigation was undertaken to observe genetic diversity, phylogenetic relationship and to develop a molecular-based tool for taxonomic identification. For this purpose, four different types of molecular markers were utilized in which 29 random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), 25 inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers, and 10 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) marker sets were screened and mitochondrial COI gene was sequenced. This study added COI barcodes for the identification of Nemacheilus anguilla, Nemachilichthys rueppelli and Schistura denisoni. RAPD showed higher polymorphism (100%) than the ISSR (93.75-100%) and AFLP (93.86-98.96%). The polymorphic information content (PIC), heterozygosity, multiplex ratio, and gene diversity was observed highest for AFLP primers, whereas the major allele frequency was observed higher for RAPD (0.5556) and lowest for AFLP (0.1667). The COI region of all individuals was successfully amplified and sequenced, which gave a 100% species resolution. Copyright © 2016 Académie des sciences. Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

  4. Simultaneous identification and DNA barcoding of six Eimeria species infecting turkeys using PCR primers targeting the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (mtCOI) locus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hafeez, Mian A; Shivaramaiah, Srichaitanya; Dorsey, Kristi Moore; Ogedengbe, Mosun E; El-Sherry, Shiem; Whale, Julia; Cobean, Julie; Barta, John R

    2015-05-01

    Species-specific PCR primers targeting the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (mtCOI) locus were generated that allow for the specific identification of the most common Eimeria species infecting turkeys (i.e., Eimeria adenoeides, Eimeria meleagrimitis, Eimeria gallopavonis, Eimeria meleagridis, Eimeria dispersa, and Eimeria innocua). PCR reaction chemistries were optimized with respect to divalent cation (MgCl2) and dNTP concentrations, as well as PCR cycling conditions (particularly anneal temperature for primers). Genomic DNA samples from single oocyst-derived lines of six Eimeria species were tested to establish specificity and sensitivity of these newly designed primer pairs. A mixed 60-ng total DNA sample containing 10 ng of each of the six Eimeria species was used as DNA template to demonstrate specific amplification of the correct product using each of the species-specific primer pairs. Ten nanograms of each of the five non-target Eimeria species was pooled to provide a non-target, control DNA sample suitable to test the specificity of each primer pair. The amplifications of the COI region with species-specific primer pairs from pooled samples yielded products of expected sizes (209 to 1,012 bp) and no amplification of non-target Eimeria sp. DNA was detected using the non-target, control DNA samples. These primer pairs specific for Eimeria spp. of turkeys did not amplify any of the seven Eimeria species infecting chickens. The newly developed PCR primers can be used as a diagnostic tool capable of specifically identifying six turkey Eimeria species; additionally, sequencing of the PCR amplification products yields sequence-based genotyping data suitable for identification and molecular phylogenetics.

  5. Feasibility and Limitations of Vaccine Two-Dimensional Barcoding Using Mobile Devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, Cameron; Guerinet, Julien; Atkinson, Katherine M; Wilson, Kumanan

    2016-06-23

    Two-dimensional (2D) barcoding has the potential to enhance documentation of vaccine encounters at the point of care. However, this is currently limited to environments equipped with dedicated barcode scanners and compatible record systems. Mobile devices may present a cost-effective alternative to leverage 2D vaccine vial barcodes and improve vaccine product-specific information residing in digital health records. Mobile devices have the potential to capture product-specific information from 2D vaccine vial barcodes. We sought to examine the feasibility, performance, and potential limitations of scanning 2D barcodes on vaccine vials using 4 different mobile phones. A unique barcode scanning app was developed for Android and iOS operating systems. The impact of 4 variables on the scan success rate, data accuracy, and time to scan were examined: barcode size, curvature, fading, and ambient lighting conditions. Two experimenters performed 4 trials 10 times each, amounting to a total of 2160 barcode scan attempts. Of the 1832 successful scans performed in this evaluation, zero produced incorrect data. Five-millimeter barcodes were the slowest to scan, although only by 0.5 seconds on average. Barcodes with up to 50% fading had a 100% success rate, but success rate deteriorated beyond 60% fading. Curved barcodes took longer to scan compared with flat, but success rate deterioration was only observed at a vial diameter of 10 mm. Light conditions did not affect success rate or scan time between 500 lux and 20 lux. Conditions below 20 lux impeded the device's ability to scan successfully. Variability in scan time was observed across devices in all trials performed. 2D vaccine barcoding is possible using mobile devices and is successful under the majority of conditions examined. Manufacturers utilizing 2D barcodes should take into consideration the impact of factors that limit scan success rates. Future studies should evaluate the effect of mobile barcoding on workflow and

  6. A DNA Mini-Barcoding System for Authentication of Processed Fish Products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shokralla, Shadi; Hellberg, Rosalee S; Handy, Sara M; King, Ian; Hajibabaei, Mehrdad

    2015-10-30

    Species substitution is a form of seafood fraud for the purpose of economic gain. DNA barcoding utilizes species-specific DNA sequence information for specimen identification. Previous work has established the usability of short DNA sequences-mini-barcodes-for identification of specimens harboring degraded DNA. This study aims at establishing a DNA mini-barcoding system for all fish species commonly used in processed fish products in North America. Six mini-barcode primer pairs targeting short (127-314 bp) fragments of the cytochrome c oxidase I (CO1) DNA barcode region were developed by examining over 8,000 DNA barcodes from species in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Seafood List. The mini-barcode primer pairs were then tested against 44 processed fish products representing a range of species and product types. Of the 44 products, 41 (93.2%) could be identified at the species or genus level. The greatest mini-barcoding success rate found with an individual primer pair was 88.6% compared to 20.5% success rate achieved by the full-length DNA barcode primers. Overall, this study presents a mini-barcoding system that can be used to identify a wide range of fish species in commercial products and may be utilized in high throughput DNA sequencing for authentication of heavily processed fish products.

  7. DNA barcode goes two-dimensions: DNA QR code web server.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Chang; Shi, Linchun; Xu, Xiaolan; Li, Huan; Xing, Hang; Liang, Dong; Jiang, Kun; Pang, Xiaohui; Song, Jingyuan; Chen, Shilin

    2012-01-01

    The DNA barcoding technology uses a standard region of DNA sequence for species identification and discovery. At present, "DNA barcode" actually refers to DNA sequences, which are not amenable to information storage, recognition, and retrieval. Our aim is to identify the best symbology that can represent DNA barcode sequences in practical applications. A comprehensive set of sequences for five DNA barcode markers ITS2, rbcL, matK, psbA-trnH, and CO1 was used as the test data. Fifty-three different types of one-dimensional and ten two-dimensional barcode symbologies were compared based on different criteria, such as coding capacity, compression efficiency, and error detection ability. The quick response (QR) code was found to have the largest coding capacity and relatively high compression ratio. To facilitate the further usage of QR code-based DNA barcodes, a web server was developed and is accessible at http://qrfordna.dnsalias.org. The web server allows users to retrieve the QR code for a species of interests, convert a DNA sequence to and from a QR code, and perform species identification based on local and global sequence similarities. In summary, the first comprehensive evaluation of various barcode symbologies has been carried out. The QR code has been found to be the most appropriate symbology for DNA barcode sequences. A web server has also been constructed to allow biologists to utilize QR codes in practical DNA barcoding applications.

  8. DNA barcode goes two-dimensions: DNA QR code web server.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chang Liu

    Full Text Available The DNA barcoding technology uses a standard region of DNA sequence for species identification and discovery. At present, "DNA barcode" actually refers to DNA sequences, which are not amenable to information storage, recognition, and retrieval. Our aim is to identify the best symbology that can represent DNA barcode sequences in practical applications. A comprehensive set of sequences for five DNA barcode markers ITS2, rbcL, matK, psbA-trnH, and CO1 was used as the test data. Fifty-three different types of one-dimensional and ten two-dimensional barcode symbologies were compared based on different criteria, such as coding capacity, compression efficiency, and error detection ability. The quick response (QR code was found to have the largest coding capacity and relatively high compression ratio. To facilitate the further usage of QR code-based DNA barcodes, a web server was developed and is accessible at http://qrfordna.dnsalias.org. The web server allows users to retrieve the QR code for a species of interests, convert a DNA sequence to and from a QR code, and perform species identification based on local and global sequence similarities. In summary, the first comprehensive evaluation of various barcode symbologies has been carried out. The QR code has been found to be the most appropriate symbology for DNA barcode sequences. A web server has also been constructed to allow biologists to utilize QR codes in practical DNA barcoding applications.

  9. High-altitude adaptation of Tibetan chicken from MT-COI and ATP-6 perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Xiaoling; Wu, Nan; Zhu, Qing; Gaur, Uma; Gu, Ting; Li, Diyan

    2016-09-01

    The problem of hypoxia adaptation in high altitudes is an unsolved brainteaser in the field of life sciences. As one of the best chicken breeds with adaptability to highland environment, the Tibetan chicken, is genetically different from lowland chicken breeds. In order to gain a better understanding of the mechanism of hypoxic adaptability in high altitude, in the present study, we focused on the MT-COI together with ATP-6 gene to explore the regulatory mechanisms for hypoxia adaptability in Tibet chicken. Here, we sequenced MT-COI of 29 Tibetan chickens and 30 Chinese domestic chickens and ATP-6 gene of 28 Tibetan chickens and 29 Chinese domestic chickens. In MT-COI gene, 9 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected though none of these was a missense mutation, confirming the fact that MT-COI gene is a largely conservative sequence. In ATP-6 gene, 6 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected and we found a missense mutation (m.9441G > A) in the ATP-6 gene of Tibetan chicken resulting in an amino acid substitution. Due to the critical role of ATP-6 gene in the proton translocation and energy metabolism, we speculated the possibility of this mutation playing an important role in easier energy conversion and metabolism in Tibetan chickens than Chinese domestic chickens so as to better adapt to the harsh environment of the high-altitude areas. The Median-joining profile also suggested that haplotype Ha2 has the ancestral position to the other haplotypes and has significant relationship with high-altitude adaptation in ATP-6 gene. Therefore, we considered that the polymorphism (m.9441G > A) in the ATP-6 gene may affect the specific functions of ATP-6 enzyme relating to high-altitude adaptation of Tibetan chicken and MT-COI gene is a largely conservative sequence.

  10. DNA Barcoding Evaluation and Its Taxonomic Implications in the Recently Evolved Genus Oberonia Lindl. (Orchidaceae in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuling Li

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The orchid genus Oberonia Lindl., is a taxonomically complex genus characterized by recent species radiations and many closely related species. All Oberonia species are under conservation as listed in the CITES and the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Given its difficulties in taxonomy and conservation status, Oberonia is an excellent model for developing DNA barcodes. Three analytical methods and five DNA barcoding regions (rbcL, matK, trnH-psbA, ITS and ITS2 were evaluated on 127 individuals representing 40 species and 1 variety of Oberonia from China. All the three plastid candidates tested (rbcL, matK and trnH-psbA have a lower discriminatory power than the nuclear regions (ITS and ITS2, and ITS had the highest resolution rate (82.14%. Two to four combinations of these gene sets were not better than the ITS alone, but when considering modes of inheritance, rbcL+ITS and matK+ITS were the best barcodes for identifying Oberonia species. Furthermore, the present barcoding system has many new insights in the current Oberonia taxonomy, such as correcting species identification, resolving taxonomic uncertainties, and the underlying presence of new or cryptic species in a genus with a complex speciation history.

  11. Evaluation of the DNA barcodes in Dendrobium (Orchidaceae) from mainland Asia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Songzhi; Li, Dezhu; Li, Jianwu; Xiang, Xiaoguo; Jin, Weitao; Huang, Weichang; Jin, Xiaohua; Huang, Luqi

    2015-01-01

    DNA barcoding has been proposed to be one of the most promising tools for accurate and rapid identification of taxa. However, few publications have evaluated the efficiency of DNA barcoding for the large genera of flowering plants. Dendrobium, one of the largest genera of flowering plants, contains many species that are important in horticulture, medicine and biodiversity conservation. Besides, Dendrobium is a notoriously difficult group to identify. DNA barcoding was expected to be a supplementary means for species identification, conservation and future studies in Dendrobium. We assessed the power of 11 candidate barcodes on the basis of 1,698 accessions of 184 Dendrobium species obtained primarily from mainland Asia. Our results indicated that five single barcodes, i.e., ITS, ITS2, matK, rbcL and trnH-psbA, can be easily amplified and sequenced with the currently established primers. Four barcodes, ITS, ITS2, ITS+matK, and ITS2+matK, have distinct barcoding gaps. ITS+matK was the optimal barcode based on all evaluation methods. Furthermore, the efficiency of ITS+matK was verified in four other large genera including Ficus, Lysimachia, Paphiopedilum, and Pedicularis in this study. Therefore, we tentatively recommend the combination of ITS+matK as a core DNA barcode for large flowering plant genera.

  12. Barcode of life: Advancing species identification and discovery

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Chandramohan, D.

    -based identification systems and the dwindling pool of taxonomists highlight the need for alternate methods for species identification which should be quick, cost effective and efficient. DNA barcoding emerges as a most favoured alternate method by the researchers..., electronics and computer science. The mission of the CBOL is to develop DNA barcoding as a global standard in taxonomy, rapidly accelerate compiling of DNA barcodes of known and newly discovered plant and animal species, establish a public library...

  13. Design of 240,000 orthogonal 25mer DNA barcode probes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Qikai; Schlabach, Michael R; Hannon, Gregory J; Elledge, Stephen J

    2009-02-17

    DNA barcodes linked to genetic features greatly facilitate screening these features in pooled formats using microarray hybridization, and new tools are needed to design large sets of barcodes to allow construction of large barcoded mammalian libraries such as shRNA libraries. Here we report a framework for designing large sets of orthogonal barcode probes. We demonstrate the utility of this framework by designing 240,000 barcode probes and testing their performance by hybridization. From the test hybridizations, we also discovered new probe design rules that significantly reduce cross-hybridization after their introduction into the framework of the algorithm. These rules should improve the performance of DNA microarray probe designs for many applications.

  14. Q-Bank Phytoplasma: A DNA Barcoding Tool for Phytoplasma Identification

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Contaldo, Nicoletta; Paltrinieri, Samanta; Makarova, Olga

    2015-01-01

    DNA barcoding is an identification method based on comparison of a short DNA sequence with known sequences from a database. A DNA barcoding tool has been developed for phytoplasma identification. This phytoplasma DNA barcoding protocol based on the tuf gene has been shown to identify phytoplasmas...

  15. Gold Nanoparticles-Based Barcode Analysis for Detection of Norepinephrine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, Jeung Hee; Lee, Kwon-Jai; Choi, Jeong-Woo

    2016-02-01

    Nanotechnology-based bio-barcode amplification analysis offers an innovative approach for detecting neurotransmitters. We evaluated the efficacy of this method for detecting norepinephrine in normal and oxidative-stress damaged dopaminergic cells. Our approach use a combination of DNA barcodes and bead-based immunoassays for detecting neurotransmitters with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), and provides polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-like sensitivity. This method relies on magnetic Dynabeads containing antibodies and nanoparticles that are loaded both with DNA barcords and with antibodies that can sandwich the target protein captured by the Dynabead-bound antibodies. The aggregate sandwich structures are magnetically separated from the solution and treated to remove the conjugated barcode DNA. The DNA barcodes are then identified by SERS and PCR analysis. The concentration of norepinephrine in dopaminergic cells can be readily detected using the bio-barcode assay, which is a rapid, high-throughput screening tool for detecting neurotransmitters.

  16. Evaluation of the DNA barcodes in Dendrobium (Orchidaceae from mainland Asia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Songzhi Xu

    Full Text Available DNA barcoding has been proposed to be one of the most promising tools for accurate and rapid identification of taxa. However, few publications have evaluated the efficiency of DNA barcoding for the large genera of flowering plants. Dendrobium, one of the largest genera of flowering plants, contains many species that are important in horticulture, medicine and biodiversity conservation. Besides, Dendrobium is a notoriously difficult group to identify. DNA barcoding was expected to be a supplementary means for species identification, conservation and future studies in Dendrobium. We assessed the power of 11 candidate barcodes on the basis of 1,698 accessions of 184 Dendrobium species obtained primarily from mainland Asia. Our results indicated that five single barcodes, i.e., ITS, ITS2, matK, rbcL and trnH-psbA, can be easily amplified and sequenced with the currently established primers. Four barcodes, ITS, ITS2, ITS+matK, and ITS2+matK, have distinct barcoding gaps. ITS+matK was the optimal barcode based on all evaluation methods. Furthermore, the efficiency of ITS+matK was verified in four other large genera including Ficus, Lysimachia, Paphiopedilum, and Pedicularis in this study. Therefore, we tentatively recommend the combination of ITS+matK as a core DNA barcode for large flowering plant genera.

  17. Fungi in Thailand: a case study of the efficacy of an ITS barcode for automatically identifying species within the Annulohypoxylon and Hypoxylon genera.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suwannasai, Nuttika; Martín, María P; Phosri, Cherdchai; Sihanonth, Prakitsin; Whalley, Anthony J S; Spouge, John L

    2013-01-01

    Thailand, a part of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot, has many endemic animals and plants. Some of its fungal species are difficult to recognize and separate, complicating assessments of biodiversity. We assessed species diversity within the fungal genera Annulohypoxylon and Hypoxylon, which produce biologically active and potentially therapeutic compounds, by applying classical taxonomic methods to 552 teleomorphs collected from across Thailand. Using probability of correct identification (PCI), we also assessed the efficacy of automated species identification with a fungal barcode marker, ITS, in the model system of Annulohypoxylon and Hypoxylon. The 552 teleomorphs yielded 137 ITS sequences; in addition, we examined 128 GenBank ITS sequences, to assess biases in evaluating a DNA barcode with GenBank data. The use of multiple sequence alignment in a barcode database like BOLD raises some concerns about non-protein barcode markers like ITS, so we also compared species identification using different alignment methods. Our results suggest the following. (1) Multiple sequence alignment of ITS sequences is competitive with pairwise alignment when identifying species, so BOLD should be able to preserve its present bioinformatics workflow for species identification for ITS, and possibly therefore with at least some other non-protein barcode markers. (2) Automated species identification is insensitive to a specific choice of evolutionary distance, contributing to resolution of a current debate in DNA barcoding. (3) Statistical methods are available to address, at least partially, the possibility of expert misidentification of species. Phylogenetic trees discovered a cryptic species and strongly supported monophyletic clades for many Annulohypoxylon and Hypoxylon species, suggesting that ITS can contribute usefully to a barcode for these fungi. The PCIs here, derived solely from ITS, suggest that a fungal barcode will require secondary markers in Annulohypoxylon and

  18. Fungi in Thailand: a case study of the efficacy of an ITS barcode for automatically identifying species within the Annulohypoxylon and Hypoxylon genera.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nuttika Suwannasai

    Full Text Available Thailand, a part of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot, has many endemic animals and plants. Some of its fungal species are difficult to recognize and separate, complicating assessments of biodiversity. We assessed species diversity within the fungal genera Annulohypoxylon and Hypoxylon, which produce biologically active and potentially therapeutic compounds, by applying classical taxonomic methods to 552 teleomorphs collected from across Thailand. Using probability of correct identification (PCI, we also assessed the efficacy of automated species identification with a fungal barcode marker, ITS, in the model system of Annulohypoxylon and Hypoxylon. The 552 teleomorphs yielded 137 ITS sequences; in addition, we examined 128 GenBank ITS sequences, to assess biases in evaluating a DNA barcode with GenBank data. The use of multiple sequence alignment in a barcode database like BOLD raises some concerns about non-protein barcode markers like ITS, so we also compared species identification using different alignment methods. Our results suggest the following. (1 Multiple sequence alignment of ITS sequences is competitive with pairwise alignment when identifying species, so BOLD should be able to preserve its present bioinformatics workflow for species identification for ITS, and possibly therefore with at least some other non-protein barcode markers. (2 Automated species identification is insensitive to a specific choice of evolutionary distance, contributing to resolution of a current debate in DNA barcoding. (3 Statistical methods are available to address, at least partially, the possibility of expert misidentification of species. Phylogenetic trees discovered a cryptic species and strongly supported monophyletic clades for many Annulohypoxylon and Hypoxylon species, suggesting that ITS can contribute usefully to a barcode for these fungi. The PCIs here, derived solely from ITS, suggest that a fungal barcode will require secondary markers in

  19. DNA barcoding of freshwater ichthyoplankton in the Neotropics as a tool for ecological monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frantine-Silva, W; Sofia, S H; Orsi, M L; Almeida, F S

    2015-09-01

    Quantifying and classifying ichthyoplankton is one of the most effective ways of monitoring the recruitment process in fishes. However, correctly identifying the fish based on morphological characters is extremely difficult, especially in the early stages of development. We examined ichthyoplankton from tributaries and reservoirs along the middle stretch of the Paranapanema River, one of the areas most impacted by hydroelectric projects in the Neotropics. Matching DNA sequences of the COI gene (628-648 bp) allowed us to identify 99.25% of 536 samples of eggs (293) and larvae (243) subjected to BOLD-IDS similarity analysis with a species-level threshold of 1.3%. The results revealed 37 species in 27 genera, 15 families and four orders, some 23.8% of documented fish species in the Paranapanema River. Molecular identification meant that we could include data from egg samples that accounted for about 30% of the species richness observed. The results in this study confirm the efficacy of DNA barcoding in identifying Neotropical ichthyoplankton and show how the data produced provide valuable information for preparing plans for conserving and managing inland waters. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. DNA barcoding as a means for identifying medicinal plants of Pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schori, M.; Showalter, A.M.

    2011-01-01

    DNA barcoding involves the generation of DNA sequencing data from particular genetic regions in an organism and the use of these sequence data to identify or 'barcode' that organism and distinguish it from other species. Here, DNA barcoding is being used to identify several medicinal plants found in Pakistan and distinguished them from other similar species. Several challenges to the successful implementation of plant DNA barcoding are presented and discussed. Despite these challenges, DNA barcoding has the potential to uniquely identify medicinal plants and provide quality control and standardization of the plant material supplied to the pharmaceutical industry. (author)

  1. APLIKASI INFO HALAL MENGGUNAKAN BARCODE SCANNER UNTUK SMARTPHONE ANDROID

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beki Subeki

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract – In the production and trade of food products in the era of globalization, people are consuming, especially Muslims need to be given the knowledge, information and access to adequate in order to obtain the correct information about the halal status of products bought. The use of barcode scanners halal product information using the mobile platform is effective and useful for the public to find out information on a product. Barcode scanners can be read by optical scanners called barcode readers or scanned from an image by special software. In Indonesia, most mobile phones have the scanning software for 2D codes, and similar devices available via smartphone.   Keywords : Barcode Scanner, Mobile Platform, Halal Products, Smartphone     Abstrak - Dalam kegiatan produksi dan perdagangan produk pangan di era globalisasi ini, masyarakat yang mengkonsumsi, khususnya umat islam perlu diberikan pengetahuan tentang kehalalan produk, informasi dan akses yang memadai agar memperoleh informasi yang benar tentang status kehalalan produk yang dibelinya. Penggunaan barcode scanner informasi produk halal dengan menggunakan mobile platform dinilai cukup efektif dan berguna bagi masyarakat luas untuk mengetahui informasi sebuah produk. Barcode scanner dapat dibaca oleh pemindai optik yang disebut pembaca kode batang atau dipindai dari sebuah gambar oleh perangkat lunak khusus. Di Indonesia, kebanyakan telepon genggam memiliki perangkat lunak pemindai untuk kode 2D, dan perangkat sejenis tersedia melalui smartphone.   Kata Kunci: Barcode Scanner, Mobile Platform, Produk Halal, Smartphone

  2. Detection of proteins using a colorimetric bio-barcode assay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nam, Jwa-Min; Jang, Kyung-Jin; Groves, Jay T

    2007-01-01

    The colorimetric bio-barcode assay is a red-to-blue color change-based protein detection method with ultrahigh sensitivity. This assay is based on both the bio-barcode amplification method that allows for detecting miniscule amount of targets with attomolar sensitivity and gold nanoparticle-based colorimetric DNA detection method that allows for a simple and straightforward detection of biomolecules of interest (here we detect interleukin-2, an important biomarker (cytokine) for many immunodeficiency-related diseases and cancers). The protocol is composed of the following steps: (i) conjugation of target capture molecules and barcode DNA strands onto silica microparticles, (ii) target capture with probes, (iii) separation and release of barcode DNA strands from the separated probes, (iv) detection of released barcode DNA using DNA-modified gold nanoparticle probes and (v) red-to-blue color change analysis with a graphic software. Actual target detection and quantification steps with premade probes take approximately 3 h (whole protocol including probe preparations takes approximately 3 days).

  3. EXPRESS METHOD OF BARCODE GENERATION FROM FACIAL IMAGES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. A. Kukharev

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available In the paper a method of generating of standard type linear barcodes from facial images is proposed. The method is based on use of the histogram of facial image brightness, averaging the histogram on a limited number of intervals, quantization of results in a range of decimal numbers from 0 to 9 and table conversion into the final barcode. The proposed solution is computationally low-cost and not requires the use of specialized software on image processing that allows generating of facial barcodes in mobile systems, and thus the proposed method can be interpreted as an express method. Results of tests on the Face94 and CUHK Face Sketch FERET Databases showed that the proposed method is a new solution for use in the real-world practice and ensures the stability of generated barcodes in changes of scale, pose and mirroring of a facial image, and also changes of a facial expression and shadows on faces from local lighting. The proposed method is based on generating of a standard barcode directly from the facial image, and thus contains the subjective information about a person's face.

  4. DNA barcoding of Japanese click beetles (Coleoptera, Elateridae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oba, Yuichi; Ôhira, Hitoo; Murase, Yukio; Moriyama, Akihiko; Kumazawa, Yoshinori

    2015-01-01

    Click beetles (Coleoptera: Elateridae) represent one of the largest groups of beetle insects. Some click beetles in larval form, known as wireworms, are destructive agricultural pests. Morphological identification of click beetles is generally difficult and requires taxonomic expertise. This study reports on the DNA barcoding of Japanese click beetles to enable their rapid and accurate identification. We collected and assembled 762 cytochrome oxidase subunit I barcode sequences from 275 species, which cover approximately 75% of the common species found on the Japanese main island, Honshu. This barcode library also contains 20 out of the 21 potential pest species recorded in Japan. Our analysis shows that most morphologically identified species form distinct phylogenetic clusters separated from each other by large molecular distances. This supports the general usefulness of the DNA barcoding approach for quick and reliable identification of Japanese elaterid species for environmental impact assessment, agricultural pest control, and biodiversity analysis. On the other hand, the taxonomic boundary in dozens of species did not agree with the boundary of barcode index numbers (a criterion for sequence-based species delimitation). These findings urge taxonomic reinvestigation of these mismatched taxa.

  5. DNA barcoding of Japanese click beetles (Coleoptera, Elateridae.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuichi Oba

    Full Text Available Click beetles (Coleoptera: Elateridae represent one of the largest groups of beetle insects. Some click beetles in larval form, known as wireworms, are destructive agricultural pests. Morphological identification of click beetles is generally difficult and requires taxonomic expertise. This study reports on the DNA barcoding of Japanese click beetles to enable their rapid and accurate identification. We collected and assembled 762 cytochrome oxidase subunit I barcode sequences from 275 species, which cover approximately 75% of the common species found on the Japanese main island, Honshu. This barcode library also contains 20 out of the 21 potential pest species recorded in Japan. Our analysis shows that most morphologically identified species form distinct phylogenetic clusters separated from each other by large molecular distances. This supports the general usefulness of the DNA barcoding approach for quick and reliable identification of Japanese elaterid species for environmental impact assessment, agricultural pest control, and biodiversity analysis. On the other hand, the taxonomic boundary in dozens of species did not agree with the boundary of barcode index numbers (a criterion for sequence-based species delimitation. These findings urge taxonomic reinvestigation of these mismatched taxa.

  6. QR Codes in the Library: "It's Not Your Mother's Barcode!"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dobbs, Cheri

    2011-01-01

    Barcode scanning has become more than just fun. Now libraries and businesses are leveraging barcode technology as an innovative tool to market their products and ideas. Developed and popularized in Japan, these Quick Response (QR) or two-dimensional barcodes allow marketers to provide interactive content in an otherwise static environment. In this…

  7. DNA Barcoding Investigations Bring Biology to Life

    Science.gov (United States)

    Musante, Susan

    2010-01-01

    This article describes how DNA barcoding investigations bring biology to life. Biologists recognize the power of DNA barcoding not just to teach biology through connections to the real world but also to immerse students in the exciting process of science. As an investigator in the Program for the Human Environment at Rockefeller University in New…

  8. Molecular phylogeny of Anopheles hyrcanus group (Diptera: Culicidae) based on mtDNA COI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Yuan; Shi, Wen-Qi; Zhang, Yi

    2017-05-08

    The Anopheles hyrcanus group, which includes at least 25 species, is widely distributed in the Oriental and Palearctic regions. Some group members have been incriminated as vectors of malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases. It is difficult to identify Hyrcanus Group members by morphological features. Thus, molecular phylogeny has been proposed as an important complementary method to traditional morphological taxonomy. Based on the GenBank database and our original study data, we used 466 mitochondrial DNA COI sequences belonging to 18 species to reconstruct the molecular phylogeny of the Hyrcanus Group across its worldwide geographic range. The results are as follows. 1) The average conspecific K2P divergence was 0.008 (range 0.002-0.017), whereas sequence divergence between congroup species averaged 0.064 (range 0.026-0.108). 2) The topology of COI tree of the Hyrcanus Group was generally consistent with classical morphological taxonomy in terms of species classification, but disagreed in subgroup division. In the COI tree, the group was divided into at least three main clusters. The first cluster contained An. nimpe; the second was composed of the Nigerrimus Subgroup and An. argyropus; and the third cluster was comprised of the Lesteri Subgroup and other unassociated species. 3) Phylogenetic analysis of COI indicated that ancient hybridizations probably occurred among the three closely related species, An. sinensis, An. belenrae, and An. kleini. 4) The results supported An. paraliae as a probable synonym of An. lesteri, and it was possible that An. pseudopictus and An. hyrcanus were the same species, as evident from their extremely low interspecific genetic divergence (0.020 and 0.007, respectively) and their phylogenetic positions. In summary, we reconstructed the molecular phylogeny and analysed genetic divergence of the Hyrcanus Group using mitochondrial COI sequences. Our results suggest that in the future of malaria surveillance, we should not only pay

  9. Generalized DNA Barcode Design Based on Hamming Codes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bystrykh, Leonid V.

    2012-01-01

    The diversity and scope of multiplex parallel sequencing applications is steadily increasing. Critically, multiplex parallel sequencing applications methods rely on the use of barcoded primers for sample identification, and the quality of the barcodes directly impacts the quality of the resulting

  10. Development of Attendance Database System Using Bar-coded Student Card

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdul Fadlil

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available The calculation of the level of attendance is very important, because one indicator of a person's credibility can be seen from the level of attendance. For example, at a university, data about the level of attendance of a student in a lecture is very important as one of components in the assessment. The manual presence system is considered less effective. This research presents the draft of presence system using bar codes (barcodes as input data representing the attendance. The presence system is supported by three main components, those are a bar code found on the student card (KTM, a CCD barcode scanner series and a CD-108E computer. Management of attendance list using this system allows for optimization of functions of KTM. The presence system has been tested with several KTM through a variety of distances and positions of the barcode scanner barcode. The test results is obtained at ideal position for reading a barcode when a barcode scanner is at 2 cm from the object with 90 degree. At this position the level of accuracy reach 100%.

  11. DNA barcodes for ecology, evolution, and conservation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kress, W John; García-Robledo, Carlos; Uriarte, Maria; Erickson, David L

    2015-01-01

    The use of DNA barcodes, which are short gene sequences taken from a standardized portion of the genome and used to identify species, is entering a new phase of application as more and more investigations employ these genetic markers to address questions relating to the ecology and evolution of natural systems. The suite of DNA barcode markers now applied to specific taxonomic groups of organisms are proving invaluable for understanding species boundaries, community ecology, functional trait evolution, trophic interactions, and the conservation of biodiversity. The application of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology will greatly expand the versatility of DNA barcodes across the Tree of Life, habitats, and geographies as new methodologies are explored and developed. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  12. Multi-locus DNA barcoding identifies matK as a suitable marker for species identification in Hibiscus L.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poovitha, Sundar; Stalin, Nithaniyal; Balaji, Raju; Parani, Madasamy

    2016-12-01

    The genus Hibiscus L. includes several taxa of medicinal value and species used for the extraction of natural dyes. These applications require the use of authentic plant materials. DNA barcoding is a molecular method for species identification, which helps in reliable authentication by using one or more DNA barcode marker. In this study, we have collected 44 accessions, representing 16 species of Hibiscus, distributed in the southern peninsular India, to evaluate the discriminatory power of the two core barcodes rbcLa and matK together with the suggested additional regions trnH-psbA and ITS2. No intraspecies divergence was observed among the accessions studied. Interspecies divergence was 0%-9.6% with individual markers, which increased to 0%-12.5% and 0.8%-20.3% when using two- and three-marker combinations, respectively. Differentiation of all the species of Hibiscus was possible with the matK DNA barcode marker. Also, in two-marker combinations, only those combinations with matK differentiated all the species. Though all the three-marker combinations showed 100% species differentiation, species resolution was consistently better when the matK marker formed part of the combination. These results clearly showed that matK is more suitable when compared to rbcLa, trnH-psbA, and ITS2 for species identification in Hibiscus.

  13. Detection of dopamine in dopaminergic cell using nanoparticles-based barcode DNA analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, Jeung Hee; Kim, Tae-Hyung; Oh, Byung-Keun; Choi, Jeong Woo

    2012-01-01

    Nanotechnology-based bio-barcode-amplification analysis may be an innovative approach to dopamine detection. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of this bio-barcode DNA method in detecting dopamine from dopaminergic cells. Herein, a combination DNA barcode and bead-based immunoassay for neurotransmitter detection with PCR-like sensitivity is described. This method relies on magnetic nanoparticles with antibodies and nanoparticles that are encoded with DNA, and antibodies that can sandwich the target protein captured by the nanoparticle-bound antibodies. The aggregate sandwich structures are magnetically separated from solution, and treated in order to remove the conjugated barcode DNA. The DNA barcodes were then identified via PCR analysis. The dopamine concentration in dopaminergic cells can be readily and rapidly detected via the bio-barcode assay method. The bio-barcode assay method is, therefore, a rapid and high-throughput screening tool for the detection of neurotransmitters such as dopamine.

  14. DNA barcoding of shark meats identify species composition and CITES-listed species from the markets in Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Shang-Yin Vanson; Chan, Chia-Ling Carynn; Lin, Oceana; Hu, Chieh-Shen; Chen, Chaolun Allen

    2013-01-01

    An increasing awareness of the vulnerability of sharks to exploitation by shark finning has contributed to a growing concern about an unsustainable shark fishery. Taiwan's fleet has the 4th largest shark catch in the world, accounting for almost 6% of the global figures. Revealing the diversity of sharks consumed by Taiwanese is important in designing conservation plans. However, fins make up less than 5% of the total body weight of a shark, and their bodies are sold as filets in the market, making it difficult or impossible to identify species using morphological traits. In the present study, we adopted a DNA barcoding technique using a 391-bp fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene to examine the diversity of shark filets and fins collected from markets and restaurants island-wide in Taiwan. Amongst the 548 tissue samples collected and sequenced, 20 major clusters were apparent by phylogenetic analyses, each of them containing individuals belonging to the same species (most with more than 95% bootstrap values), corresponding to 20 species of sharks. Additionally, Alopias pelagicus, Carcharhinus falciformis, Isurus oxyrinchus, and Prionace glauca consisted of 80% of the samples we collected, indicating that these species might be heavily consumed in Taiwan. Approximately 5% of the tissue samples used in this study were identified as species listed in CITES Appendix II, including two species of Sphyrna, C. longimanus and Carcharodon carcharias. DNA barcoding provides an alternative method for understanding shark species composition when species-specific data is unavailable. Considering the global population decline, stock assessments of Appendix II species and highly consumed species are needed to accomplish the ultimate goal of shark conservation.

  15. A comparison of DNA barcode clustering methods applied

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    2012-10-15

    Oct 15, 2012 ... to geography-based vs clade-based sampling of amphibians. ANDREA ... phylogenetic sampling, the addition of DNA barcoding to RAPs may present a greater challenge for the identification ...... odes for soil nematode identification. Mol. .... barcoding amphibians: take the chance, meet the challenge. Mol.

  16. Large-scale DNA Barcode Library Generation for Biomolecule Identification in High-throughput Screens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyons, Eli; Sheridan, Paul; Tremmel, Georg; Miyano, Satoru; Sugano, Sumio

    2017-10-24

    High-throughput screens allow for the identification of specific biomolecules with characteristics of interest. In barcoded screens, DNA barcodes are linked to target biomolecules in a manner allowing for the target molecules making up a library to be identified by sequencing the DNA barcodes using Next Generation Sequencing. To be useful in experimental settings, the DNA barcodes in a library must satisfy certain constraints related to GC content, homopolymer length, Hamming distance, and blacklisted subsequences. Here we report a novel framework to quickly generate large-scale libraries of DNA barcodes for use in high-throughput screens. We show that our framework dramatically reduces the computation time required to generate large-scale DNA barcode libraries, compared with a naїve approach to DNA barcode library generation. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate that our framework is able to generate a library consisting of one million DNA barcodes for use in a fragment antibody phage display screening experiment. We also report generating a general purpose one billion DNA barcode library, the largest such library yet reported in literature. Our results demonstrate the value of our novel large-scale DNA barcode library generation framework for use in high-throughput screening applications.

  17. First record and DNA barcodes of the aquarium shrimp, Neocaridina davidi, in Central Europe from thermally polluted River Oder canal, Poland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jabłońska Aleksandra

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Neocaridina davidi (Bouvier, 1904 is an exotic freshwater shrimp originating from Asia and often kept as a pet in amateur aquarium cultures. Herewith, we report on the second finding of N. davidi in fresh waters of Europe and the first discovery of that species both in Poland and in Central Europe. The species was found in samples collected in 2003, 2013 and 2017 in the thermally polluted canal connected to the River Oder, south of Gryfino, in the vicinity of the Dolna Odra Power Plant. The taxonomic identity of the collected shrimp was confirmed by the standard DNA barcoding procedure, using a 610 bp-long fragment of cytochrome oxidase I (COI. The findings spanning more than a decade suggest that N. davidi may have established a self-reproducing population at this site. Following the finding of Atyaephyra desmarestii (Millet, 1831 in 2000, Neocaridina davidi is the second freshwater shrimp species found in the River Oder and in Poland.

  18. Identification of processed Chinese medicinal materials using DNA mini-barcoding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Ming; Dong, Gang-Qiang; Zhang, Ya-Qin; Liu, Xia; Sun, Wei

    2017-07-01

    Most of Chinese medicinal herbs are subjected to traditional processing procedures, including stir-frying, charring, steaming, boiling, and calcining before they are released into dispensaries. The marketing and identification of processed medicinal materials is a growing issue in the marketplace. However, conventional methods of identification have limitations, while DNA mini-barcoding, based on the sequencing of a short-standardized region, has received considerable attention as a new potential means to identify processed medicinal materials. In the present study, six DNA barcode loci including ITS2, psbA-trnH, rbcL, matK, trnL (UAA) intron and its P6 loop, were employed for the authentication of 45 processed samples belonging to 15 species. We evaluated the amplification efficiency of each locus. We also examined the identification accuracy of the potential mini-barcode locus, of trnL (UAA) intron P6 loop. Our results showed that the five primary barcode loci were successfully amplified in only 8.89%-20% of the processed samples, while the amplification rates of the trnL (UAA) intron P6 loop were higher, at 75.56% successful amplification. We compared the mini-barcode sequences with Genbank using the Blast program. The analysis showed that 45.23% samples could be identified to genus level, while only one sample could be identified to the species level. We conclude that trnL (UAA) p6 loop is a candidate mini-barcode that has shown its potential and may become a universal mini-barcode as complementary barcode for authenticity testing and will play an important role in medicinal materials control. Copyright © 2017 China Pharmaceutical University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Statistical Approaches for DNA Barcoding

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Rasmus; Matz, M.

    2006-01-01

    The use of DNA as a tool for species identification has become known as "DNA barcoding" (Floyd et al., 2002; Hebert et al., 2003; Remigio and Hebert, 2003). The basic idea is straightforward: a small amount of DNA is extracted from the specimen, amplified and sequenced. The gene region sequenced...... is chosen so that it is nearly identical among individuals of the same species, but different between species, and therefore its sequence, can serve as an identification tag for the species ("DNA barcode"). By matching the sequence obtained from an unidentified specimen ("query" sequence) to the database...

  20. DNA barcoding of vouchered xylarium wood specimens of nine endangered Dalbergia species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Min; Jiao, Lichao; Guo, Juan; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C; He, Tuo; Jiang, Xiaomei; Yin, Yafang

    2017-12-01

    ITS2+ trnH - psbA was the best combination of DNA barcode to resolve the Dalbergia wood species studied. We demonstrate the feasibility of building a DNA barcode reference database using xylarium wood specimens. The increase in illegal logging and timber trade of CITES-listed tropical species necessitates the development of unambiguous identification methods at the species level. For these methods to be fully functional and deployable for law enforcement, they must work using wood or wood products. DNA barcoding of wood has been promoted as a promising tool for species identification; however, the main barrier to extensive application of DNA barcoding to wood is the lack of a comprehensive and reliable DNA reference library of barcodes from wood. In this study, xylarium wood specimens of nine Dalbergia species were selected from the Wood Collection of the Chinese Academy of Forestry and DNA was then extracted from them for further PCR amplification of eight potential DNA barcode sequences (ITS2, matK, trnL, trnH-psbA, trnV-trnM1, trnV-trnM2, trnC-petN, and trnS-trnG). The barcodes were tested singly and in combination for species-level discrimination ability by tree-based [neighbor-joining (NJ)] and distance-based (TaxonDNA) methods. We found that the discrimination ability of DNA barcodes in combination was higher than any single DNA marker among the Dalbergia species studied, with the best two-marker combination of ITS2+trnH-psbA analyzed with NJ trees performing the best (100% accuracy). These barcodes are relatively short regions (wood as the source material, a necessary factor to apply DNA barcoding to timber trade. The present results demonstrate the feasibility of using vouchered xylarium specimens to build DNA barcoding reference databases.

  1. DNA barcoding reveals a cryptic nemertean invasion in Atlantic and Mediterranean waters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández-Álvarez, Fernando Ángel; Machordom, Annie

    2013-09-01

    For several groups, like nemerteans, morphology-based identification is a hard discipline, but DNA barcoding may help non-experts in the identification process. In this study, DNA barcoding is used to reveal the cryptic invasion of Pacific Cephalothrix cf. simula into Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts. Although DNA barcoding is a promising method for the identification of Nemertea, only 6 % of the known number of nemertean species is currently associated with a correct DNA barcode. Therefore, additional morphological and molecular studies are necessary to advance the utility of DNA barcoding in the characterisation of possible nemertean alien invasions.

  2. The taxonomic status of Japanese threadfin bream Nemipterus japonicus (Bloch, 1791) (Perciformes: Nemipteridae) with a redescription of this species from the south china sea based on morphology and DNA barcodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ning, Ping; Sha, Zhongli; Hebert, Paul D. N.; Russell, Barry

    2015-02-01

    Because of its importance as a food source, Nemipterus japonicus (Bloch, 1791) (Nemipteridae) or Japanese threadfin bream is the best studied of these taxa, and numerous investigations have examined its fisheries, its biology and biochemistry. Despite such intensive work, the taxonomic status of N. japonicus has never been seriously questioned and it is regarded as a common species, widely distributed throughout the Indo-Western Pacific Ocean. In fact, Bloch's description of the type specimen of N. japonicus has ambiguous collection data and lacks a designation for the type locality, though it is probably Java. In this paper, DNA barcode results based on COI gene support the existence of two geographically separated lineages of the Japanese threadfin bream, both being an Indian Ocean and western Pacific lineage, with 2.7% sequence divergence, and the results indicate a possible existing of some cryptic species. The two lineages also possess a diagnostic difference in their belly color, with specimens in the South China Sea having a silver belly, while those from the Indian Ocean isolate specimen have a yellow coloration. Based upon new collections from the South China Sea, this species from the western Pacific is morphologically redescribed and its details of DNA barcode diversity are shown for the future investigations.

  3. Two new computational methods for universal DNA barcoding: a benchmark using barcode sequences of bacteria, archaea, animals, fungi, and land plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanabe, Akifumi S; Toju, Hirokazu

    2013-01-01

    Taxonomic identification of biological specimens based on DNA sequence information (a.k.a. DNA barcoding) is becoming increasingly common in biodiversity science. Although several methods have been proposed, many of them are not universally applicable due to the need for prerequisite phylogenetic/machine-learning analyses, the need for huge computational resources, or the lack of a firm theoretical background. Here, we propose two new computational methods of DNA barcoding and show a benchmark for bacterial/archeal 16S, animal COX1, fungal internal transcribed spacer, and three plant chloroplast (rbcL, matK, and trnH-psbA) barcode loci that can be used to compare the performance of existing and new methods. The benchmark was performed under two alternative situations: query sequences were available in the corresponding reference sequence databases in one, but were not available in the other. In the former situation, the commonly used "1-nearest-neighbor" (1-NN) method, which assigns the taxonomic information of the most similar sequences in a reference database (i.e., BLAST-top-hit reference sequence) to a query, displays the highest rate and highest precision of successful taxonomic identification. However, in the latter situation, the 1-NN method produced extremely high rates of misidentification for all the barcode loci examined. In contrast, one of our new methods, the query-centric auto-k-nearest-neighbor (QCauto) method, consistently produced low rates of misidentification for all the loci examined in both situations. These results indicate that the 1-NN method is most suitable if the reference sequences of all potentially observable species are available in databases; otherwise, the QCauto method returns the most reliable identification results. The benchmark results also indicated that the taxon coverage of reference sequences is far from complete for genus or species level identification in all the barcode loci examined. Therefore, we need to accelerate

  4. Systematic identification of African Sapindaceae using DNA barcoding

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This research aimed at exploring the diversity of Sapindaceae in West and Central Africa with particular emphasis on identification of the plant samples as well as generation of DNA barcodes with a view to sharing the DNA barcode sequence(s) in a public database. These were achieved following standard protocols.

  5. DNA barcoding the native flowering plants and conifers of Wales.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natasha de Vere

    Full Text Available We present the first national DNA barcode resource that covers the native flowering plants and conifers for the nation of Wales (1143 species. Using the plant DNA barcode markers rbcL and matK, we have assembled 97.7% coverage for rbcL, 90.2% for matK, and a dual-locus barcode for 89.7% of the native Welsh flora. We have sampled multiple individuals for each species, resulting in 3304 rbcL and 2419 matK sequences. The majority of our samples (85% are from DNA extracted from herbarium specimens. Recoverability of DNA barcodes is lower using herbarium specimens, compared to freshly collected material, mostly due to lower amplification success, but this is balanced by the increased efficiency of sampling species that have already been collected, identified, and verified by taxonomic experts. The effectiveness of the DNA barcodes for identification (level of discrimination is assessed using four approaches: the presence of a barcode gap (using pairwise and multiple alignments, formation of monophyletic groups using Neighbour-Joining trees, and sequence similarity in BLASTn searches. These approaches yield similar results, providing relative discrimination levels of 69.4 to 74.9% of all species and 98.6 to 99.8% of genera using both markers. Species discrimination can be further improved using spatially explicit sampling. Mean species discrimination using barcode gap analysis (with a multiple alignment is 81.6% within 10×10 km squares and 93.3% for 2×2 km squares. Our database of DNA barcodes for Welsh native flowering plants and conifers represents the most complete coverage of any national flora, and offers a valuable platform for a wide range of applications that require accurate species identification.

  6. DNA barcodes for 1/1000 of the animal kingdom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hebert, Paul D N; Dewaard, Jeremy R; Landry, Jean-François

    2010-06-23

    This study reports DNA barcodes for more than 1300 Lepidoptera species from the eastern half of North America, establishing that 99.3 per cent of these species possess diagnostic barcode sequences. Intraspecific divergences averaged just 0.43 per cent among this assemblage, but most values were lower. The mean was elevated by deep barcode divergences (greater than 2%) in 5.1 per cent of the species, often involving the sympatric occurrence of two barcode clusters. A few of these cases have been analysed in detail, revealing species overlooked by the current taxonomic system. This study also provided a large-scale test of the extent of regional divergence in barcode sequences, indicating that geographical differentiation in the Lepidoptera of eastern North America is small, even when comparisons involve populations as much as 2800 km apart. The present results affirm that a highly effective system for the identification of Lepidoptera in this region can be built with few records per species because of the limited intra-specific variation. As most terrestrial and marine taxa are likely to possess a similar pattern of population structure, an effective DNA-based identification system can be developed with modest effort.

  7. Increasing global participation in genetics research through DNA barcoding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adamowicz, Sarah J; Steinke, Dirk

    2015-12-01

    DNA barcoding--the sequencing of short, standardized DNA regions for specimen identification and species discovery--has promised to facilitate rapid access to biodiversity knowledge by diverse users. Here, we advance our opinion that increased global participation in genetics research is beneficial, both to scientists and for science, and explore the premise that DNA barcoding can help to democratize participation in genetics research. We examine publication patterns (2003-2014) in the DNA barcoding literature and compare trends with those in the broader, related domain of genomics. While genomics is the older and much larger field, the number of nations contributing to the published literature is similar between disciplines. Meanwhile, DNA barcoding exhibits a higher pace of growth in the number of publications as well as greater evenness among nations in their proportional contribution to total authorships. This exploration revealed DNA barcoding to be a highly international discipline, with growing participation by researchers in especially biodiverse nations. We briefly consider several of the challenges that may hinder further participation in genetics research, including access to training and molecular facilities as well as policy relating to the movement of genetic resources.

  8. СREATING OF BARCODES FOR FACIAL IMAGES BASED ON INTENSITY GRADIENTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. A. Kukharev

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The paper provides analysis of existing approaches to the generating of barcodes and description of the system structure for generating of barcodes from facial images. The method for generating of standard type linear barcodes from facial images is proposed. This method is based on the difference of intensity gradients, which represent images in the form of initial features. Further averaging of these features into a limited number of intervals is performed; the quantization of results into decimal digits from 0 to 9 and table conversion into the standard barcode is done. Testing was conducted on the Face94 database and database of composite faces of different ages. It showed that the proposed method ensures the stability of generated barcodes according to changes of scale, pose and mirroring of facial images, as well as changes of facial expressions and shadows on faces from local lighting. The proposed solutions are computationally low-cost and do not require the use of any specialized image processing software for generating of facial barcodes in real-time systems.

  9. Are mini DNA-barcodes sufficiently informative to resolve species ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    ... between mini-barcode and the full- length DNA barcode was carried out in Microsoft Excel. (http://www.office.microsoft.com). ..... Received 15 June 2013, in final revised form 5 April 2014; accepted 3 June 2014. Unedited version published ...

  10. DNA barcode identification of Podocarpaceae--the second largest conifer family.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little, Damon P; Knopf, Patrick; Schulz, Christian

    2013-01-01

    We have generated matK, rbcL, and nrITS2 DNA barcodes for 320 specimens representing all 18 extant genera of the conifer family Podocarpaceae. The sample includes 145 of the 198 recognized species. Comparative analyses of sequence quality and species discrimination were conducted on the 159 individuals from which all three markers were recovered (representing 15 genera and 97 species). The vast majority of sequences were of high quality (B 30 = 0.596-0.989). Even the lowest quality sequences exceeded the minimum requirements of the BARCODE data standard. In the few instances that low quality sequences were generated, the responsible mechanism could not be discerned. There were no statistically significant differences in the discriminatory power of markers or marker combinations (p = 0.05). The discriminatory power of the barcode markers individually and in combination is low (56.7% of species at maximum). In some instances, species discrimination failed in spite of ostensibly useful variation being present (genotypes were shared among species), but in many cases there was simply an absence of sequence variation. Barcode gaps (maximum intraspecific p-distance > minimum interspecific p-distance) were observed in 50.5% of species when all three markers were considered simultaneously. The presence of a barcode gap was not predictive of discrimination success (p = 0.02) and there was no statistically significant difference in the frequency of barcode gaps among markers (p = 0.05). In addition, there was no correlation between number of individuals sampled per species and the presence of a barcode gap (p = 0.27).

  11. DNA barcode analysis of butterfly species from Pakistan points towards regional endemism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashfaq, Muhammad; Akhtar, Saleem; Khan, Arif M; Adamowicz, Sarah J; Hebert, Paul D N

    2013-09-01

    DNA barcodes were obtained for 81 butterfly species belonging to 52 genera from sites in north-central Pakistan to test the utility of barcoding for their identification and to gain a better understanding of regional barcode variation. These species represent 25% of the butterfly fauna of Pakistan and belong to five families, although the Nymphalidae were dominant, comprising 38% of the total specimens. Barcode analysis showed that maximum conspecific divergence was 1.6%, while there was 1.7-14.3% divergence from the nearest neighbour species. Barcode records for 55 species showed Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD), but only 26 of these cases involved specimens from neighbouring India and Central Asia. Analysis revealed that most species showed little incremental sequence variation when specimens from other regions were considered, but a threefold increase was noted in a few cases. There was a clear gap between maximum intraspecific and minimum nearest neighbour distance for all 81 species. Neighbour-joining cluster analysis showed that members of each species formed a monophyletic cluster with strong bootstrap support. The barcode results revealed two provisional species that could not be clearly linked to known taxa, while 24 other species gained their first coverage. Future work should extend the barcode reference library to include all butterfly species from Pakistan as well as neighbouring countries to gain a better understanding of regional variation in barcode sequences in this topographically and climatically complex region. © 2013 The Authors. Molecular Ecology Resources published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. DNA barcoding in the media: does coverage of cool science reflect its social context?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geary, Janis; Camicioli, Emma; Bubela, Tania

    2016-09-01

    Paul Hebert and colleagues first described DNA barcoding in 2003, which led to international efforts to promote and coordinate its use. Since its inception, DNA barcoding has generated considerable media coverage. We analysed whether this coverage reflected both the scientific and social mandates of international barcoding organizations. We searched newspaper databases to identify 900 English-language articles from 2003 to 2013. Coverage of the science of DNA barcoding was highly positive but lacked context for key topics. Coverage omissions pose challenges for public understanding of the science and applications of DNA barcoding; these included coverage of governance structures and issues related to the sharing of genetic resources across national borders. Our analysis provided insight into how barcoding communication efforts have translated into media coverage; more targeted communication efforts may focus media attention on previously omitted, but important topics. Our analysis is timely as the DNA barcoding community works to establish the International Society for the Barcode of Life.

  13. DNA barcode authentication of saw palmetto herbal dietary supplements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little, Damon P; Jeanson, Marc L

    2013-12-17

    Herbal dietary supplements made from saw palmetto (Serenoa repens; Arecaceae) fruit are commonly consumed to ameliorate benign prostate hyperplasia. A novel DNA mini-barcode assay to accurately identify [specificity = 1.00 (95% confidence interval = 0.74-1.00); sensitivity = 1.00 (95% confidence interval = 0.66-1.00); n = 31] saw palmetto dietary supplements was designed from a DNA barcode reference library created for this purpose. The mini-barcodes were used to estimate the frequency of mislabeled saw palmetto herbal dietary supplements on the market in the United States of America. Of the 37 supplements examined, amplifiable DNA could be extracted from 34 (92%). Mini-barcode analysis of these supplements demonstrated that 29 (85%) contain saw palmetto and that 2 (6%) supplements contain related species that cannot be legally sold as herbal dietary supplements in the United States of America. The identity of 3 (9%) supplements could not be conclusively determined.

  14. DNA barcoding of Mobulid Ray Gill Rakers for Implementing CITES on Elasmobranch in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeng, Yan; Wu, Zhongze; Zhang, Chunguang; Meng, Zhibin; Jiang, Zhigang; Zhang, Jie

    2016-11-23

    The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has been counted on for conserving threatened marine fish since it regulates the commercial international trade of these species. Implementation of the international treaty for Mantas included on CITES Appendix II is challenging due to insufficient information on species identification and markets management. To fill the gap in such aspects, we identified five species of Mobulid rays (Mobula spps. and Manta spp) by using COI and NADH2 mtDNA markers in dried ray gill rakers from Chinese markets, namely, Mobula japonica (representing 54.8% of the sample set), M. tarapacana (14.4%), M. kuhlii (13.3%), M. thurstoni (6.4%), along with Manta birostris (11.2%; CITES Appendix II). The utilization and conservation statuses of these species were discussed. Based on combination of DNA barcodes and key morphological characters, we developed a three-step process for identifying the gill rakers of Mobulid rays which has been adopted by frontline enforcement in China. We hope that our work can serve as a foundation and basis to reinforce objectives of international treaties, regulation of consumer-driven markets, regional cooperation, and national fishery management on endangered elasmobranchs in China as well as related countries.

  15. Determining Lineage Pathways from Cellular Barcoding Experiments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leïla Perié

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Cellular barcoding and other single-cell lineage-tracing strategies form experimental methodologies for analysis of in vivo cell fate that have been instrumental in several significant recent discoveries. Due to the highly nonlinear nature of proliferation and differentiation, interrogation of the resulting data for evaluation of potential lineage pathways requires a new quantitative framework complete with appropriate statistical tests. Here, we develop such a framework, illustrating its utility by analyzing data from barcoded multipotent cells of the blood system. This application demonstrates that the data require additional paths beyond those found in the classical model, which leads us to propose that hematopoietic differentiation follows a loss of potential mechanism and to suggest further experiments to test this deduction. Our quantitative framework can evaluate the compatibility of lineage trees with barcoded data from any proliferating and differentiating cell system.

  16. Motor racing, tobacco company sponsorship, barcodes and alibi marketing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grant-Braham, Bruce; Britton, John

    2012-11-01

    Sponsorship of Formula One (F1) motor racing, which has been used as an indirect medium of tobacco advertising for several decades, was prohibited by the 2005 European Union Tobacco Advertising Directive. Most F1 tobacco sponsorship of motor racing in the EU has since ceased, with the exception of the Scuderia Ferrari team, which continues to be funded by Philip Morris. In 2007, the Marlboro logo on Ferrari cars and other race regalia was replaced by an evolving 'barcode' design, which Ferrari later claimed was part of the livery of the car, and not a Marlboro advertisement. To determine whether the 'barcode' graphics used by Ferrari represent 'alibi' Marlboro advertising. Academic and grey literature, and online tobacco industry document archives, were searched using terms relevant to tobacco marketing and motorsport. Tobacco sponsorship of F1 motor racing began in 1968, and Philip Morris has sponsored F1 teams since 1972. Phillip Morris first used a 'barcode' design, comprising red vertical parallel lines below the word Marlboro on the British Racing Motors F1 car in 1972. Vertical or horizontal 'barcode' designs have been used in this way, latterly without the word Marlboro, ever since. The modern 'barcode' logos occupied the same position on cars and drivers' clothing as conventional Marlboro logos in the past. The shared use of red colour by Marlboro and Ferrari is also recognised by Philip Morris as a means of promoting brand association between Marlboro and Ferrari. The Ferrari 'barcode' designs are alibi Marlboro logos and hence constitute advertising prohibited by the 2005 EU Tobacco Advertising Directive.

  17. Automation and workflow considerations for embedding Digimarc Barcodes at scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez, Tony; Haaga, Don; Calhoon, Sean

    2015-03-01

    The Digimarc® Barcode is a digital watermark applied to packages and variable data labels that carries GS1 standard GTIN-14 data traditionally carried by a 1-D barcode. The Digimarc Barcode can be read with smartphones and imaging-based barcode readers commonly used in grocery and retail environments. Using smartphones, consumers can engage with products and retailers can materially increase the speed of check-out, increasing store margins and providing a better experience for shoppers. Internal testing has shown an average of 53% increase in scanning throughput, enabling 100's of millions of dollars in cost savings [1] for retailers when deployed at scale. To get to scale, the process of embedding a digital watermark must be automated and integrated within existing workflows. Creating the tools and processes to do so represents a new challenge for the watermarking community. This paper presents a description and an analysis of the workflow implemented by Digimarc to deploy the Digimarc Barcode at scale. An overview of the tools created and lessons learned during the introduction of technology to the market are provided.

  18. DNA barcoding of shark meats identify species composition and CITES-listed species from the markets in Taiwan.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shang-Yin Vanson Liu

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: An increasing awareness of the vulnerability of sharks to exploitation by shark finning has contributed to a growing concern about an unsustainable shark fishery. Taiwan's fleet has the 4th largest shark catch in the world, accounting for almost 6% of the global figures. Revealing the diversity of sharks consumed by Taiwanese is important in designing conservation plans. However, fins make up less than 5% of the total body weight of a shark, and their bodies are sold as filets in the market, making it difficult or impossible to identify species using morphological traits. METHODS: In the present study, we adopted a DNA barcoding technique using a 391-bp fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI gene to examine the diversity of shark filets and fins collected from markets and restaurants island-wide in Taiwan. RESULTS: Amongst the 548 tissue samples collected and sequenced, 20 major clusters were apparent by phylogenetic analyses, each of them containing individuals belonging to the same species (most with more than 95% bootstrap values, corresponding to 20 species of sharks. Additionally, Alopias pelagicus, Carcharhinus falciformis, Isurus oxyrinchus, and Prionace glauca consisted of 80% of the samples we collected, indicating that these species might be heavily consumed in Taiwan. Approximately 5% of the tissue samples used in this study were identified as species listed in CITES Appendix II, including two species of Sphyrna, C. longimanus and Carcharodon carcharias. CONCLUSION: DNA barcoding provides an alternative method for understanding shark species composition when species-specific data is unavailable. Considering the global population decline, stock assessments of Appendix II species and highly consumed species are needed to accomplish the ultimate goal of shark conservation.

  19. Contribution towards the development of a DNA barcode reference ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    DNA barcoding is a widely used molecular approach for species cataloging for unambiguous identification and conservation. In the present study, DNA barcoding of some West African mammals were performed with six new mitochondrial CO1 sequences for Civettictis civetta, Tadarida nigeriae, Orycteropus afer, ...

  20. A laboratory information management system for DNA barcoding workflows

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vu, D.; Eberhardt, U.; Szöke, S.; Groenewald, M.; Robert, V.

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents a laboratory information management system for DNA sequences (LIMS) created and based on the needs of a DNA barcoding project at the CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre (Utrecht, the Netherlands). DNA barcoding is a global initiative for species identification through simple DNA

  1. Frequent sgRNA-barcode recombination in single-cell perturbation assays.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shiqi Xie

    Full Text Available Simultaneously detecting CRISPR-based perturbations and induced transcriptional changes in the same cell is a powerful approach to unraveling genome function. Several lentiviral approaches have been developed, some of which rely on the detection of distally located genetic barcodes as an indirect proxy of sgRNA identity. Since barcodes are often several kilobases from their corresponding sgRNAs, viral recombination-mediated swapping of barcodes and sgRNAs is feasible. Using a self-circularization-based sgRNA-barcode library preparation protocol, we estimate the recombination rate to be ~50% and we trace this phenomenon to the pooled viral packaging step. Recombination is random, and decreases the signal-to-noise ratio of the assay. Our results suggest that alternative approaches can increase the throughput and sensitivity of single-cell perturbation assays.

  2. Graded core/shell semiconductor nanorods and nanorod barcodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alivisatos, A. Paul; Scher, Erik C.; Manna, Liberato

    2010-12-14

    Graded core/shell semiconductor nanorods and shaped nanorods are disclosed comprising Group II-VI, Group III-V and Group IV semiconductors and methods of making the same. Also disclosed are nanorod barcodes using core/shell nanorods where the core is a semiconductor or metal material, and with or without a shell. Methods of labeling analytes using the nanorod barcodes are also disclosed.

  3. Currency verification by a 2D infrared barcode

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schirripa Spagnolo, Giuseppe; Cozzella, Lorenzo; Simonetti, Carla

    2010-01-01

    Nowadays all the National Central Banks are continuously studying innovative anti-counterfeiting systems for banknotes. In this note, an innovative solution is proposed, which combines the potentiality of a hylemetric approach (methodology conceptually similar to biometry), based on notes' intrinsic characteristics, with a well-known and consolidated 2D barcode identification system. In particular, in this note we propose to extract from the banknotes a univocal binary control sequence (template) and insert an encrypted version of it in a barcode printed on the same banknote. For a more acceptable look and feel of a banknote, the superposed barcode can be stamped using IR ink that is visible to near-IR image sensors. This makes the banknote verification simpler. (technical design note)

  4. Real-Time Barcode Detection and Classification Using Deep Learning

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Daniel Kold; Nasrollahi, Kamal; Rasmussen, Christoffer Bøgelund

    2017-01-01

    Barcodes, in their different forms, can be found on almost any packages available in the market. Detecting and then decoding of barcodes have therefore great applications. We describe how to adapt the state-of-the- art deep learning-based detector of You Only Look Once (YOLO) for the purpose...

  5. Barcoding and border biosecurity: identifying cyprinid fishes in the aquarium trade.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rupert A Collins

    Full Text Available Poorly regulated international trade in ornamental fishes poses risks to both biodiversity and economic activity via invasive alien species and exotic pathogens. Border security officials need robust tools to confirm identifications, often requiring hard-to-obtain taxonomic literature and expertise. DNA barcoding offers a potentially attractive tool for quarantine inspection, but has yet to be scrutinised for aquarium fishes. Here, we present a barcoding approach for ornamental cyprinid fishes by: (1 expanding current barcode reference libraries; (2 assessing barcode congruence with morphological identifications under numerous scenarios (e.g. inclusion of GenBank data, presence of singleton species, choice of analytical method; and (3 providing supplementary information to identify difficult species.We sampled 172 ornamental cyprinid fish species from the international trade, and provide data for 91 species currently unrepresented in reference libraries (GenBank/Bold. DNA barcodes were found to be highly congruent with our morphological assignments, achieving success rates of 90-99%, depending on the method used (neighbour-joining monophyly, bootstrap, nearest neighbour, GMYC, percent threshold. Inclusion of data from GenBank (additional 157 spp. resulted in a more comprehensive library, but at a cost to success rate due to the increased number of singleton species. In addition to DNA barcodes, our study also provides supporting data in the form of specimen images, morphological characters, taxonomic bibliography, preserved vouchers, and nuclear rhodopsin sequences. Using this nuclear rhodopsin data we also uncovered evidence of interspecific hybridisation, and highlighted unrecognised diversity within popular aquarium species, including the endangered Indian barb Puntius denisonii.We demonstrate that DNA barcoding provides a highly effective biosecurity tool for rapidly identifying ornamental fishes. In cases where DNA barcodes are unable to

  6. DNA Barcoding and PBL in an Australian Postsecondary College

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cross, Joseph; Garard, Helen; Currie, Tina

    2018-01-01

    DNA barcoding is increasingly being introduced into biological science educational curricula worldwide. The technique has a number of features that make it ideal for science curricula and particularly for Project-Based Learning (PBL). This report outlines the development of a DNA barcoding project in an Australian TAFE college, which also combined…

  7. One fungus, which genes? Development and assessment of universal primers for potential secondary fungal DNA barcodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stielow, J B; Lévesque, C A; Seifert, K A; Meyer, W; Iriny, L; Smits, D; Renfurm, R; Verkley, G J M; Groenewald, M; Chaduli, D; Lomascolo, A; Welti, S; Lesage-Meessen, L; Favel, A; Al-Hatmi, A M S; Damm, U; Yilmaz, N; Houbraken, J; Lombard, L; Quaedvlieg, W; Binder, M; Vaas, L A I; Vu, D; Yurkov, A; Begerow, D; Roehl, O; Guerreiro, M; Fonseca, A; Samerpitak, K; van Diepeningen, A D; Dolatabadi, S; Moreno, L F; Casaregola, S; Mallet, S; Jacques, N; Roscini, L; Egidi, E; Bizet, C; Garcia-Hermoso, D; Martín, M P; Deng, S; Groenewald, J Z; Boekhout, T; de Beer, Z W; Barnes, I; Duong, T A; Wingfield, M J; de Hoog, G S; Crous, P W; Lewis, C T; Hambleton, S; Moussa, T A A; Al-Zahrani, H S; Almaghrabi, O A; Louis-Seize, G; Assabgui, R; McCormick, W; Omer, G; Dukik, K; Cardinali, G; Eberhardt, U; de Vries, M; Robert, V

    2015-12-01

    The aim of this study was to assess potential candidate gene regions and corresponding universal primer pairs as secondary DNA barcodes for the fungal kingdom, additional to ITS rDNA as primary barcode. Amplification efficiencies of 14 (partially) universal primer pairs targeting eight genetic markers were tested across > 1 500 species (1 931 strains or specimens) and the outcomes of almost twenty thousand (19 577) polymerase chain reactions were evaluated. We tested several well-known primer pairs that amplify: i) sections of the nuclear ribosomal RNA gene large subunit (D1-D2 domains of 26/28S); ii) the complete internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1/2); iii) partial β -tubulin II (TUB2); iv) γ-actin (ACT); v) translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1α); and vi) the second largest subunit of RNA-polymerase II (partial RPB2, section 5-6). Their PCR efficiencies were compared with novel candidate primers corresponding to: i) the fungal-specific translation elongation factor 3 (TEF3); ii) a small ribosomal protein necessary for t-RNA docking; iii) the 60S L10 (L1) RP; iv) DNA topoisomerase I (TOPI); v) phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK); vi) hypothetical protein LNS2; and vii) alternative sections of TEF1α. Results showed that several gene sections are accessible to universal primers (or primers universal for phyla) yielding a single PCR-product. Barcode gap and multi-dimensional scaling analyses revealed that some of the tested candidate markers have universal properties providing adequate infra- and inter-specific variation that make them attractive barcodes for species identification. Among these gene sections, a novel high fidelity primer pair for TEF1α, already widely used as a phylogenetic marker in mycology, has potential as a supplementary DNA barcode with superior resolution to ITS. Both TOPI and PGK show promise for the Ascomycota, while TOPI and LNS2 are attractive for the Pucciniomycotina, for which universal primers for ribosomal subunits often fail.

  8. A Mobile Phone Application Enabling Visually Impaired Users to Find and Read Product Barcodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tekin, Ender; Coughlan, James M

    2010-07-01

    While there are many barcode readers available for identifying products in a supermarket or at home on mobile phones (e.g., Red Laser iPhone app), such readers are inaccessible to blind or visually impaired persons because of their reliance on visual feedback from the user to center the barcode in the camera's field of view. We describe a mobile phone application that guides a visually impaired user to the barcode on a package in real-time using the phone's built-in video camera. Once the barcode is located by the system, the user is prompted with audio signals to bring the camera closer to the barcode until it can be resolved by the camera, which is then decoded and the corresponding product information read aloud using text-to-speech. Experiments with a blind volunteer demonstrate proof of concept of our system, which allowed the volunteer to locate barcodes which were then translated to product information that was announced to the user. We successfully tested a series of common products, as well as user-generated barcodes labeling household items that may not come with barcodes.

  9. A multiplex PCR mini-barcode assay to identify processed shark products in the global trade.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diego Cardeñosa

    Full Text Available Protecting sharks from overexploitation has become global priority after widespread population declines have occurred. Tracking catches and trade on a species-specific basis has proven challenging, in part due to difficulties in identifying processed shark products such as fins, meat, and liver oil. This has hindered efforts to implement regulations aimed at promoting sustainable use of commercially important species and protection of imperiled species. Genetic approaches to identify shark products exist but are typically based on sequencing or amplifying large DNA regions and may fail to work on heavily processed products in which DNA is degraded. Here, we describe a novel multiplex PCR mini-barcode assay based on two short fragments of the cytochrome oxidase I (COI gene. This assay can identify to species all sharks currently listed on the Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES and most shark species present in the international trade. It achieves species diagnosis based on a single PCR and one to two downstream DNA sequencing reactions. The assay is capable of identifying highly processed shark products including fins, cooked shark fin soup, and skin-care products containing liver oil. This is a straightforward and reliable identification method for data collection and enforcement of regulations implemented for certain species at all governance levels.

  10. Detection of Avian Influenza Virus by Fluorescent DNA Barcode-based Immunoassay with Sensitivity Comparable to PCR

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cao, Cuong; Dhumpa, Raghuram; Bang, Dang Duong

    2010-01-01

    involves the sandwiching of the target AIV between magnetic immunoprobes and barcode-carrying immunoprobes. Because each barcode-carrying immunoprobe is functionalized with a multitude of fluorophore-DNA barcode strands, many DNA barcodes are released for each positive binding event resulting......In this paper, a coupling of fluorophore-DNA barcode and bead-based immunoassay for detecting avian influenza virus (AIV) with PCR-like sensitivity is reported. The assay is based on the use of sandwich immunoassay and fluorophore-tagged oligonucleotides as representative barcodes. The detection...

  11. Photocleavable DNA barcode-antibody conjugates allow sensitive and multiplexed protein analysis in single cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agasti, Sarit S; Liong, Monty; Peterson, Vanessa M; Lee, Hakho; Weissleder, Ralph

    2012-11-14

    DNA barcoding is an attractive technology, as it allows sensitive and multiplexed target analysis. However, DNA barcoding of cellular proteins remains challenging, primarily because barcode amplification and readout techniques are often incompatible with the cellular microenvironment. Here we describe the development and validation of a photocleavable DNA barcode-antibody conjugate method for rapid, quantitative, and multiplexed detection of proteins in single live cells. Following target binding, this method allows DNA barcodes to be photoreleased in solution, enabling easy isolation, amplification, and readout. As a proof of principle, we demonstrate sensitive and multiplexed detection of protein biomarkers in a variety of cancer cells.

  12. Barcoding Atlantic Canada's mesopelagic and upper bathypelagic marine fishes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ellen L Kenchington

    Full Text Available DNA barcode sequences were developed from 557 mesopelagic and upper bathypelagic teleost specimens collected in waters off Atlantic Canada. Confident morphological identifications were available for 366 specimens, of 118 species and 93 genera, which yielded 328 haplotypes. Five of the species were novel to the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD. Most of the 118 species conformed to expectations of monophyly and the presence of a "barcode gap", though some known weaknesses in existing taxonomy were confirmed and a deficiency in published keys was revealed. Of the specimens for which no firm morphological identification was available, 156 were successfully identified to species, and a further 11 to genus, using their barcode sequences and a combination of distance- and character-based methods. The remaining 24 specimens were from species for which no reference barcode is yet available or else ones confused by apparent misidentification of publicly available sequences in BOLD. Addition of the new sequences to those previously in BOLD contributed support to recent taxonomic revisions of Chiasmodon and Poromitra, while it also revealed 18 cases of potential cryptic speciation. Most of the latter appear to result from genetic divergence among populations in different ocean basins, while the general lack of strong horizontal environmental gradients within the deep sea has allowed morphology to be conserved. Other examples of divergence appear to distinguish individuals living under the sub-tropical gyre of the North Atlantic from those under that ocean's sub-polar gyre. In contrast, the available sequences for two myctophid species, Benthosema glaciale and Notoscopelus elongatus, showed genetic structuring on finer geographic scales. The observed structure was not consistent with recent suggestions that "resident" populations of myctophids can maintain allopatry despite the mixing of ocean waters. Rather, it indicates that the very rapid speciation

  13. Québécois and Beninese researchers collaborate in the fight ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    2010-10-12

    Oct 12, 2010 ... Québécois and Beninese researchers collaborate in the fight against AIDS ... disabled" — vulnerable groups less able to make the right choices ... Less is more: Improving yields for Sahelian women with tiny dozes of fertilizer.

  14. Application of DNA barcodes in wildlife conservation in Tropical East Asia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, John-James; Sing, Kong-Wah; Lee, Ping-Shin; Wee, Alison K S

    2016-10-01

    Over the past 50 years, Tropical East Asia has lost more biodiversity than any tropical region. Tropical East Asia is a megadiverse region with an acute taxonomic impediment. DNA barcodes are short standardized DNA sequences used for taxonomic purposes and have the potential to lessen the challenges of biodiversity inventory and assessments in regions where they are most needed. We reviewed DNA barcoding efforts in Tropical East Asia relative to other tropical regions. We suggest DNA barcodes (or metabarcodes from next-generation sequencers) may be especially useful for characterizing and connecting species-level biodiversity units in inventories encompassing taxa lacking formal description (particularly arthropods) and in large-scale, minimal-impact approaches to vertebrate monitoring and population assessments through secondary sources of DNA (invertebrate derived DNA and environmental DNA). We suggest interest and capacity for DNA barcoding are slowly growing in Tropical East Asia, particularly among the younger generation of researchers who can connect with the barcoding analogy and understand the need for new approaches to the conservation challenges being faced. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

  15. Identification of Fabaceae plants using the DNA barcode matK.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Ting; Sun, Zhiying; Yao, Hui; Song, Jingyuan; Zhu, Yingjie; Ma, Xinye; Chen, Shilin

    2011-01-01

    In this study, we tested the applicability of the core DNA barcode MATK for identifying species within the Fabaceae family. Based on an evaluation of genetic variation, DNA barcoding gaps, and species discrimination power, MATK is a useful barcode for Fabaceae species. Of 1355 plant samples collected from 1079 species belonging to 409 diverse genera, MATK precisely identified approximately 80 % and 96 % of them at the species and genus levels, respectively. Therefore, our research indicates that the MATK region is a valuable marker for plant species within Fabaceae. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  16. Plant DNA barcodes and assessment of phylogenetic community structure of a tropical mixed dipterocarp forest in Brunei Darussalam (Borneo)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu Salim, Kamariah; Chase, Mark W.; Dexter, Kyle G.; Pennington, R. Toby; Tan, Sylvester; Kaye, Maria Ellen; Samuel, Rosabelle

    2017-01-01

    DNA barcoding is a fast and reliable tool to assess and monitor biodiversity and, via community phylogenetics, to investigate ecological and evolutionary processes that may be responsible for the community structure of forests. In this study, DNA barcodes for the two widely used plastid coding regions rbcL and matK are used to contribute to identification of morphologically undetermined individuals, as well as to investigate phylogenetic structure of tree communities in 70 subplots (10 × 10m) of a 25-ha forest-dynamics plot in Brunei (Borneo, Southeast Asia). The combined matrix (rbcL + matK) comprised 555 haplotypes (from ≥154 genera, 68 families and 25 orders sensu APG, Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, 2016), making a substantial contribution to tree barcode sequences from Southeast Asia. Barcode sequences were used to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships using maximum likelihood, both with and without constraining the topology of taxonomic orders to match that proposed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. A third phylogenetic tree was reconstructed using the program Phylomatic to investigate the influence of phylogenetic resolution on results. Detection of non-random patterns of community assembly was determined by net relatedness index (NRI) and nearest taxon index (NTI). In most cases, community assembly was either random or phylogenetically clustered, which likely indicates the importance to community structure of habitat filtering based on phylogenetically correlated traits in determining community structure. Different phylogenetic trees gave similar overall results, but the Phylomatic tree produced greater variation across plots for NRI and NTI values, presumably due to noise introduced by using an unresolved phylogenetic tree. Our results suggest that using a DNA barcode tree has benefits over the traditionally used Phylomatic approach by increasing precision and accuracy and allowing the incorporation of taxonomically unidentified individuals into analyses

  17. Plant DNA barcodes and assessment of phylogenetic community structure of a tropical mixed dipterocarp forest in Brunei Darussalam (Borneo.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacqueline Heckenhauer

    Full Text Available DNA barcoding is a fast and reliable tool to assess and monitor biodiversity and, via community phylogenetics, to investigate ecological and evolutionary processes that may be responsible for the community structure of forests. In this study, DNA barcodes for the two widely used plastid coding regions rbcL and matK are used to contribute to identification of morphologically undetermined individuals, as well as to investigate phylogenetic structure of tree communities in 70 subplots (10 × 10m of a 25-ha forest-dynamics plot in Brunei (Borneo, Southeast Asia. The combined matrix (rbcL + matK comprised 555 haplotypes (from ≥154 genera, 68 families and 25 orders sensu APG, Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, 2016, making a substantial contribution to tree barcode sequences from Southeast Asia. Barcode sequences were used to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships using maximum likelihood, both with and without constraining the topology of taxonomic orders to match that proposed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. A third phylogenetic tree was reconstructed using the program Phylomatic to investigate the influence of phylogenetic resolution on results. Detection of non-random patterns of community assembly was determined by net relatedness index (NRI and nearest taxon index (NTI. In most cases, community assembly was either random or phylogenetically clustered, which likely indicates the importance to community structure of habitat filtering based on phylogenetically correlated traits in determining community structure. Different phylogenetic trees gave similar overall results, but the Phylomatic tree produced greater variation across plots for NRI and NTI values, presumably due to noise introduced by using an unresolved phylogenetic tree. Our results suggest that using a DNA barcode tree has benefits over the traditionally used Phylomatic approach by increasing precision and accuracy and allowing the incorporation of taxonomically unidentified individuals

  18. An improved PSO algorithm for generating protective SNP barcodes in breast cancer.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li-Yeh Chuang

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Possible single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP interactions in breast cancer are usually not investigated in genome-wide association studies. Previously, we proposed a particle swarm optimization (PSO method to compute these kinds of SNP interactions. However, this PSO does not guarantee to find the best result in every implement, especially when high-dimensional data is investigated for SNP-SNP interactions. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study, we propose IPSO algorithm to improve the reliability of PSO for the identification of the best protective SNP barcodes (SNP combinations and genotypes with maximum difference between cases and controls associated with breast cancer. SNP barcodes containing different numbers of SNPs were computed. The top five SNP barcode results are retained for computing the next SNP barcode with a one-SNP-increase for each processing step. Based on the simulated data for 23 SNPs of six steroid hormone metabolisms and signalling-related genes, the performance of our proposed IPSO algorithm is evaluated. Among 23 SNPs, 13 SNPs displayed significant odds ratio (OR values (1.268 to 0.848; p<0.05 for breast cancer. Based on IPSO algorithm, the jointed effect in terms of SNP barcodes with two to seven SNPs show significantly decreasing OR values (0.84 to 0.57; p<0.05 to 0.001. Using PSO algorithm, two to four SNPs show significantly decreasing OR values (0.84 to 0.77; p<0.05 to 0.001. Based on the results of 20 simulations, medians of the maximum differences for each SNP barcode generated by IPSO are higher than by PSO. The interquartile ranges of the boxplot, as well as the upper and lower hinges for each n-SNP barcode (n = 3∼10 are more narrow in IPSO than in PSO, suggesting that IPSO is highly reliable for SNP barcode identification. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Overall, the proposed IPSO algorithm is robust to provide exact identification of the best protective SNP barcodes for breast cancer.

  19. Efficiency of ITS Sequences for DNA Barcoding in Passiflora (Passifloraceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giovanna Câmara Giudicelli

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available DNA barcoding is a technique for discriminating and identifying species using short, variable, and standardized DNA regions. Here, we tested for the first time the performance of plastid and nuclear regions as DNA barcodes in Passiflora. This genus is a largely variable, with more than 900 species of high ecological, commercial, and ornamental importance. We analyzed 1034 accessions of 222 species representing the four subgenera of Passiflora and evaluated the effectiveness of five plastid regions and three nuclear datasets currently employed as DNA barcodes in plants using barcoding gap, applied similarity-, and tree-based methods. The plastid regions were able to identify less than 45% of species, whereas the nuclear datasets were efficient for more than 50% using “best match” and “best close match” methods of TaxonDNA software. All subgenera presented higher interspecific pairwise distances and did not fully overlap with the intraspecific distance, and similarity-based methods showed better results than tree-based methods. The nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1 region presented a higher discrimination power than the other datasets and also showed other desirable characteristics as a DNA barcode for this genus. Therefore, we suggest that this region should be used as a starting point to identify Passiflora species.

  20. Integrating bar-code devices with computerized MC and A systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, L.K.; Boor, M.G.; Hurford, J.M.

    1998-01-01

    Over the past seven years, Los Alamos National Laboratory developed several generations of computerized nuclear materials control and accountability (MC and A) systems for tracking and reporting the storage, movement, and management of nuclear materials at domestic and international facilities. During the same period, Oak Ridge National Laboratory was involved with automated data acquisition (ADA) equipment, including installation of numerous bar-code scanning stations at various facilities to serve as input devices to computerized systems. Bar-code readers, as well as other ADA devices, reduce input errors, provide faster input, and allow the capture of data in remote areas where workstations do not exist. Los Alamos National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory teamed together to implement the integration of bar-code hardware technology with computerized MC and A systems. With the expertise of both sites, the two technologies were successfully merged with little difficulty. Bar-code input is now available with several functions of the MC and A systems: material movements within material balance areas (MBAs), material movements between MBAs, and physical inventory verification. This paper describes the various components required for the integration of these MC and A systems with the installed bar-code reader devices and the future directions for these technologies

  1. Information-theoretic signatures of biodiversity in the barcoding gene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbosa, Valmir C

    2018-08-14

    Analyzing the information content of DNA, though holding the promise to help quantify how the processes of evolution have led to information gain throughout the ages, has remained an elusive goal. Paradoxically, one of the main reasons for this has been precisely the great diversity of life on the planet: if on the one hand this diversity is a rich source of data for information-content analysis, on the other hand there is so much variation as to make the task unmanageable. During the past decade or so, however, succinct fragments of the COI mitochondrial gene, which is present in all animal phyla and in a few others, have been shown to be useful for species identification through DNA barcoding. A few million such fragments are now publicly available through the BOLD systems initiative, thus providing an unprecedented opportunity for relatively comprehensive information-theoretic analyses of DNA to be attempted. Here we show how a generalized form of total correlation can yield distinctive information-theoretic descriptors of the phyla represented in those fragments. In order to illustrate the potential of this analysis to provide new insight into the evolution of species, we performed principal component analysis on standardized versions of the said descriptors for 23 phyla. Surprisingly, we found that, though based solely on the species represented in the data, the first principal component correlates strongly with the natural logarithm of the number of all known living species for those phyla. The new descriptors thus constitute clear information-theoretic signatures of the processes whereby evolution has given rise to current biodiversity, which suggests their potential usefulness in further related studies. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Genetic distance of Malaysian mousedeer based on mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and D-loop region sequences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakar, Mohamad-Azam Akmal Abu; Rovie-Ryan, Jeffrine Japning; Ampeng, Ahmad; Yaakop, Salmah; Nor, Shukor Md; Md-Zain, Badrul Munir

    2018-04-01

    Mousedeer is one of the primitive mammals that can be found mainly in Southeast-Asia region. There are two species of mousedeer in Malaysia which are Tragulus kanchil and Tragulus napu. Both species can be distinguish by size, coat coloration, and throat pattern but clear diagnosis still cannot be found. The objective of the study is to show the genetic distance relationship between T. kanchil and T. napu and their population based on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and D-loop region. There are 42 sample of mousedeer were used in this study collected by PERHILITAN from different locality. Another 29 D-loop sequence were retrieved from Genbank for comparative analysis. All sample were amplified using universal primer and species-specific primer for COI and D-loop genes via PCR process. The amplified sequences were analyzed to determine genetic distance of T. kanchil and T. napu. From the analysis, the average genetic distance between T. kanchil and T. napu based on locus COI and D-loop were 0.145 and 0.128 respectively. The genetic distance between populations of T. kanchil based on locus COI was between 0.003-0.013. For locus D-loop, genetic distance analysis showed distance in relationship between west-coast populations to east-coast population of T. kanchil. COI and D-loop mtDNA region provided a clear picture on the relationship within the mousedeer species. Last but not least, conservation effort toward protecting this species can be done by study the molecular genetics and prevent the extinction of this species.

  3. The Hemiptera (Insecta) of Canada: Constructing a Reference Library of DNA Barcodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gwiazdowski, Rodger A.; Foottit, Robert G.; Maw, H. Eric L.; Hebert, Paul D. N.

    2015-01-01

    DNA barcode reference libraries linked to voucher specimens create new opportunities for high-throughput identification and taxonomic re-evaluations. This study provides a DNA barcode library for about 45% of the recognized species of Canadian Hemiptera, and the publically available R workflow used for its generation. The current library is based on the analysis of 20,851 specimens including 1849 species belonging to 628 genera and 64 families. These individuals were assigned to 1867 Barcode Index Numbers (BINs), sequence clusters that often coincide with species recognized through prior taxonomy. Museum collections were a key source for identified specimens, but we also employed high-throughput collection methods that generated large numbers of unidentified specimens. Many of these specimens represented novel BINs that were subsequently identified by taxonomists, adding barcode coverage for additional species. Our analyses based on both approaches includes 94 species not listed in the most recent Canadian checklist, representing a potential 3% increase in the fauna. We discuss the development of our workflow in the context of prior DNA barcode library construction projects, emphasizing the importance of delineating a set of reference specimens to aid investigations in cases of nomenclatural and DNA barcode discordance. The identification for each specimen in the reference set can be annotated on the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD), allowing experts to highlight questionable identifications; annotations can be added by any registered user of BOLD, and instructions for this are provided. PMID:25923328

  4. Topological mapping and navigation in indoor environment with invisible barcode

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huh, Jin Wook; Chung, Woong Sik; Chung, Wan Kyun

    2006-01-01

    This paper addresses the localization and navigation problem using invisible two dimensional barcodes on the floor. Compared with other methods using natural/artificial landmark, the proposed localization method has great advantages in cost and appearance, since the location of the robot is perfectly known using the barcode information after the mapping is finished. We also propose a navigation algorithm which uses the topological structure. For the topological information, we define nodes and edges which are suitable for indoor navigation, especially for large area having multiple rooms, many walls and many static obstacles. The proposed algorithm also has an advantage that errors occurred in each node are mutually independent and can be compensated exactly after some navigation using barcode. Simulation and experimental results were performed to verify the algorithm in the barcode environment, and the result showed an excellent performance. After mapping, it is also possible to solve the kidnapped case and generate paths using topological information

  5. DNA barcodes for bio-surveillance: regulated and economically important arthropod plant pests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashfaq, Muhammad; Hebert, Paul D N

    2016-11-01

    Many of the arthropod species that are important pests of agriculture and forestry are impossible to discriminate morphologically throughout all of their life stages. Some cannot be differentiated at any life stage. Over the past decade, DNA barcoding has gained increasing adoption as a tool to both identify known species and to reveal cryptic taxa. Although there has not been a focused effort to develop a barcode library for them, reference sequences are now available for 77% of the 409 species of arthropods documented on major pest databases. Aside from developing the reference library needed to guide specimen identifications, past barcode studies have revealed that a significant fraction of arthropod pests are a complex of allied taxa. Because of their importance as pests and disease vectors impacting global agriculture and forestry, DNA barcode results on these arthropods have significant implications for quarantine detection, regulation, and management. The current review discusses these implications in light of the presence of cryptic species in plant pests exposed by DNA barcoding.

  6. Dynamics of the Community of Inquiry (CoI within a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC for In-Service Teachers in Environmental Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maya Kaul

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available One of the greatest ways to transform education systems is to develop community-centered professional supports for in-service teachers. Given the rise of distance learning platforms such as massive open online courses (MOOCs, there is a growing potential to deliver such supports at scale. The community of inquiry (CoI framework models the asynchronous, text-based communication that defines educational experiences within such collaborative learning environments; however, methods of CoI transcript analysis must be improved. This paper uses the University of Helsinki’s 2016 MOOC, Sustainable Energy in Education, as a case study on how the CoI framework can be used to characterize the educational experience of in-service teachers in distance learning environments. Using the CoI coding protocol, this paper employs a transcript analysis of the discussion forum posts on the MOOC (n = 78, and applies improved measures of reliability in order to understand the capacity of CoI transcript analysis to reliably define online learning experiences. The findings suggest that, while the CoI framework is able to characterize some elements of online learning communities, more work needs to be done to ensure the framework captures the more nuanced elements of such educational experiences, such as the effects of course design and the relative engagement of course participants.

  7. Photocleavable DNA Barcoding Antibodies for Multiplexed Protein Analysis in Single Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ullal, Adeeti V; Weissleder, Ralph

    2015-01-01

    We describe a DNA-barcoded antibody sensing technique for single cell protein analysis in which the barcodes are photocleaved and digitally detected without amplification steps (Ullal et al., Sci Transl Med 6:219, 2014). After photocleaving the unique ~70 mer DNA barcodes we use a fluorescent hybridization technology for detection, similar to what is commonly done for nucleic acid readouts. This protocol offers a simple method for multiplexed protein detection using 100+ antibodies and can be performed on clinical samples as well as single cells.

  8. Fixation, description and DNA barcode of a neotype for Botryllus schlosseri (Pallas, 1766) (Tunicata, Ascidiacea).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brunetti, Riccardo; Manni, Lucia; Mastrototaro, Francesco; Gissi, Carmela; Gasparini, Fabio

    2017-11-22

    Botryllus schlosseri is a widespread colonial ascidian commonly considered cosmopolitan and amply used as model for researches ranging from developmental biology to immunobiology. Recently, molecular data lead to hypothesize that the species named B. schlosseri may consist of more than a single taxon. Indeed, five highly divergent clades, named A-E, have been genetically identified and are referred as cryptic species. In this context, and lacking both a type and a detailed morphological description, we believe that it is necessary, as a taxonomic reference point, to designate a neotype and re-describe the species. Therefore, a sample from the Lagoon of Venice (Adriatic Sea, Italy) was deposited as neotype in the Natural History Museum of Venice (Italy), preserved both in formalin and in 90% ethanol. Here we provide a morphological description of the suggested neotype of B. schlosseri that takes into account several developmental stages (oozooid, zooid of first blastogenic generations, and mature zooid) and is carefully compared with the previous descriptions of samples coming from other European and non-European localities. Finally, we associate our morphological description to a "DNA barcode", consisting in a long fragment of the mitochondrial COI gene. Our description is associated to clade A, although at now we cannot guarantee that this association is univocal.

  9. DNA barcode for genetic traceability of Nile Perch and Nile Tilapia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Avossa, Valeria

    2017-01-01

    For this study, mitochondrial DNA was extracted from 55 fish samples (26 Nile Perch Samples and 29 Nile Tilapia Samples collected from 3 different Ugandan regions of Lake Victoria. In order to optimize the PCR method, we also extracted DNA from two other different fish samples: one from Italy and one from a Viennese market. The COI gene was amplified using universal primers (COI2, COI3, cocktails of 8 and 4 primers respectively). After the amplification step, the amplicons were analysed using gel electrophoresis , in order to establish that the set primers worked well in the samples. The positive results of an agarose gel electrophoresis analysis with the PCR amplicons (amplicons length ~700pb) are shown.

  10. Molecular identification and phylogenetic analysis of important medicinal plant species in genus Paeonia based on rDNA-ITS, matK, and rbcL DNA barcode sequences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, W J; Ji, Y; Choi, G; Kang, Y M; Yang, S; Moon, B C

    2016-08-05

    This study was performed to identify and analyze the phylogenetic relationship among four herbaceous species of the genus Paeonia, P. lactiflora, P. japonica, P. veitchii, and P. suffruticosa, using DNA barcodes. These four species, which are commonly used in traditional medicine as Paeoniae Radix and Moutan Radicis Cortex, are pharmaceutically defined in different ways in the national pharmacopoeias in Korea, Japan, and China. To authenticate the different species used in these medicines, we evaluated rDNA-internal transcribed spacers (ITS), matK and rbcL regions, which provide information capable of effectively distinguishing each species from one another. Seventeen samples were collected from different geographic regions in Korea and China, and DNA barcode regions were amplified using universal primers. Comparative analyses of these DNA barcode sequences revealed species-specific nucleotide sequences capable of discriminating the four Paeonia species. Among the entire sequences of three barcodes, marker nucleotides were identified at three positions in P. lactiflora, eleven in P. japonica, five in P. veitchii, and 25 in P. suffruticosa. Phylogenetic analyses also revealed four distinct clusters showing homogeneous clades with high resolution at the species level. The results demonstrate that the analysis of these three DNA barcode sequences is a reliable method for identifying the four Paeonia species and can be used to authenticate Paeoniae Radix and Moutan Radicis Cortex at the species level. Furthermore, based on the assessment of amplicon sizes, inter/intra-specific distances, marker nucleotides, and phylogenetic analysis, rDNA-ITS was the most suitable DNA barcode for identification of these species.

  11. Use of DNA barcodes to identify flowering plants

    OpenAIRE

    Kress, W. John; Wurdack, Kenneth J.; Zimmer, Elizabeth A.; Weigt, Lee A.; Janzen, Daniel H.

    2005-01-01

    Methods for identifying species by using short orthologous DNA sequences, known as “DNA barcodes,” have been proposed and initiated to facilitate biodiversity studies, identify juveniles, associate sexes, and enhance forensic analyses. The cytochrome c oxidase 1 sequence, which has been found to be widely applicable in animal barcoding, is not appropriate for most species of plants because of a much slower rate of cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene evolution in higher plants than in animals. We ther...

  12. DNA barcoding reveals the mislabeling of fish in a popular tourist destination in Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clisten Fátima Staffen

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The consumption of raw fish has increased considerably in the West, since it is said to be potentially healthier than processed fish (for containing omega 3 and 6, essential amino acids and vitamins. However this potential benefit, as well as the taste, value and even the risk of extinction are not the same for all species of fish, constituting grounds for fraud. Using the principles of the DNA barcode we revealed mislabelling of fish in Japanese restaurants and fishmarkets in Florianópolis, a popular tourist capital in Brazil. We sequenced the COI gene of 65 samples from fisheries and 80 from restaurants and diagnosed 30% of mislabeled samples in fisheries and 26% in restaurants. We discussed that frauds may have occurred for different reasons: to circumvent surveillance on threatened species; to sell fish with sizes smaller than allowed or abundant species as being a much rarer species (law of supply; to induce product consumption using species with better taste. It should be noted that some substitutions are derived from incorrect identification and are not a fraud per se; they are due to confusion of popular names or misunderstanding by the sellers. Therefore, we suggest the implementation of a systematic regulatory program conducted by governmental agencies to reduce mislabelling in order to avoid further damage to the community (in health and financial issues and fish stocks.

  13. A DNA Barcode Library for North American Pyraustinae (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea: Crambidae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Zhaofu; Landry, Jean-François; Hebert, Paul D N

    2016-01-01

    Although members of the crambid subfamily Pyraustinae are frequently important crop pests, their identification is often difficult because many species lack conspicuous diagnostic morphological characters. DNA barcoding employs sequence diversity in a short standardized gene region to facilitate specimen identifications and species discovery. This study provides a DNA barcode reference library for North American pyraustines based upon the analysis of 1589 sequences recovered from 137 nominal species, 87% of the fauna. Data from 125 species were barcode compliant (>500bp, barcode sharing, creating a total of 155 BINs. Two systems for OTU designation, ABGD and BIN, were examined to check the correspondence between current taxonomy and sequence clusters. The BIN system performed better than ABGD in delimiting closely related species, while OTU counts with ABGD were influenced by the value employed for relative gap width. Different species with low or no interspecific divergence may represent cases of unrecognized synonymy, whereas those with high intraspecific divergence require further taxonomic scrutiny as they may involve cryptic diversity. The barcode library developed in this study will also help to advance understanding of relationships among species of Pyraustinae.

  14. Evaluation of scanning 2D barcoded vaccines to improve data accuracy of vaccines administered.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daily, Ashley; Kennedy, Erin D; Fierro, Leslie A; Reed, Jenica Huddleston; Greene, Michael; Williams, Warren W; Evanson, Heather V; Cox, Regina; Koeppl, Patrick; Gerlach, Ken

    2016-11-11

    Accurately recording vaccine lot number, expiration date, and product identifiers, in patient records is an important step in improving supply chain management and patient safety in the event of a recall. These data are being encoded on two-dimensional (2D) barcodes on most vaccine vials and syringes. Using electronic vaccine administration records, we evaluated the accuracy of lot number and expiration date entered using 2D barcode scanning compared to traditional manual or drop-down list entry methods. We analyzed 128,573 electronic records of vaccines administered at 32 facilities. We compared the accuracy of records entered using 2D barcode scanning with those entered using traditional methods using chi-square tests and multilevel logistic regression. When 2D barcodes were scanned, lot number data accuracy was 1.8 percentage points higher (94.3-96.1%, Pmanufacturer, month vaccine was administered, and vaccine type were associated with variation in accuracy for both lot number and expiration date. Two-dimensional barcode scanning shows promise for improving data accuracy of vaccine lot number and expiration date records. Adapting systems to further integrate with 2D barcoding could help increase adoption of 2D barcode scanning technology. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  15. Multiplex single-molecule interaction profiling of DNA-barcoded proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Liangcai; Li, Chao; Aach, John; Hill, David E; Vidal, Marc; Church, George M

    2014-11-27

    In contrast with advances in massively parallel DNA sequencing, high-throughput protein analyses are often limited by ensemble measurements, individual analyte purification and hence compromised quality and cost-effectiveness. Single-molecule protein detection using optical methods is limited by the number of spectrally non-overlapping chromophores. Here we introduce a single-molecular-interaction sequencing (SMI-seq) technology for parallel protein interaction profiling leveraging single-molecule advantages. DNA barcodes are attached to proteins collectively via ribosome display or individually via enzymatic conjugation. Barcoded proteins are assayed en masse in aqueous solution and subsequently immobilized in a polyacrylamide thin film to construct a random single-molecule array, where barcoding DNAs are amplified into in situ polymerase colonies (polonies) and analysed by DNA sequencing. This method allows precise quantification of various proteins with a theoretical maximum array density of over one million polonies per square millimetre. Furthermore, protein interactions can be measured on the basis of the statistics of colocalized polonies arising from barcoding DNAs of interacting proteins. Two demanding applications, G-protein coupled receptor and antibody-binding profiling, are demonstrated. SMI-seq enables 'library versus library' screening in a one-pot assay, simultaneously interrogating molecular binding affinity and specificity.

  16. Bar-code automated waste tracking system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hull, T.E.

    1994-10-01

    The Bar-Code Automated Waste Tracking System was designed to be a site-Specific program with a general purpose application for transportability to other facilities. The system is user-friendly, totally automated, and incorporates the use of a drive-up window that is close to the areas dealing in container preparation, delivery, pickup, and disposal. The system features ''stop-and-go'' operation rather than a long, tedious, error-prone manual entry. The system is designed for automation but allows operators to concentrate on proper handling of waste while maintaining manual entry of data as a backup. A large wall plaque filled with bar-code labels is used to input specific details about any movement of waste

  17. Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS), an ideal DNA barcode for species ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: DNA barcoding is a technique used to identify species based on species-specific differences in short regions of their DNA. It is widely used in species discrimination of medicinal plants and traditional medicines. Materials and Methods: In the present study, four potential DNA barcodes, namely rbcL, matK, ...

  18. Prospects and Problems for Identification of Poisonous Plants in China using DNA Barcodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Lei; Wang, Ying Wei; Guan, Shan Yue; Xie, Li Jing; Long, Xin; Sun, Cheng Ye

    2014-10-01

    Poisonous plants are a deadly threat to public health in China. The traditional clinical diagnosis of the toxic plants is inefficient, fallible, and dependent upon experts. In this study, we tested the performance of DNA barcodes for identification of the most threatening poisonous plants in China. Seventy-four accessions of 27 toxic plant species in 22 genera and 17 families were sampled and three DNA barcodes (matK, rbcL, and ITS) were amplified, sequenced and tested. Three methods, Blast, pairwise global alignment (PWG) distance, and Tree-Building were tested for discrimination power. The primer universality of all the three markers was high. Except in the case of ITS for Hemerocallis minor, the three barcodes were successfully generated from all the selected species. Among the three methods applied, Blast showed the lowest discrimination rate, whereas PWG Distance and Tree-Building methods were equally effective. The ITS barcode showed highest discrimination rates using the PWG Distance and Tree-Building methods. When the barcodes were combined, discrimination rates were increased for the Blast method. DNA barcoding technique provides us a fast tool for clinical identification of poisonous plants in China. We suggest matK, rbcL, ITS used in combination as DNA barcodes for authentication of poisonous plants. Copyright © 2014 The Editorial Board of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences. Published by China CDC. All rights reserved.

  19. A laboratory information management system for DNA barcoding workflows.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vu, Thuy Duong; Eberhardt, Ursula; Szöke, Szániszló; Groenewald, Marizeth; Robert, Vincent

    2012-07-01

    This paper presents a laboratory information management system for DNA sequences (LIMS) created and based on the needs of a DNA barcoding project at the CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre (Utrecht, the Netherlands). DNA barcoding is a global initiative for species identification through simple DNA sequence markers. We aim at generating barcode data for all strains (or specimens) included in the collection (currently ca. 80 k). The LIMS has been developed to better manage large amounts of sequence data and to keep track of the whole experimental procedure. The system has allowed us to classify strains more efficiently as the quality of sequence data has improved, and as a result, up-to-date taxonomic names have been given to strains and more accurate correlation analyses have been carried out.

  20. Using DNA barcoding to track seafood mislabeling in Los Angeles restaurants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willette, Demian A; Simmonds, Sara E; Cheng, Samantha H; Esteves, Sofia; Kane, Tonya L; Nuetzel, Hayley; Pilaud, Nicholas; Rachmawati, Rita; Barber, Paul H

    2017-10-01

    Seafood mislabeling is common in both domestic and international markets. Studies on seafood fraud often report high rates of mislabeling (e.g., >70%), but these studies have been limited to a single sampling year, which means it is difficult to assess the impact of stricter governmental truth-in-labeling regulations. We used DNA barcoding to assess seafood labeling in 26 sushi restaurants in Los Angeles over 4 years. Seafood from 3 high-end grocery stores were also sampled (n = 16) in 2014. We ordered 9 common sushi fish from menus, preserved tissue samples in 95% ethanol, extracted the genomic DNA, amplified and sequenced a portion of the mtDNA COI gene, and identified the resulting sequence to known fish sequences from the National Center for Biotechnology Information nucleotide database. We compared DNA results with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) list of acceptable market names and retail names. We considered sushi-sample labels that were inconsistent with FDA names mislabeled. Sushi restaurants had a consistently high percentage of mislabeling (47%; 151 of 323) from 2012 to 2015, yet mislabeling was not homogenous across species. Halibut, red snapper, yellowfin tuna, and yellowtail had consistently high (15%). All sampled sushi restaurants had at least one case of mislabeling. Mislabeling of sushi-grade fish from high-end grocery stores was also identified in red snapper, yellowfin tuna, and yellowtail, but at a slightly lower frequency (42%) than sushi restaurants. Despite increased regulatory measures and media attention, we found seafood mislabeling continues to be prevalent. © 2017 Society for Conservation Biology.

  1. Quadrulella texcalense sp. nov. from a Mexican desert: An unexpected new environment for hyalospheniid testate amoebae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez-Juárez, Horacio; Serrano-Vázquez, Angélica; Kosakyan, Anush; Mitchell, Edward A D; Rivera Aguilar, Víctor M; Lahr, Daniel J G; Hernández Moreno, Mayra M; Cuellar, Humberto Macías; Eguiarte, Luis E; Lara, Enrique

    2017-10-01

    Quadrulella (Amoebozoa, Arcellinida, Hyalospheniidae) is a genus of testate amoebae with unmistakable morphology, which secretes characteristic square plates to reinforce the test. They are mainly known from fens and freshwater habitats and have never been documented in deserts. We describe a new species, Quadrulella texcalense, from biological soil crusts in the intertropical desert of Tehuacán (state of Puebla, Mexico). Quadrulella texcalense occurred only at altitudes between 2140 and 2221m.a.s.l., together with the bryophyte genera Pseudocrossidium, Weissia, Bryum, Didymodon, Neohyophyla and Aloina. The soil was extremely dry (moisture of 1.97-2.6%), which contrasts sharply with previous reports for the Quadrulella genus. Single cell mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) barcoding of thirteen isolated cells showed an important morphological variability despite having all the same COI barcode sequence. Quadrulella texcalense was placed in a tree containing other Hyalsopheniidae, including a newly barcoded South African species, Q. elegans. Q. texcalense unambiguously branched within genus Quadrulella in a compact clade but with a long branch, suggesting accelerated evolution due to a transition towards a new environment and/or under-sampling. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  2. Project Description: DNA Barcodes of Bird Species in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, USA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Schindel

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, has obtained and released DNA barcodes for 2,808 frozen tissue samples. Of the 1,403 species represented by these samples, 1,147 species have not been barcoded previously. This data release increases the number of bird species with standard barcodes by 91%. These records meet the data standard of the Consortium for the Barcode of Life and they have the reserved keyword BARCODE in GenBank. The data are now available on GenBank and the Barcode of Life Data Systems.

  3. Allosteric conformational barcodes direct signaling in the cell.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nussinov, Ruth; Ma, Buyong; Tsai, Chung-Jung; Csermely, Peter

    2013-09-03

    The cellular network is highly interconnected. Pathways merge and diverge. They proceed through shared proteins and may change directions. How are cellular pathways controlled and their directions decided, coded, and read? These questions become particularly acute when we consider that a small number of pathways, such as signaling pathways that regulate cell fates, cell proliferation, and cell death in development, are extensively exploited. This review focuses on these signaling questions from the structural standpoint and discusses the literature in this light. All co-occurring allosteric events (including posttranslational modifications, pathogen binding, and gain-of-function mutations) collectively tag the protein functional site with a unique barcode. The barcode shape is read by an interacting molecule, which transmits the signal. A conformational barcode provides an intracellular address label, which selectively favors binding to one partner and quenches binding to others, and, in this way, determines the pathway direction, and, eventually, the cell's response and fate. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Exploring the utility of DNA barcoding in species delimitation of Polypedilum (Tripodura) non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Chao; Wang, Qian; Zhang, Ruilei; Sun, Bingjiao; Wang, Xinhua

    2016-02-16

    In this study, we tested the utility of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) as the barcode region to deal with taxonomical problems of Polypedilum (Tripodura) non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae). The 114 DNA barcodes representing 27 morphospecies are divided into 33 well separated clusters based on both Neighbor Joining and Maximum Likelihood methods. DNA barcodes revealed an 82% success rate in matching with morphospecies. The selected DNA barcode data support 37-64 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) based on the methods of Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery (ABGD) and Poisson Tree Process (PTP). Furthermore, a priori species based on consistent phenotypic variations were attested by molecular analysis, and a taxonomical misidentification of barcode sequences from GenBank was found. We could not observe a distinct barcode gap but an overlap ranged from 9-12%. Our results supported DNA barcoding as an ideal method to detect cryptic species, delimit sibling species, and associate different life stages in non-biting midges.

  5. Authenticity analyses of Phyllanthus amarus using barcoding coupled with HRM analysis to control its quality for medicinal plant product.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buddhachat, Kittisak; Osathanunkul, Maslin; Madesis, Panagiotis; Chomdej, Siriwadee; Ongchai, Siriwan

    2015-11-15

    The Phyllanthus genus, a plant used in traditional Thai medicine, has according to several pharmacopeias hepatoprotective properties. Not only is the anatomical morphology of these species relatively similar but they also share the Thai common names Look-Tai-Bai (ลูกใต้ใบ) and Yah-Tai-Bai (หญ้าใต้ใบ), which might cause confusion for laypersons. This study attempted to develop a method for accurate identification of Phyllanthus species, especially Phyllanthus amarus, and to detect contaminants in P. amarus products by using DNA barcoding coupled with high resolution melting (HRM) analysis (bar-HRM). Two plastid loci (rbcL and trnL) were chosen for DNA barcoding to generate a suitable primer for distinguishing Phyllanthus species by HRM analysis. The five species of Phyllanthus were subjected to amplification for testing the specificity and discrimination power of the designed primers derived from rbcL and trnL regions. Sensitivity of the method (DNA barcoding conjugated with HRM) to detect adulterant in P. amarus samples was evaluated. The commercial P. amarus products obtained from a local market were authenticated. The primer pair derived from trnL DNA barcoding (PhylltrnL) had more specificity and power of discrimination for Phyllanthus species than that derived from rbcL DNA barcoding (PhyllrbcL). The result showed that Tm of P. amarus, Phyllanthus urinaria, Phyllanthus debilis, Phyllanthus airy-shawii, and Phyllanthus virgatus was 74.3±0.08, 73.04±0.07, 73.36±0.05, 72.21±0.06, 72.77±0.15°C, respectively. This method proved to be a very sensitive tool that can be used for rapid detection of contamination as low as 1% of other Phyllanthus species in P. amarus admixtures. All commercial products of P. amarus obtained from a local market in Thailand were found to contain pure raw materials of P. amarus without any substitution or contamination. Our results indicated that the use of DNA barcoding coupled with HRM was an

  6. An integrated web medicinal materials DNA database: MMDBD (Medicinal Materials DNA Barcode Database

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    But Paul

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Thousands of plants and animals possess pharmacological properties and there is an increased interest in using these materials for therapy and health maintenance. Efficacies of the application is critically dependent on the use of genuine materials. For time to time, life-threatening poisoning is found because toxic adulterant or substitute is administered. DNA barcoding provides a definitive means of authentication and for conducting molecular systematics studies. Owing to the reduced cost in DNA authentication, the volume of the DNA barcodes produced for medicinal materials is on the rise and necessitates the development of an integrated DNA database. Description We have developed an integrated DNA barcode multimedia information platform- Medicinal Materials DNA Barcode Database (MMDBD for data retrieval and similarity search. MMDBD contains over 1000 species of medicinal materials listed in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and American Herbal Pharmacopoeia. MMDBD also contains useful information of the medicinal material, including resources, adulterant information, medical parts, photographs, primers used for obtaining the barcodes and key references. MMDBD can be accessed at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/icm/mmdbd.htm. Conclusions This work provides a centralized medicinal materials DNA barcode database and bioinformatics tools for data storage, analysis and exchange for promoting the identification of medicinal materials. MMDBD has the largest collection of DNA barcodes of medicinal materials and is a useful resource for researchers in conservation, systematic study, forensic and herbal industry.

  7. Application of DNA Machineries for the Barcode Patterned Detection of Genes or Proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Zhixin; Luo, Guofeng; Wulf, Verena; Willner, Itamar

    2018-06-05

    The study introduces an analytical platform for the detection of genes or aptamer-ligand complexes by nucleic acid barcode patterns generated by DNA machineries. The DNA machineries consist of nucleic acid scaffolds that include specific recognition sites for the different genes or aptamer-ligand analytes. The binding of the analytes to the scaffolds initiate, in the presence of the nucleotide mixture, a cyclic polymerization/nicking machinery that yields displaced strands of variable lengths. The electrophoretic separation of the resulting strands provides barcode patterns for the specific detection of the different analytes. Mixtures of DNA machineries that yield, upon sensing of different genes (or aptamer ligands), one-, two-, or three-band barcode patterns are described. The combination of nucleic acid scaffolds acting, in the presence of polymerase/nicking enzyme and nucleotide mixture, as DNA machineries, that generate multiband barcode patterns provide an analytical platform for the detection of an individual gene out of many possible genes. The diversity of genes (or other analytes) that can be analyzed by the DNA machineries and the barcode patterned imaging is given by the Pascal's triangle. As a proof-of-concept, the detection of one of six genes, that is, TP53, Werner syndrome, Tay-Sachs normal gene, BRCA1, Tay-Sachs mutant gene, and cystic fibrosis disorder gene by six two-band barcode patterns is demonstrated. The advantages and limitations of the detection of analytes by polymerase/nicking DNA machineries that yield barcode patterns as imaging readout signals are discussed.

  8. Systematic validation and atomic force microscopy of non-covalent short oligonucleotide barcode microarrays.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael A Cook

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Molecular barcode arrays provide a powerful means to analyze cellular phenotypes in parallel through detection of short (20-60 base unique sequence tags, or "barcodes", associated with each strain or clone in a collection. However, costs of current methods for microarray construction, whether by in situ oligonucleotide synthesis or ex situ coupling of modified oligonucleotides to the slide surface are often prohibitive to large-scale analyses. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we demonstrate that unmodified 20mer oligonucleotide probes printed on conventional surfaces show comparable hybridization signals to covalently linked 5'-amino-modified probes. As a test case, we undertook systematic cell size analysis of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome-wide deletion collection by size separation of the deletion pool followed by determination of strain abundance in size fractions by barcode arrays. We demonstrate that the properties of a 13K unique feature spotted 20 mer oligonucleotide barcode microarray compare favorably with an analogous covalently-linked oligonucleotide array. Further, cell size profiles obtained with the size selection/barcode array approach recapitulate previous cell size measurements of individual deletion strains. Finally, through atomic force microscopy (AFM, we characterize the mechanism of hybridization to unmodified barcode probes on the slide surface. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These studies push the lower limit of probe size in genome-scale unmodified oligonucleotide microarray construction and demonstrate a versatile, cost-effective and reliable method for molecular barcode analysis.

  9. Barcode haplotype variation in North American agroecosystem ladybird beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae

    Science.gov (United States)

    DNA barcodes have proven invaluable in identifying and distinguishing insect pests, for example for determining the provenance of exotic invasives, but relatively few insect natural enemies have been barcoded. We used Folmer et al.’s universal invertebrate primers (1994), and those designed by Heber...

  10. Building a DNA barcode reference library for the true butterflies (Lepidoptera) of Peninsula Malaysia: what about the subspecies?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, John-James; Sing, Kong-Wah; Sofian-Azirun, Mohd

    2013-01-01

    The objective of this study was to build a DNA barcode reference library for the true butterflies of Peninsula Malaysia and assess the value of attaching subspecies names to DNA barcode records. A new DNA barcode library was constructed with butterflies from the Museum of Zoology, University of Malaya collection. The library was analysed in conjunction with publicly available DNA barcodes from other Asia-Pacific localities to test the ability of the DNA barcodes to discriminate species and subspecies. Analyses confirmed the capacity of the new DNA barcode reference library to distinguish the vast majority of species (92%) and revealed that most subspecies possessed unique DNA barcodes (84%). In some cases conspecific subspecies exhibited genetic distances between their DNA barcodes that are typically seen between species, and these were often taxa that have previously been regarded as full species. Subspecies designations as shorthand for geographically and morphologically differentiated groups provide a useful heuristic for assessing how such groups correlate with clustering patterns of DNA barcodes, especially as the number of DNA barcodes per species in reference libraries increases. Our study demonstrates the value in attaching subspecies names to DNA barcode records as they can reveal a history of taxonomic concepts and expose important units of biodiversity.

  11. Building a DNA Barcode Reference Library for the True Butterflies (Lepidoptera) of Peninsula Malaysia: What about the Subspecies?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, John-James; Sing, Kong-Wah; Sofian-Azirun, Mohd

    2013-01-01

    The objective of this study was to build a DNA barcode reference library for the true butterflies of Peninsula Malaysia and assess the value of attaching subspecies names to DNA barcode records. A new DNA barcode library was constructed with butterflies from the Museum of Zoology, University of Malaya collection. The library was analysed in conjunction with publicly available DNA barcodes from other Asia-Pacific localities to test the ability of the DNA barcodes to discriminate species and subspecies. Analyses confirmed the capacity of the new DNA barcode reference library to distinguish the vast majority of species (92%) and revealed that most subspecies possessed unique DNA barcodes (84%). In some cases conspecific subspecies exhibited genetic distances between their DNA barcodes that are typically seen between species, and these were often taxa that have previously been regarded as full species. Subspecies designations as shorthand for geographically and morphologically differentiated groups provide a useful heuristic for assessing how such groups correlate with clustering patterns of DNA barcodes, especially as the number of DNA barcodes per species in reference libraries increases. Our study demonstrates the value in attaching subspecies names to DNA barcode records as they can reveal a history of taxonomic concepts and expose important units of biodiversity. PMID:24282514

  12. Building a DNA barcode reference library for the true butterflies (Lepidoptera of Peninsula Malaysia: what about the subspecies?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John-James Wilson

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to build a DNA barcode reference library for the true butterflies of Peninsula Malaysia and assess the value of attaching subspecies names to DNA barcode records. A new DNA barcode library was constructed with butterflies from the Museum of Zoology, University of Malaya collection. The library was analysed in conjunction with publicly available DNA barcodes from other Asia-Pacific localities to test the ability of the DNA barcodes to discriminate species and subspecies. Analyses confirmed the capacity of the new DNA barcode reference library to distinguish the vast majority of species (92% and revealed that most subspecies possessed unique DNA barcodes (84%. In some cases conspecific subspecies exhibited genetic distances between their DNA barcodes that are typically seen between species, and these were often taxa that have previously been regarded as full species. Subspecies designations as shorthand for geographically and morphologically differentiated groups provide a useful heuristic for assessing how such groups correlate with clustering patterns of DNA barcodes, especially as the number of DNA barcodes per species in reference libraries increases. Our study demonstrates the value in attaching subspecies names to DNA barcode records as they can reveal a history of taxonomic concepts and expose important units of biodiversity.

  13. Barcoding and species recognition of opportunistic pathogens in Ochroconis and Verruconis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samerpitak, Kittipan; Gerrits van den Ende, Bert H G; Stielow, J Benjamin; Menken, Steph B J; de Hoog, G Sybren

    2016-02-01

    The genera Ochroconis and Verruconis (Sympoventuriaceae, Venturiales) have remarkably high molecular diversity despite relatively high degrees of phenotypic similarity. Tree topologies, inter-specific and intra-specific heterogeneities, barcoding gaps and reciprocal monophyly of all currently known species were analyzed. It was concluded that all currently used genes viz. SSU, ITS, LSU, ACT1, BT2, and TEF1 were unable to reach all 'gold standard' criteria of barcoding markers. They could nevertheless be used for reasonably reliable identification of species, because the markers, although variable, were associated with large inter-specific heterogeneity. Of the coding protein-genes, ACT1 revealed highest potentiality as barcoding marker in mostly all parts of the investigated sequence. SSU, LSU, ITS, and ACT1 yielded consistent monophyly in all investigated species, but only SSU and LSU generated clear barcoding gaps. For phylogeny, LSU was an informative marker, suitable to reconstruct gene-trees showing correct phylogenetic relationships. Cryptic species were revealed especially in complexes with very high intra-specific variability. When all these complexes will be taxonomically resolved, ACT1 will probably appear to be the most reliable barcoding gene for Ochroconis and Verruconis. Copyright © 2015 The British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Status and prospects of DNA barcoding in medically important parasites and vectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ondrejicka, Danielle A; Locke, Sean A; Morey, Kevin; Borisenko, Alex V; Hanner, Robert H

    2014-12-01

    For over 10 years, DNA barcoding has been used to identify specimens and discern species. Its potential benefits in parasitology were recognized early, but its utility and uptake remain unclear. Here we review studies using DNA barcoding in parasites and vectors affecting humans and find that the technique is accurate (accords with author identifications based on morphology or other markers) in 94-95% of cases, although aspects of DNA barcoding (vouchering, marker implicated) have often been misunderstood. In a newly compiled checklist of parasites, vectors, and hazards, barcodes are available for 43% of all 1403 species and for more than half of 429 species of greater medical importance. This is encouraging coverage that would improve with an active campaign targeting parasites and vectors. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Integrating feeding behavior, ecological data, and DNA barcoding to identify developmental differences in invertebrate foraging strategies in wild white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mallott, Elizabeth K; Garber, Paul A; Malhi, Ripan S

    2017-02-01

    Invertebrate foraging strategies in nonhuman primates often require complex extractive foraging or prey detection techniques. As these skills take time to master, juveniles may have reduced foraging efficiency or concentrate their foraging efforts on easier to acquire prey than adults. We use DNA barcoding, behavioral observations, and ecological data to assess age-based differences in invertebrate prey foraging strategies in a group of white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus) in northeastern Costa Rica. Invertebrate availability was monitored using canopy traps and sweep netting. Fecal samples were collected from adult female, adult male, and juvenile white-faced capuchins (n = 225). COI mtDNA sequences were compared with known sequences in GenBank and the Barcode of Life Database. Frequencies of Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera consumption were higher in juveniles than in adults. A significantly smaller proportion of juvenile fecal samples contained Gryllidae and Cercopidae sequences, compared with adults (0% and 4.2% vs. 4.6% and 12.5%), and a significantly larger proportion contained Tenthredinidae, Culicidae, and Crambidae (5.6%, 9.7%, and 5.6% vs. 1.3%, 0.7%, and 1.3%). Juveniles spent significantly more time feeding and foraging than adults, and focused their foraging efforts on prey that require different skills to capture or extract. Arthropod availability was not correlated with foraging efficiency, and the rate of consumption of specific orders of invertebrates was not correlated with the availability of those same taxa. Our data support the hypothesis that juveniles are concentrating their foraging efforts on different prey than adults, potentially focusing their foraging efforts on more easily acquired types of prey. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Multiplex single-molecule interaction profiling of DNA barcoded proteins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Liangcai; Li, Chao; Aach, John; Hill, David E.; Vidal, Marc; Church, George M.

    2014-01-01

    In contrast with advances in massively parallel DNA sequencing1, high-throughput protein analyses2-4 are often limited by ensemble measurements, individual analyte purification and hence compromised quality and cost-effectiveness. Single-molecule (SM) protein detection achieved using optical methods5 is limited by the number of spectrally nonoverlapping chromophores. Here, we introduce a single molecular interaction-sequencing (SMI-Seq) technology for parallel protein interaction profiling leveraging SM advantages. DNA barcodes are attached to proteins collectively via ribosome display6 or individually via enzymatic conjugation. Barcoded proteins are assayed en masse in aqueous solution and subsequently immobilized in a polyacrylamide (PAA) thin film to construct a random SM array, where barcoding DNAs are amplified into in situ polymerase colonies (polonies)7 and analyzed by DNA sequencing. This method allows precise quantification of various proteins with a theoretical maximum array density of over one million polonies per square millimeter. Furthermore, protein interactions can be measured based on the statistics of colocalized polonies arising from barcoding DNAs of interacting proteins. Two demanding applications, G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) and antibody binding profiling, were demonstrated. SMI-Seq enables “library vs. library” screening in a one-pot assay, simultaneously interrogating molecular binding affinity and specificity. PMID:25252978

  17. Measuring and test equipment control through bar-code technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crockett, J.D.; Carr, C.C.

    1993-01-01

    Over the past several years, the use, tracking, and documentation of measuring and test equipment (M ampersand TE) has become a major issue. New regulations are forcing companies to develop new policies for providing use history, traceability, and accountability of M ampersand TE. This paper discusses how the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF), operated by Westinghouse Hanford Company and located at the Hanford site in Rich- land, Washington, overcame these obstacles by using a computerized system exercising bar-code technology. A data base was developed to identify M ampersand TE containing 33 separate fields, such as manufacturer, model, range, bar-code number, and other pertinent information. A bar-code label was attached to each piece of M ampersand TE. A second data base was created to identify the employee using the M ampersand TE. The fields contained pertinent user information such as name, location, and payroll number. Each employee's payroll number was bar coded and attached to the back of their identification badge. A computer program was developed to automate certain tasks previously performed and tracked by hand. Bar-code technology was combined with this computer program to control the input and distribution of information, eliminate common mistakes, electronically store information, and reduce the time required to check out the M ampersand TE for use

  18. DNA barcoding of vouchered xylarium wood specimens of nine endangered Dalbergia species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Min Yu; Lichao Jiao; Juan Guo; Alex C. Wiedenhoeft; Tuo He; Xiaomei Jiang; Yafang Yin

    2017-01-01

    ITS2+trnH-psbA was the best combination of DNA barcode to resolve the Dalbergia wood species studied. We demonstrate the feasibility of building a DNA barcode reference database using xylarium wood specimens.

  19. The seven deadly sins of DNA barcoding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collins, R A; Cruickshank, R H

    2013-11-01

    Despite the broad benefits that DNA barcoding can bring to a diverse range of biological disciplines, a number of shortcomings still exist in terms of the experimental design of studies incorporating this approach. One underlying reason for this lies in the confusion that often exists between species discovery and specimen identification, and this is reflected in the way that hypotheses are generated and tested. Although these aims can be associated, they are quite distinct and require different methodological approaches, but their conflation has led to the frequently inappropriate use of commonly used analytical methods such as neighbour-joining trees, bootstrap resampling and fixed distance thresholds. Furthermore, the misidentification of voucher specimens can also have serious implications for end users of reference libraries such as the Barcode of Life Data Systems, and in this regard we advocate increased diligence in the a priori identification of specimens to be used for this purpose. This commentary provides an assessment of seven deficiencies that we identify as common in the DNA barcoding literature, and outline some potential improvements for its adaptation and adoption towards more reliable and accurate outcomes. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Generation and analysis of a barcode-tagged insertion mutant library in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background Barcodes are unique DNA sequence tags that can be used to specifically label individual mutants. The barcode-tagged open reading frame (ORF) haploid deletion mutant collections in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe allow for high-throughput mutant phenotyping because the relative growth of mutants in a population can be determined by monitoring the proportions of their associated barcodes. While these mutant collections have greatly facilitated genome-wide studies, mutations in essential genes are not present, and the roles of these genes are not as easily studied. To further support genome-scale research in S. pombe, we generated a barcode-tagged fission yeast insertion mutant library that has the potential of generating viable mutations in both essential and non-essential genes and can be easily analyzed using standard molecular biological techniques. Results An insertion vector containing a selectable ura4+ marker and a random barcode was used to generate a collection of 10,000 fission yeast insertion mutants stored individually in 384-well plates and as six pools of mixed mutants. Individual barcodes are flanked by Sfi I recognition sites and can be oligomerized in a unique orientation to facilitate barcode sequencing. Independent genetic screens on a subset of mutants suggest that this library contains a diverse collection of single insertion mutations. We present several approaches to determine insertion sites. Conclusions This collection of S. pombe barcode-tagged insertion mutants is well-suited for genome-wide studies. Because insertion mutations may eliminate, reduce or alter the function of essential and non-essential genes, this library will contain strains with a wide range of phenotypes that can be assayed by their associated barcodes. The design of the barcodes in this library allows for barcode sequencing using next generation or standard benchtop cloning approaches. PMID:22554201

  1. Generation and analysis of a barcode-tagged insertion mutant library in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chen Bo-Ruei

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Barcodes are unique DNA sequence tags that can be used to specifically label individual mutants. The barcode-tagged open reading frame (ORF haploid deletion mutant collections in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe allow for high-throughput mutant phenotyping because the relative growth of mutants in a population can be determined by monitoring the proportions of their associated barcodes. While these mutant collections have greatly facilitated genome-wide studies, mutations in essential genes are not present, and the roles of these genes are not as easily studied. To further support genome-scale research in S. pombe, we generated a barcode-tagged fission yeast insertion mutant library that has the potential of generating viable mutations in both essential and non-essential genes and can be easily analyzed using standard molecular biological techniques. Results An insertion vector containing a selectable ura4+ marker and a random barcode was used to generate a collection of 10,000 fission yeast insertion mutants stored individually in 384-well plates and as six pools of mixed mutants. Individual barcodes are flanked by Sfi I recognition sites and can be oligomerized in a unique orientation to facilitate barcode sequencing. Independent genetic screens on a subset of mutants suggest that this library contains a diverse collection of single insertion mutations. We present several approaches to determine insertion sites. Conclusions This collection of S. pombe barcode-tagged insertion mutants is well-suited for genome-wide studies. Because insertion mutations may eliminate, reduce or alter the function of essential and non-essential genes, this library will contain strains with a wide range of phenotypes that can be assayed by their associated barcodes. The design of the barcodes in this library allows for barcode sequencing using next generation or standard benchtop cloning

  2. Towards writing the encyclopaedia of life: an introduction to DNA barcoding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savolainen, Vincent; Cowan, Robyn S; Vogler, Alfried P; Roderick, George K; Lane, Richard

    2005-01-01

    An international consortium of major natural history museums, herbaria and other organizations has launched an ambitious project, the ‘Barcode of Life Initiative’, to promote a process enabling the rapid and inexpensive identification of the estimated 10 million species on Earth. DNA barcoding is a diagnostic technique in which short DNA sequence(s) can be used for species identification. The first international scientific conference on Barcoding of Life was held at the Natural History Museum in London in February 2005, and here we review the scientific challenges discussed during this conference and in previous publications. Although still controversial, the scientific benefits of DNA barcoding include: (i) enabling species identification, including any life stage or fragment, (ii) facilitating species discoveries based on cluster analyses of gene sequences (e.g. cox1=CO1, in animals), (iii) promoting development of handheld DNA sequencing technology that can be applied in the field for biodiversity inventories and (iv) providing insight into the diversity of life. PMID:16214739

  3. A bar-code reader for an alpha-beta automatic counting system - FAG

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Levinson, S; Shemesh, Y; Ankry, N; Assido, H; German, U; Peled, O [Israel Atomic Energy Commission, Beersheba (Israel). Nuclear Research Center-Negev

    1996-12-01

    A bar-code laser system for sample number reading was integrated into the FAG Alpha-Beta automatic counting system. The sample identification by means of an attached bar-code label enables unmistakable and reliable attribution of results to the counted sample. Installation of the bar-code reader system required several modifications: Mechanical changes in the automatic sample changer, design and production of new sample holders, modification of the sample planchettes, changes in the electronic system, update of the operating software of the system (authors).

  4. A bar-code reader for an alpha-beta automatic counting system - FAG

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Levinson, S.; Shemesh, Y.; Ankry, N.; Assido, H.; German, U.; Peled, O.

    1996-01-01

    A bar-code laser system for sample number reading was integrated into the FAG Alpha-Beta automatic counting system. The sample identification by means of an attached bar-code label enables unmistakable and reliable attribution of results to the counted sample. Installation of the bar-code reader system required several modifications: Mechanical changes in the automatic sample changer, design and production of new sample holders, modification of the sample planchettes, changes in the electronic system, update of the operating software of the system (authors)

  5. A taxonomic survey of Saudi Arabian Red Sea octocorals (Cnidaria: Alcyonacea)

    KAUST Repository

    Haverkort-Yeh, Roxanne D.

    2013-05-04

    A preliminary survey of Saudi Arabian Alcyonacea is presented, which combines classical taxonomy, multilocus molecular barcodes, and in situ photographs. We explored 14 locations along the west coast of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to assess the regional taxonomic diversity of non-gorgonian alcyonaceans. We collected samples from a total of 74 colonies, distributed among four families: 18 colonies of Alcyoniidae, 14 of Nephtheidae, 9 of Tubiporidae, and 33 of Xeniidae. We sequenced the octocorals using multiple nuclear [ribosomal Internal Transcribed Spacers (ITS) and ATP Synthetase Subunit α (ATPSα)] and mitochondrial [MutS homolog (mtMutS) and Cytochrome C Oxidase subunit one (COI)] loci, providing molecular barcodes which will: (1) allow direct comparison of biodiversity from this location to others for which molecular data are available, and (2) facilitate future identifications of these taxa. Finally, this preliminary phylogeny of sampled taxa provides insights on the resolution of mitochondrial versus nuclear loci, and highlights octocoral taxa that require further taxonomic attention. © 2013 Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

  6. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS region and trnH-psbA [corrected] are suitable candidate loci for DNA barcoding of tropical tree species of India.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abhinandan Mani Tripathi

    Full Text Available DNA barcoding as a tool for species identification has been successful in animals and other organisms, including certain groups of plants. The exploration of this new tool for species identification, particularly in tree species, is very scanty from biodiversity-rich countries like India. rbcL and matK are standard barcode loci while ITS, and trnH-psbA are considered as supplementary loci for plants.Plant barcode loci, namely, rbcL, matK, ITS, trnH-psbA, and the recently proposed ITS2, were tested for their efficacy as barcode loci using 300 accessions of tropical tree species. We tested these loci for PCR, sequencing success, and species discrimination ability using three methods. rbcL was the best locus as far as PCR and sequencing success rate were concerned, but not for the species discrimination ability of tropical tree species. ITS and trnH-psbA were the second best loci in PCR and sequencing success, respectively. The species discrimination ability of ITS ranged from 24.4 percent to 74.3 percent and that of trnH-psbA was 25.6 percent to 67.7 percent, depending upon the data set and the method used. matK provided the least PCR success, followed by ITS2 (59. 0%. Species resolution by ITS2 and rbcL ranged from 9.0 percent to 48.7 percent and 13.2 percent to 43.6 percent, respectively. Further, we observed that the NCBI nucleotide database is poorly represented by the sequences of barcode loci studied here for tree species.Although a conservative approach of a success rate of 60-70 percent by both ITS and trnH-psbA may not be considered as highly successful but would certainly help in large-scale biodiversity inventorization, particularly for tropical tree species, considering the standard success rate of plant DNA barcode program reported so far. The recommended matK and rbcL primers combination may not work in tropical tree species as barcode markers.

  7. How effective are DNA barcodes in the identification of African rainforest trees?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parmentier, Ingrid; Duminil, Jérôme; Kuzmina, Maria; Philippe, Morgane; Thomas, Duncan W; Kenfack, David; Chuyong, George B; Cruaud, Corinne; Hardy, Olivier J

    2013-01-01

    DNA barcoding of rain forest trees could potentially help biologists identify species and discover new ones. However, DNA barcodes cannot always distinguish between closely related species, and the size and completeness of barcode databases are key parameters for their successful application. We test the ability of rbcL, matK and trnH-psbA plastid DNA markers to identify rain forest trees at two sites in Atlantic central Africa under the assumption that a database is exhaustive in terms of species content, but not necessarily in terms of haplotype diversity within species. We assess the accuracy of identification to species or genus using a genetic distance matrix between samples either based on a global multiple sequence alignment (GD) or on a basic local alignment search tool (BLAST). Where a local database is available (within a 50 ha plot), barcoding was generally reliable for genus identification (95-100% success), but less for species identification (71-88%). Using a single marker, best results for species identification were obtained with trnH-psbA. There was a significant decrease of barcoding success in species-rich clades. When the local database was used to identify the genus of trees from another region and did include all genera from the query individuals but not all species, genus identification success decreased to 84-90%. The GD method performed best but a global multiple sequence alignment is not applicable on trnH-psbA. Barcoding is a useful tool to assign unidentified African rain forest trees to a genus, but identification to a species is less reliable, especially in species-rich clades, even using an exhaustive local database. Combining two markers improves the accuracy of species identification but it would only marginally improve genus identification. Finally, we highlight some limitations of the BLAST algorithm as currently implemented and suggest possible improvements for barcoding applications.

  8. Selection of a DNA barcode for Nectriaceae from fungal whole-genomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeng, Zhaoqing; Zhao, Peng; Luo, Jing; Zhuang, Wenying; Yu, Zhihe

    2012-01-01

    A DNA barcode is a short segment of sequence that is able to distinguish species. A barcode must ideally contain enough variation to distinguish every individual species and be easily obtained. Fungi of Nectriaceae are economically important and show high species diversity. To establish a standard DNA barcode for this group of fungi, the genomes of Neurospora crassa and 30 other filamentous fungi were compared. The expect value was treated as a criterion to recognize homologous sequences. Four candidate markers, Hsp90, AAC, CDC48, and EF3, were tested for their feasibility as barcodes in the identification of 34 well-established species belonging to 13 genera of Nectriaceae. Two hundred and fifteen sequences were analyzed. Intra- and inter-specific variations and the success rate of PCR amplification and sequencing were considered as important criteria for estimation of the candidate markers. Ultimately, the partial EF3 gene met the requirements for a good DNA barcode: No overlap was found between the intra- and inter-specific pairwise distances. The smallest inter-specific distance of EF3 gene was 3.19%, while the largest intra-specific distance was 1.79%. In addition, there was a high success rate in PCR and sequencing for this gene (96.3%). CDC48 showed sufficiently high sequence variation among species, but the PCR and sequencing success rate was 84% using a single pair of primers. Although the Hsp90 and AAC genes had higher PCR and sequencing success rates (96.3% and 97.5%, respectively), overlapping occurred between the intra- and inter-specific variations, which could lead to misidentification. Therefore, we propose the EF3 gene as a possible DNA barcode for the nectriaceous fungi.

  9. EvoluCode: Evolutionary Barcodes as a Unifying Framework for Multilevel Evolutionary Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linard, Benjamin; Nguyen, Ngoc Hoan; Prosdocimi, Francisco; Poch, Olivier; Thompson, Julie D

    2012-01-01

    Evolutionary systems biology aims to uncover the general trends and principles governing the evolution of biological networks. An essential part of this process is the reconstruction and analysis of the evolutionary histories of these complex, dynamic networks. Unfortunately, the methodologies for representing and exploiting such complex evolutionary histories in large scale studies are currently limited. Here, we propose a new formalism, called EvoluCode (Evolutionary barCode), which allows the integration of different evolutionary parameters (eg, sequence conservation, orthology, synteny …) in a unifying format and facilitates the multilevel analysis and visualization of complex evolutionary histories at the genome scale. The advantages of the approach are demonstrated by constructing barcodes representing the evolution of the complete human proteome. Two large-scale studies are then described: (i) the mapping and visualization of the barcodes on the human chromosomes and (ii) automatic clustering of the barcodes to highlight protein subsets sharing similar evolutionary histories and their functional analysis. The methodologies developed here open the way to the efficient application of other data mining and knowledge extraction techniques in evolutionary systems biology studies. A database containing all EvoluCode data is available at: http://lbgi.igbmc.fr/barcodes.

  10. Eulamprotes libertinella auctt. – ein Komplex kryptischer alpiner „Kleinschmetterlinge“ (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae)?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Huemer, Peter; Karsholt, Ole

    2011-01-01

    The identity of Eulamprotes libertinella auctt. is revised. Morphological characters and supplementing sequences from the barcode region of mt COI (Cytochrome c Oxidase 1) gene give evidence to at least two well supported species: E. libertinella (ZELLER, 1872) and the newly described E. occident...

  11. A revision of the Schinia Volupia (Fitch) species complex Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Heliothinae)

    Science.gov (United States)

    DNA barcode analysis of cytochrome oxidase I (COI) could not differentiate between the species of the Schinia volupia (Fitch) complex including, S. volupia, S. masoni Smith, S. fulleri (McElvare), S. sanrafaeli (Opler), S. miniana (Grote), and S. biforma Smith. Genitalic characters could only differ...

  12. High-accuracy biodistribution analysis of adeno-associated virus variants by double barcode sequencing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marsic, Damien; Méndez-Gómez, Héctor R; Zolotukhin, Sergei

    2015-01-01

    Biodistribution analysis is a key step in the evaluation of adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid variants, whether natural isolates or produced by rational design or directed evolution. Indeed, when screening candidate vectors, accurate knowledge about which tissues are infected and how efficiently is essential. We describe the design, validation, and application of a new vector, pTR-UF50-BC, encoding a bioluminescent protein, a fluorescent protein and a DNA barcode, which can be used to visualize localization of transduction at the organism, organ, tissue, or cellular levels. In addition, by linking capsid variants to different barcoded versions of the vector and amplifying the barcode region from various tissue samples using barcoded primers, biodistribution of viral genomes can be analyzed with high accuracy and efficiency.

  13. Identification of Species in Tripterygium (Celastraceae) Based on DNA Barcoding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiaomei; Li, Na; Yao, Yuanyuan; Liang, Xuming; Qu, Xianyou; Liu, Xiang; Zhu, Yingjie; Yang, Dajian; Sun, Wei

    2016-11-01

    Species of genus Tripterygium (Celastraceae) have attracted much attention owing to their excellent effect on treating autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. However, due to high market demand causing overexploitation, natural populations of genus Tripterygium have rapidly declined. Tripterygium medicinal materials are mainly collected from the wild, making the quality of medicinal materials unstable. Additionally, identification of herbal materials from Tripterygium species and their adulterants is difficult based on morphological characters. Therefore, an accurate, convenient, and stability method is urgently needed. In this wok, we developed a DNA barcoding technique to distinguish T. wilfordii HOOK. f., T. hypoglaucum (LÉVL.) HUTCH, and T. regelii SPRAGUE et TAKEDA and their adulterants based on four uniform and standard DNA regions (internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2), matK, rbcL, and psbA-trnH). DNA was extracted from 26 locations of fresh leaves. Phylogenetic tree was constructed with Neighbor-Joining (NJ) method, while barcoding gap was analyzed to assess identification efficiency. Compared with the other DNA barcodes applied individually or in combination, ITS2+psbA-trnH was demonstrated as the optimal barcode. T. hypoglaucum and T. wilfordii can be considered as conspecific, while T. regelii was recognized as a separate species. Furthermore, identification of commercial Tripterygium samples was conducted using BLAST against GenBank and Species Identification System for Traditional Chinese Medicine. Our results indicated that DNA barcoding is a convenient, effective, and stability method to identify and distinguish Tripterygium and its adulterants, and could be applied as the quality control for Tripterygium medicinal preparations and monitoring of the medicinal herb trade in markets.

  14. Advances in the use of DNA barcodes to build a community phylogeny for tropical trees in a Puerto Rican forest dynamics plot.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    W John Kress

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Species number, functional traits, and phylogenetic history all contribute to characterizing the biological diversity in plant communities. The phylogenetic component of diversity has been particularly difficult to quantify in species-rich tropical tree assemblages. The compilation of previously published (and often incomplete data on evolutionary relationships of species into a composite phylogeny of the taxa in a forest, through such programs as Phylomatic, has proven useful in building community phylogenies although often of limited resolution. Recently, DNA barcodes have been used to construct a robust community phylogeny for nearly 300 tree species in a forest dynamics plot in Panama using a supermatrix method. In that study sequence data from three barcode loci were used to generate a well-resolved species-level phylogeny.Here we expand upon this earlier investigation and present results on the use of a phylogenetic constraint tree to generate a community phylogeny for a diverse, tropical forest dynamics plot in Puerto Rico. This enhanced method of phylogenetic reconstruction insures the congruence of the barcode phylogeny with broadly accepted hypotheses on the phylogeny of flowering plants (i.e., APG III regardless of the number and taxonomic breadth of the taxa sampled. We also compare maximum parsimony versus maximum likelihood estimates of community phylogenetic relationships as well as evaluate the effectiveness of one- versus two- versus three-gene barcodes in resolving community evolutionary history.As first demonstrated in the Panamanian forest dynamics plot, the results for the Puerto Rican plot illustrate that highly resolved phylogenies derived from DNA barcode sequence data combined with a constraint tree based on APG III are particularly useful in comparative analysis of phylogenetic diversity and will enhance research on the interface between community ecology and evolution.

  15. DNA barcoding of recently diverged species: relative performance of matching methods.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robin van Velzen

    Full Text Available Recently diverged species are challenging for identification, yet they are frequently of special interest scientifically as well as from a regulatory perspective. DNA barcoding has proven instrumental in species identification, especially in insects and vertebrates, but for the identification of recently diverged species it has been reported to be problematic in some cases. Problems are mostly due to incomplete lineage sorting or simply lack of a 'barcode gap' and probably related to large effective population size and/or low mutation rate. Our objective was to compare six methods in their ability to correctly identify recently diverged species with DNA barcodes: neighbor joining and parsimony (both tree-based, nearest neighbor and BLAST (similarity-based, and the diagnostic methods DNA-BAR, and BLOG. We analyzed simulated data assuming three different effective population sizes as well as three selected empirical data sets from published studies. Results show, as expected, that success rates are significantly lower for recently diverged species (∼75% than for older species (∼97% (P<0.00001. Similarity-based and diagnostic methods significantly outperform tree-based methods, when applied to simulated DNA barcode data (P<0.00001. The diagnostic method BLOG had highest correct query identification rate based on simulated (86.2% as well as empirical data (93.1%, indicating that it is a consistently better method overall. Another advantage of BLOG is that it offers species-level information that can be used outside the realm of DNA barcoding, for instance in species description or molecular detection assays. Even though we can confirm that identification success based on DNA barcoding is generally high in our data, recently diverged species remain difficult to identify. Nevertheless, our results contribute to improved solutions for their accurate identification.

  16. Improving the Conservation of Mediterranean Chondrichthyans: The ELASMOMED DNA Barcode Reference Library.

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    Alessia Cariani

    Full Text Available Cartilaginous fish are particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic stressors and environmental change because of their K-selected reproductive strategy. Accurate data from scientific surveys and landings are essential to assess conservation status and to develop robust protection and management plans. Currently available data are often incomplete or incorrect as a result of inaccurate species identifications, due to a high level of morphological stasis, especially among closely related taxa. Moreover, several diagnostic characters clearly visible in adult specimens are less evident in juveniles. Here we present results generated by the ELASMOMED Consortium, a regional network aiming to sample and DNA-barcode the Mediterranean Chondrichthyans with the ultimate goal to provide a comprehensive DNA barcode reference library. This library will support and improve the molecular taxonomy of this group and the effectiveness of management and conservation measures. We successfully barcoded 882 individuals belonging to 42 species (17 sharks, 24 batoids and one chimaera, including four endemic and several threatened ones. Morphological misidentifications were found across most orders, further confirming the need for a comprehensive DNA barcoding library as a valuable tool for the reliable identification of specimens in support of taxonomist who are reviewing current identification keys. Despite low intraspecific variation among their barcode sequences and reduced samples size, five species showed preliminary evidence of phylogeographic structure. Overall, the ELASMOMED initiative further emphasizes the key role accurate DNA barcoding libraries play in establishing reliable diagnostic species specific features in otherwise taxonomically problematic groups for biodiversity management and conservation actions.

  17. Validation of the ITS2 region as a novel DNA barcode for identifying medicinal plant species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Shilin; Yao, Hui; Han, Jianping; Liu, Chang; Song, Jingyuan; Shi, Linchun; Zhu, Yingjie; Ma, Xinye; Gao, Ting; Pang, Xiaohui; Luo, Kun; Li, Ying; Li, Xiwen; Jia, Xiaocheng; Lin, Yulin; Leon, Christine

    2010-01-07

    The plant working group of the Consortium for the Barcode of Life recommended the two-locus combination of rbcL+matK as the plant barcode, yet the combination was shown to successfully discriminate among 907 samples from 550 species at the species level with a probability of 72%. The group admits that the two-locus barcode is far from perfect due to the low identification rate, and the search is not over. Here, we compared seven candidate DNA barcodes (psbA-trnH, matK, rbcL, rpoC1, ycf5, ITS2, and ITS) from medicinal plant species. Our ranking criteria included PCR amplification efficiency, differential intra- and inter-specific divergences, and the DNA barcoding gap. Our data suggest that the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) of nuclear ribosomal DNA represents the most suitable region for DNA barcoding applications. Furthermore, we tested the discrimination ability of ITS2 in more than 6600 plant samples belonging to 4800 species from 753 distinct genera and found that the rate of successful identification with the ITS2 was 92.7% at the species level. The ITS2 region can be potentially used as a standard DNA barcode to identify medicinal plants and their closely related species. We also propose that ITS2 can serve as a novel universal barcode for the identification of a broader range of plant taxa.

  18. TECHNICAL DESIGN NOTE: Currency verification by a 2D infrared barcode

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schirripa Spagnolo, Giuseppe; Cozzella, Lorenzo; Simonetti, Carla

    2010-10-01

    Nowadays all the National Central Banks are continuously studying innovative anti-counterfeiting systems for banknotes. In this note, an innovative solution is proposed, which combines the potentiality of a hylemetric approach (methodology conceptually similar to biometry), based on notes' intrinsic characteristics, with a well-known and consolidated 2D barcode identification system. In particular, in this note we propose to extract from the banknotes a univocal binary control sequence (template) and insert an encrypted version of it in a barcode printed on the same banknote. For a more acceptable look and feel of a banknote, the superposed barcode can be stamped using IR ink that is visible to near-IR image sensors. This makes the banknote verification simpler.

  19. Detection of tyrosine hydroxylase in dopaminergic neuron cell using gold nanoparticles-based barcode DNA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, Jeung Hee; Oh, Byung-Keun; Choi, Jeong Woo

    2013-04-01

    Tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme of catecholamine biosysthesis, is predominantly expressed in several cell groups within the brain, including the dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area. We evaluated the efficacy of this protein-detection method in detecting tyrosine hydroxylase in normal and oxidative stress damaged dopaminergic cells. In this study, a coupling of DNA barcode and bead-based immnunoassay for detecting tyrosine hydroxylaser with PCR-like sensitivity is reported. The method relies on magnetic nanoparticles with antibodies and nanoparticles that are encoded with DNA and antibodies that can sandwich the target protein captured by the nanoparticle-bound antibodies. The aggregate sandwich structures are magnetically separated from solution, and treated to remove the conjugated barcode DNA. The DNA barcodes were identified by PCR analysis. The concentration of tyrosine hydroxylase in dopaminergic cell can be easily and rapidly detected using bio-barcode assay. The bio-barcode assay is a rapid and high-throughput screening tool to detect of neurotransmitter such as dopamine.

  20. DNA barcoding and microsatellites help species delimitation and hybrid identification in endangered galaxiid fishes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanhaecke, Delphine; Garcia de Leaniz, Carlos; Gajardo, Gonzalo; Young, Kyle; Sanzana, Jose; Orellana, Gabriel; Fowler, Daniel; Howes, Paul; Monzon-Arguello, Catalina; Consuegra, Sofia

    2012-01-01

    The conservation of data deficient species is often hampered by inaccurate species delimitation. The galaxiid fishes Aplochiton zebra and Aplochiton taeniatus are endemic to Patagonia (and for A. zebra the Falkland Islands), where they are threatened by invasive salmonids. Conservation of Aplochiton is complicated because species identification is hampered by the presence of resident as well as migratory ecotypes that may confound morphological discrimination. We used DNA barcoding (COI, cytochrome b) and a new developed set of microsatellite markers to investigate the relationships between A. zebra and A. taeniatus and to assess their distributions and relative abundances in Chilean Patagonia and the Falkland Islands. Results from both DNA markers were 100% congruent and revealed that phenotypic misidentification was widespread, size-dependent, and highly asymmetric. While all the genetically classified A. zebra were correctly identified as such, 74% of A. taeniatus were incorrectly identified as A. zebra, the former species being more widespread than previously thought. Our results reveal, for the first time, the presence in sympatry of both species, not only in Chilean Patagonia, but also in the Falkland Islands, where A. taeniatus had not been previously described. We also found evidence of asymmetric hybridisation between female A. taeniatus and male A. zebra in areas where invasive salmonids have become widespread. Given the potential consequences that species misidentification and hybridisation can have for the conservation of these endangered species, we advocate the use of molecular markers in order to reduce epistemic uncertainty.

  1. Molecular diet analysis of two African free-tailed bats (Molossidae) using high throughput sequencing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bohmann, Kristine; Monadjem, Ara; Noer, Christina Lehmkuhl

    2011-01-01

    Given the diversity of prey consumed by insectivorous bats, it is difficult to discern the composition of their diet using morphological or conventional PCR-based analyses of their faeces. We demonstrate the use of a powerful alternate tool, the use of the Roche FLX sequencing platform to deep......-sequence uniquely 5′ tagged insect-generic barcode cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) fragments, that were PCR amplified from faecal pellets of two free-tailed bat species Chaerephon pumilus and Mops condylurus (family: Molossidae). Although the analyses were challenged by the paucity of southern African insect COI...

  2. Phylogeny and species delineation in European species of the genus Steganacarus (Acari, Oribatida) using mitochondrial and nuclear markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreipe, Victoria; Corral-Hernández, Elena; Scheu, Stefan; Schaefer, Ina; Maraun, Mark

    2015-06-01

    Species of the genus Steganacarus are soil-living oribatid mites (Acari, Phthiracaridae) with a ptychoid body. The phylogeny and species status of the species of Steganacarus are not resolved, some authors group all ten German species of Steganacarus within the genus Steganacarus whereas others split them into three subgenera, Steganacarus, Tropacarus and Atropacarus. Additionally, two species, S. magnus and T. carinatus, comprise morphotypes of questionable species status. We investigated the phylogeny and species status of ten European Steganacarus species, i.e. S. applicatus, S. herculeanus, S. magnus forma magna, S. magnus forma anomala, S. spinosus, Tropacarus brevipilus, T. carinatus forma carinata, T. carinatus forma pulcherrima, Atropacarus striculus and Rhacaplacarus ortizi. We used two molecular markers, a 251 bp fragment of the nuclear gene 28S rDNA (D3) and a 477 bp fragment of the mitochondrial COI region. The phylogeny based on a combined analysis of D3 and COI separated four subgenera (Steganacarus, Tropacarus and Atropacarus, Rhacaplacarus) indicating that they form monophyletic groups. The COI region separated all ten species of the genus Steganacarus and showed variation within some species often correlating with the geographic origin of the species. Resolution of the more conserved D3 region was limited, indicating that radiation events are rather recent. Overall, our results indicate that both genes alone cannot be used for phylogeny and barcoding since variation is too low in D3 and too high in COI. However, when used in combination these genes provide reliable insight into the phylogeny, radiation and species status of taxa of the genus Steganacarus.

  3. Molecular comparison of topotypic specimens confirms Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus dunhami Causey (Diptera: Culicidae in the Colombian Amazon

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    Freddy Ruiz

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available The presence of Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus dunhami Causey in Colombia (Department of Amazonas is confirmed for the first time through direct comparison of mtDNA cytochrome c oxidase I (COI barcodes and nuclear rDNA second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2 sequences with topotypic specimens of An. dunhami from Tefé, Brazil. An. dunhami was identified through retrospective correlation of DNA sequences following misidentification as Anopheles nuneztovari s.l. using available morphological keys for Colombian mosquitoes. That An. dunhami occurs in Colombia and also possibly throughout the Amazon Basin, is of importance to vector control programs, as this non-vector species is morphologically similar to known malaria vectors including An. nuneztovari, Anopheles oswaldoi and Anopheles trinkae. Species identification of An. dunhami and differentiation from these closely related species are highly robust using either DNA ITS2 sequences or COI DNA barcode. DNA methods are advocated for future differentiation of these often sympatric taxa in South America.

  4. Non-Enzymatic Detection of Bacterial Genomic DNA Using the Bio-Barcode Assay

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, Haley D.; Vega, Rafael A.; Mirkin, Chad A.

    2011-01-01

    The detection of bacterial genomic DNA through a non-enzymatic nanomaterials based amplification method, the bio-barcode assay, is reported. The assay utilizes oligonucleotide functionalized magnetic microparticles to capture the target of interest from the sample. A critical step in the new assay involves the use of blocking oligonucleotides during heat denaturation of the double stranded DNA. These blockers bind to specific regions of the target DNA upon cooling, and prevent the duplex DNA from re-hybridizing, which allows the particle probes to bind. Following target isolation using the magnetic particles, oligonucleotide functionalized gold nanoparticles act as target recognition agents. The oligonucleotides on the nanoparticle (barcodes) act as amplification surrogates. The barcodes are then detected using the Scanometric method. The limit of detection for this assay was determined to be 2.5 femtomolar, and this is the first demonstration of a barcode type assay for the detection of double stranded, genomic DNA. PMID:17927207

  5. DNA barcode-based molecular identification system for fish species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Sungmin; Eo, Hae-Seok; Koo, Hyeyoung; Choi, Jun-Kil; Kim, Won

    2010-12-01

    In this study, we applied DNA barcoding to identify species using short DNA sequence analysis. We examined the utility of DNA barcoding by identifying 53 Korean freshwater fish species, 233 other freshwater fish species, and 1339 saltwater fish species. We successfully developed a web-based molecular identification system for fish (MISF) using a profile hidden Markov model. MISF facilitates efficient and reliable species identification, overcoming the limitations of conventional taxonomic approaches. MISF is freely accessible at http://bioinfosys.snu.ac.kr:8080/MISF/misf.jsp .

  6. ITS2 barcoding DNA region combined with high resolution melting (HRM) analysis of Hyoscyami Semen, the mature seed of Hyoscyamus niger.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiong, Chao; Hu, Zhi-Gang; Tu, Yuan; Liu, He-Gang; Wang, Ping; Zhao, Ming-Ming; SHIi, Yu-Hua; Wu, Lan; Sun, Wei; Chen, Shi-Lin

    2016-12-01

    Hyoscyami Semen, the mature dried seed of Hyoscyamus niger L., has long been used as a traditional Chinese medicine to treat human diseases. Hyoscyami Semen is found in local markets in China. In markets, sellers and buyers commonly inadvertently mix the seeds of H. niger with the seeds of related species such as Hygrophila salicifolia (Vahl) Nees, Astragalus complanatus R. Br., Cuscuta australis R. Br., Cuscuta chinensis Lam., and Impatiens balsamina L. because of their similar morphologies or similar names. Thus, developing a reliable method for discriminating H. niger seeds from its adulterants is necessary to reduce confusion and ensure the safe use of Hyoscyami Semen. The present study was designed to evaluate the efficiency of high-resolution melting analysis combined with DNA barcoding (Bar-HRM) with internal transcribed spacer 2 to discriminate H. niger. Our results show that Bar-HRM successfully identified the adulterants and detected the proportion of H. niger DNA extract within an admixture. In particular, HRM detected H. niger DNA extract in A. complanatus DNA extract at concentrations as low as 1%. In conclusion, the Bar-HRM method developed in the present study for authenticating H. niger is rapid and cost-effective. It can be used in the future to guarantee the purity of Hyoscyami Semen for the clinical use. Copyright © 2016 China Pharmaceutical University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. A well-resolved phylogeny of the trees of Puerto Rico based on DNA barcode sequence data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muscarella, Robert; Uriarte, María; Erickson, David L; Swenson, Nathan G; Zimmerman, Jess K; Kress, W John

    2014-01-01

    The use of phylogenetic information in community ecology and conservation has grown in recent years. Two key issues for community phylogenetics studies, however, are (i) low terminal phylogenetic resolution and (ii) arbitrarily defined species pools. We used three DNA barcodes (plastid DNA regions rbcL, matK, and trnH-psbA) to infer a phylogeny for 527 native and naturalized trees of Puerto Rico, representing the vast majority of the entire tree flora of the island (89%). We used a maximum likelihood (ML) approach with and without a constraint tree that enforced monophyly of recognized plant orders. Based on 50% consensus trees, the ML analyses improved phylogenetic resolution relative to a comparable phylogeny generated with Phylomatic (proportion of internal nodes resolved: constrained ML = 74%, unconstrained ML = 68%, Phylomatic = 52%). We quantified the phylogenetic composition of 15 protected forests in Puerto Rico using the constrained ML and Phylomatic phylogenies. We found some evidence that tree communities in areas of high water stress were relatively phylogenetically clustered. Reducing the scale at which the species pool was defined (from island to soil types) changed some of our results depending on which phylogeny (ML vs. Phylomatic) was used. Overall, the increased terminal resolution provided by the ML phylogeny revealed additional patterns that were not observed with a less-resolved phylogeny. With the DNA barcode phylogeny presented here (based on an island-wide species pool), we show that a more fully resolved phylogeny increases power to detect nonrandom patterns of community composition in several Puerto Rican tree communities. Especially if combined with additional information on species functional traits and geographic distributions, this phylogeny will (i) facilitate stronger inferences about the role of historical processes in governing the assembly and composition of Puerto Rican forests, (ii) provide insight into Caribbean

  8. A DNA 'barcode blitz': rapid digitization and sequencing of a natural history collection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hebert, Paul D N; Dewaard, Jeremy R; Zakharov, Evgeny V; Prosser, Sean W J; Sones, Jayme E; McKeown, Jaclyn T A; Mantle, Beth; La Salle, John

    2013-01-01

    DNA barcoding protocols require the linkage of each sequence record to a voucher specimen that has, whenever possible, been authoritatively identified. Natural history collections would seem an ideal resource for barcode library construction, but they have never seen large-scale analysis because of concerns linked to DNA degradation. The present study examines the strength of this barrier, carrying out a comprehensive analysis of moth and butterfly (Lepidoptera) species in the Australian National Insect Collection. Protocols were developed that enabled tissue samples, specimen data, and images to be assembled rapidly. Using these methods, a five-person team processed 41,650 specimens representing 12,699 species in 14 weeks. Subsequent molecular analysis took about six months, reflecting the need for multiple rounds of PCR as sequence recovery was impacted by age, body size, and collection protocols. Despite these variables and the fact that specimens averaged 30.4 years old, barcode records were obtained from 86% of the species. In fact, one or more barcode compliant sequences (>487 bp) were recovered from virtually all species represented by five or more individuals, even when the youngest was 50 years old. By assembling specimen images, distributional data, and DNA barcode sequences on a web-accessible informatics platform, this study has greatly advanced accessibility to information on thousands of species. Moreover, much of the specimen data became publically accessible within days of its acquisition, while most sequence results saw release within three months. As such, this study reveals the speed with which DNA barcode workflows can mobilize biodiversity data, often providing the first web-accessible information for a species. These results further suggest that existing collections can enable the rapid development of a comprehensive DNA barcode library for the most diverse compartment of terrestrial biodiversity - insects.

  9. Delimiting the species Neosiphonia yendoi (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta) based on COI and rbcL genetic variation in Korea and Japan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Byeongseok; Yang, Mi Yeon; Kim, Myung Sook

    2016-09-01

    Although the marine red algal genus Neosiphonia is well characterized, many species of Neosiphonia are poorly understood. To correctly define the species delimitation of Neosiphonia yendoi using genetic variation, owing to the confusion over identification with " N. sphaerocarpa" from Korea, we investigated intensively the haplotype network of the mitochondrial COI and the plastid rbcL genes of specimens collected from Korea and Japan. The molecular analyses indicated that specimens collected in different sites of Korea and Japan belong to the same species, Neosiphonia yendoi and " Neosiphonia sphaerocarpa" from Korea, which is distinguished from N. sphaerocarpa from Florida and is allied with N. yendoi collected from the type locality, Muroran of Japan. A total of 29 COI and 13 rbcL haplotypes were found and the COI haplotype network shows evidence of a clear break between specimens from Jeju Island and all other locations of Korea, suggesting the possibility of cryptic diversity within N. yendoi.

  10. IDENTIFICATION OF PARAMECIUM BURSARIA SYNGENS THROUGH MOLECULAR MARKERS – COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MITOCHONDRIAL CYTOCHROME C OXIDASE SUBUNIT I (COI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrycja Zagata

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is an identification of Paramecium bursaria syngens originating from different geographical locations and proving the correlation between distributions and belonging to any of five syngens. Ten strains of Paramecium bursaria belonging to five different syngens and strain of Paramecium multimicronucleatum were investigated using molecular marker — mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI. According to results, obtained in this study, using phylogenetic methods like Neighbor Joining (NJ and Maximum Likelihood (ML, relationship between analyzing strains through their clustering in clusters and correlation between strains belonging to any syngen and syngen’s distribution was confirmed. Phylograms constructed using NJ and ML methods revealed strains’ grouping in five clusters. Results which were obtained revealed usefulness of COI as a biomarker, which is important in identification of Paramecium bursaria syngens. This reports to a great potential of COI as a molecular marker and obtaining dependable results through combination of molecular methods with classical ones.

  11. Incorporating trnH-psbA to the core DNA barcodes improves significantly species discrimination within southern African Combretaceae

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    Jephris Gere

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Recent studies indicate that the discriminatory power of the core DNA barcodes (rbcLa + matK for land plants may have been overestimated since their performance have been tested only on few closely related species. In this study we focused mainly on how the addition of complementary barcodes (nrITS and trnH-psbA to the core barcodes will affect the performance of the core barcodes in discriminating closely related species from family to section levels. In general, we found that the core barcodes performed poorly compared to the various combinations tested. Using multiple criteria, we finally advocated for the use of the core + trnH-psbA as potential DNA barcode for the family Combretaceae at least in southern Africa. Our results also indicate that the success of DNA barcoding in discriminating closely related species may be related to evolutionary and possibly the biogeographic histories of the taxonomic group tested.

  12. DNA Barcodes for Marine Biodiversity: Moving Fast Forward?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adriana E. Radulovici

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available ‘Biodiversity’ means the variety of life and it can be studied at different levels (genetic, species, ecosystem and scales (spatial and temporal. Last decades showed that marine biodiversity has been severely underestimated at all levels. In order to investigate diversity patterns and underlying processes, there is a need to know what species live in the marine environment. An emerging tool for species identification, DNA barcoding can reliably assign unknown specimens to known species, also flagging potential cryptic species and genetically distant populations. This paper will review the role of DNA barcoding for the study of marine biodiversity at the species level.

  13. Barcoding a quantified food web: crypsis, concepts, ecology and hypotheses.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M Alex Smith

    Full Text Available The efficient and effective monitoring of individuals and populations is critically dependent on correct species identification. While this point may seem obvious, identifying the majority of the more than 100 natural enemies involved in the spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana--SBW food web remains a non-trivial endeavor. Insect parasitoids play a major role in the processes governing the population dynamics of SBW throughout eastern North America. However, these species are at the leading edge of the taxonomic impediment and integrating standardized identification capacity into existing field programs would provide clear benefits. We asked to what extent DNA barcoding the SBW food web would alter our understanding of the diversity and connectence of the food web and the frequency of generalists vs. specialists in different forest habitats. We DNA barcoded over 10% of the insects collected from the SBW food web in three New Brunswick forest plots from 1983 to 1993. For 30% of these specimens, we amplified at least one additional nuclear region. When the nodes of the food web were estimated based on barcode divergences (using molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTU or phylogenetic diversity (PD--the food web became much more diverse and connectence was reduced. We tested one measure of food web structure (the "bird feeder effect" and found no difference compared to the morphologically based predictions. Many, but not all, of the presumably polyphagous parasitoids now appear to be morphologically-cryptic host-specialists. To our knowledge, this project is the first to barcode a food web in which interactions have already been well-documented and described in space, time and abundance. It is poised to be a system in which field-based methods permit the identification capacity required by forestry scientists. Food web barcoding provided an effective tool for the accurate identification of all species involved in the cascading effects of

  14. Barcoding a quantified food web: crypsis, concepts, ecology and hypotheses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, M Alex; Eveleigh, Eldon S; McCann, Kevin S; Merilo, Mark T; McCarthy, Peter C; Van Rooyen, Kathleen I

    2011-01-01

    The efficient and effective monitoring of individuals and populations is critically dependent on correct species identification. While this point may seem obvious, identifying the majority of the more than 100 natural enemies involved in the spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana--SBW) food web remains a non-trivial endeavor. Insect parasitoids play a major role in the processes governing the population dynamics of SBW throughout eastern North America. However, these species are at the leading edge of the taxonomic impediment and integrating standardized identification capacity into existing field programs would provide clear benefits. We asked to what extent DNA barcoding the SBW food web would alter our understanding of the diversity and connectence of the food web and the frequency of generalists vs. specialists in different forest habitats. We DNA barcoded over 10% of the insects collected from the SBW food web in three New Brunswick forest plots from 1983 to 1993. For 30% of these specimens, we amplified at least one additional nuclear region. When the nodes of the food web were estimated based on barcode divergences (using molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTU) or phylogenetic diversity (PD)--the food web became much more diverse and connectence was reduced. We tested one measure of food web structure (the "bird feeder effect") and found no difference compared to the morphologically based predictions. Many, but not all, of the presumably polyphagous parasitoids now appear to be morphologically-cryptic host-specialists. To our knowledge, this project is the first to barcode a food web in which interactions have already been well-documented and described in space, time and abundance. It is poised to be a system in which field-based methods permit the identification capacity required by forestry scientists. Food web barcoding provided an effective tool for the accurate identification of all species involved in the cascading effects of future budworm

  15. The chaperonin-60 universal target is a barcode for bacteria that enables de novo assembly of metagenomic sequence data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Links, Matthew G; Dumonceaux, Tim J; Hemmingsen, Sean M; Hill, Janet E

    2012-01-01

    Barcoding with molecular sequences is widely used to catalogue eukaryotic biodiversity. Studies investigating the community dynamics of microbes have relied heavily on gene-centric metagenomic profiling using two genes (16S rRNA and cpn60) to identify and track Bacteria. While there have been criteria formalized for barcoding of eukaryotes, these criteria have not been used to evaluate gene targets for other domains of life. Using the framework of the International Barcode of Life we evaluated DNA barcodes for Bacteria. Candidates from the 16S rRNA gene and the protein coding cpn60 gene were evaluated. Within complete bacterial genomes in the public domain representing 983 species from 21 phyla, the largest difference between median pairwise inter- and intra-specific distances ("barcode gap") was found from cpn60. Distribution of sequence diversity along the ∼555 bp cpn60 target region was remarkably uniform. The barcode gap of the cpn60 universal target facilitated the faithful de novo assembly of full-length operational taxonomic units from pyrosequencing data from a synthetic microbial community. Analysis supported the recognition of both 16S rRNA and cpn60 as DNA barcodes for Bacteria. The cpn60 universal target was found to have a much larger barcode gap than 16S rRNA suggesting cpn60 as a preferred barcode for Bacteria. A large barcode gap for cpn60 provided a robust target for species-level characterization of data. The assembly of consensus sequences for barcodes was shown to be a reliable method for the identification and tracking of novel microbes in metagenomic studies.

  16. DNA barcoding for identification of 'Candidatus Phytoplasmas' using a fragment of the elongation factor Tu gene.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olga Makarova

    Full Text Available Phytoplasmas are bacterial phytopathogens responsible for significant losses in agricultural production worldwide. Several molecular markers are available for identification of groups or strains of phytoplasmas. However, they often cannot be used for identification of phytoplasmas from different groups simultaneously or are too long for routine diagnostics. DNA barcoding recently emerged as a convenient tool for species identification. Here, the development of a universal DNA barcode based on the elongation factor Tu (tuf gene for phytoplasma identification is reported.We designed a new set of primers and amplified a 420-444 bp fragment of tuf from all 91 phytoplasmas strains tested (16S rRNA groups -I through -VII, -IX through -XII, -XV, and -XX. Comparison of NJ trees constructed from the tuf barcode and a 1.2 kbp fragment of the 16S ribosomal gene revealed that the tuf tree is highly congruent with the 16S rRNA tree and had higher inter- and intra- group sequence divergence. Mean K2P inter-/intra- group divergences of the tuf barcode did not overlap and had approximately one order of magnitude difference for most groups, suggesting the presence of a DNA barcoding gap. The use of the tuf barcode allowed separation of main ribosomal groups and most of their subgroups. Phytoplasma tuf barcodes were deposited in the NCBI GenBank and Q-bank databases.This study demonstrates that DNA barcoding principles can be applied for identification of phytoplasmas. Our findings suggest that the tuf barcode performs as well or better than a 1.2 kbp fragment of the 16S rRNA gene and thus provides an easy procedure for phytoplasma identification. The obtained sequences were used to create a publicly available reference database that can be used by plant health services and researchers for online phytoplasma identification.

  17. On site DNA barcoding by nanopore sequencing.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michele Menegon

    Full Text Available Biodiversity research is becoming increasingly dependent on genomics, which allows the unprecedented digitization and understanding of the planet's biological heritage. The use of genetic markers i.e. DNA barcoding, has proved to be a powerful tool in species identification. However, full exploitation of this approach is hampered by the high sequencing costs and the absence of equipped facilities in biodiversity-rich countries. In the present work, we developed a portable sequencing laboratory based on the portable DNA sequencer from Oxford Nanopore Technologies, the MinION. Complementary laboratory equipment and reagents were selected to be used in remote and tough environmental conditions. The performance of the MinION sequencer and the portable laboratory was tested for DNA barcoding in a mimicking tropical environment, as well as in a remote rainforest of Tanzania lacking electricity. Despite the relatively high sequencing error-rate of the MinION, the development of a suitable pipeline for data analysis allowed the accurate identification of different species of vertebrates including amphibians, reptiles and mammals. In situ sequencing of a wild frog allowed us to rapidly identify the species captured, thus confirming that effective DNA barcoding in the field is possible. These results open new perspectives for real-time-on-site DNA sequencing thus potentially increasing opportunities for the understanding of biodiversity in areas lacking conventional laboratory facilities.

  18. Directed nucleation assembly of DNA tile complexes for barcode-patterned lattices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Hao; Labean, Thomas H.; Feng, Liping; Reif, John H.

    2003-07-01

    The programmed self-assembly of patterned aperiodic molecular structures is a major challenge in nanotechnology and has numerous potential applications for nanofabrication of complex structures and useful devices. Here we report the construction of an aperiodic patterned DNA lattice (barcode lattice) by a self-assembly process of directed nucleation of DNA tiles around a scaffold DNA strand. The input DNA scaffold strand, constructed by ligation of shorter synthetic oligonucleotides, provides layers of the DNA lattice with barcode patterning information represented by the presence or absence of DNA hairpin loops protruding out of the lattice plane. Self-assembly of multiple DNA tiles around the scaffold strand was shown to result in a patterned lattice containing barcode information of 01101. We have also demonstrated the reprogramming of the system to another patterning. An inverted barcode pattern of 10010 was achieved by modifying the scaffold strands and one of the strands composing each tile. A ribbon lattice, consisting of repetitions of the barcode pattern with expected periodicity, was also constructed by the addition of sticky ends. The patterning of both classes of lattices was clearly observable via atomic force microscopy. These results represent a step toward implementation of a visual readout system capable of converting information encoded on a 1D DNA strand into a 2D form readable by advanced microscopic techniques. A functioning visual output method would not only increase the readout speed of DNA-based computers, but may also find use in other sequence identification techniques such as mutation or allele mapping.

  19. DNA barcodes for Mexican Cactaceae, plants under pressure from wild collecting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yesson, Chris; Bárcenas, Rolando T; Hernández, Héctor M; Ruiz-Maqueda, María de la Luz; Prado, Alberto; Rodríguez, Víctor M; Hawkins, Julie A

    2011-09-01

    DNA barcodes could be a useful tool for plant conservation. Of particular importance is the ability to identify unknown plant material, such as from customs seizures of illegally collected specimens. Mexican cacti are an example of a threatened group, under pressure because of wild collection for the xeriscaping trade and private collectors. Mexican cacti also provide a taxonomically and geographically coherent group with which to test DNA barcodes. Here, we sample the matK barcode for 528 species of Cactaceae including approximately 75% of Mexican species and test the utility of the matK region for species-level identification. We find that the matK DNA barcode can be used to identify uniquely 77% of species sampled, and 79-87% of species of particular conservation importance. However, this is far below the desired rate of 95% and there are significant issues for PCR amplification because of the variability of primer sites. Additionally, we test the nuclear ITS regions for the cactus subfamily Opuntioideae and for the genus Ariocarpus (subfamily Cactoideae). We observed higher rates of variation for ITS (86% unique for Opuntioideae sampled) but a much lower PCR success, encountering significant intra-individual polymorphism in Ariocarpus precluding the use of this marker in this taxon. We conclude that the matK region should provide useful information as a DNA barcode for Cactaceae if the problems with primers can be addressed, but matK alone is not sufficiently variable to achieve species-level identification. Additional complementary regions should be investigated as ITS is shown to be unsuitable. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  20. Fluorescent genetic barcoding in mammalian cells for enhanced multiplexing capabilities in flow cytometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smurthwaite, Cameron A; Hilton, Brett J; O'Hanlon, Ryan; Stolp, Zachary D; Hancock, Bryan M; Abbadessa, Darin; Stotland, Aleksandr; Sklar, Larry A; Wolkowicz, Roland

    2014-01-01

    The discovery of the green fluorescent protein from Aequorea victoria has revolutionized the field of cell and molecular biology. Since its discovery a growing panel of fluorescent proteins, fluorophores and fluorescent-coupled staining methodologies, have expanded the analytical capabilities of flow cytometry. Here, we exploit the power of genetic engineering to barcode individual cells with genes encoding fluorescent proteins. For genetic engineering, we utilize retroviral technology, which allows for the expression of ectopic genetic information in a stable manner in mammalian cells. We have genetically barcoded both adherent and nonadherent cells with different fluorescent proteins. Multiplexing power was increased by combining both the number of distinct fluorescent proteins, and the fluorescence intensity in each channel. Moreover, retroviral expression has proven to be stable for at least a 6-month period, which is critical for applications such as biological screens. We have shown the applicability of fluorescent barcoded multiplexing to cell-based assays that rely themselves on genetic barcoding, or on classical staining protocols. Fluorescent genetic barcoding gives the cell an inherited characteristic that distinguishes it from its counterpart. Once cell lines are developed, no further manipulation or staining is required, decreasing time, nonspecific background associated with staining protocols, and cost. The increasing number of discovered and/or engineered fluorescent proteins with unique absorbance/emission spectra, combined with the growing number of detection devices and lasers, increases multiplexing versatility, making fluorescent genetic barcoding a powerful tool for flow cytometry-based analysis. © 2013 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry.

  1. Single nucleotide polymorphism barcoding to evaluate oral cancer risk using odds ratio-based genetic algorithms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cheng-Hong Yang

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Cancers often involve the synergistic effects of gene–gene interactions, but identifying these interactions remains challenging. Here, we present an odds ratio-based genetic algorithm (OR-GA that is able to solve the problems associated with the simultaneous analysis of multiple independent single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs that are associated with oral cancer. The SNP interactions between four SNPs—namely rs1799782, rs2040639, rs861539, rs2075685, and belonging to four genes (XRCC1, XRCC2, XRCC3, and XRCC4—were tested in this study, respectively. The GA decomposes the SNPs sets into different SNP combinations with their corresponding genotypes (called SNP barcodes. The GA can effectively identify a specific SNP barcode that has an optimized fitness value and uses this to calculate the difference between the case and control groups. The SNP barcodes with a low fitness value are naturally removed from the population. Using two to four SNPs, the best SNP barcodes with maximum differences in occurrence between the case and control groups were generated by GA algorithm. Subsequently, the OR provides a quantitative measure of the multiple SNP synergies between the oral cancer and control groups by calculating the risk related to the best SNP barcodes and others. When these were compared to their corresponding non-SNP barcodes, the estimated ORs for oral cancer were found to be great than 1 [approx. 1.72–2.23; confidence intervals (CIs: 0.94–5.30, p < 0.03–0.07] for various specific SNP barcodes with two to four SNPs. In conclusion, the proposed OR-GA method successfully generates SNP barcodes, which allow oral cancer risk to be evaluated and in the process the OR-GA method identifies possible SNP–SNP interactions.

  2. Using high-throughput barcode sequencing to efficiently map connectomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peikon, Ian D; Kebschull, Justus M; Vagin, Vasily V; Ravens, Diana I; Sun, Yu-Chi; Brouzes, Eric; Corrêa, Ivan R; Bressan, Dario; Zador, Anthony M

    2017-07-07

    The function of a neural circuit is determined by the details of its synaptic connections. At present, the only available method for determining a neural wiring diagram with single synapse precision-a 'connectome'-is based on imaging methods that are slow, labor-intensive and expensive. Here, we present SYNseq, a method for converting the connectome into a form that can exploit the speed and low cost of modern high-throughput DNA sequencing. In SYNseq, each neuron is labeled with a unique random nucleotide sequence-an RNA 'barcode'-which is targeted to the synapse using engineered proteins. Barcodes in pre- and postsynaptic neurons are then associated through protein-protein crosslinking across the synapse, extracted from the tissue, and joined into a form suitable for sequencing. Although our failure to develop an efficient barcode joining scheme precludes the widespread application of this approach, we expect that with further development SYNseq will enable tracing of complex circuits at high speed and low cost. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  3. Integrating DNA barcode data and taxonomic practice: determination, discovery, and description.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldstein, Paul Z; DeSalle, Rob

    2011-02-01

    DNA barcodes, like traditional sources of taxonomic information, are potentially powerful heuristics in the identification of described species but require mindful analytical interpretation. The role of DNA barcoding in generating hypotheses of new taxa in need of formal taxonomic treatment is discussed, and it is emphasized that the recursive process of character evaluation is both necessary and best served by understanding the empirical mechanics of the discovery process. These undertakings carry enormous ramifications not only for the translation of DNA sequence data into taxonomic information but also for our comprehension of the magnitude of species diversity and its disappearance. This paper examines the potential strengths and pitfalls of integrating DNA sequence data, specifically in the form of DNA barcodes as they are currently generated and analyzed, with taxonomic practice.

  4. Magnetic micro-barcodes for molecular tagging applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hayward, T J; Hong, B; Vyas, K N; Palfreyman, J J; Cooper, J F K; Jiang, Z; Llandro, J; Mitrelias, T; Bland, J A C; Barnes, C H W; Jeong, J R

    2010-01-01

    We present proof-of-principle experiments and simulations that demonstrate a new biological assay technology in which microscopic tags carrying multi-bit magnetic codes are used to label probe biomolecules. It is demonstrated that these 'micro-barcode tags' can be encoded, transported using micro-fluidics and are compatible with surface chemistry. We also present simulations and experimental results which suggest the feasibility of decoding the micro-barcode tags using magnetoresistive sensors. Together, these results demonstrate substantial progress towards meeting the critical requirements of a magnetically encoded, high-throughput and portable biological assay platform. We also show that an extension of our technology could potentially be used to label libraries consisting of ∼10 4 distinct probe molecules, and could therefore have a strong impact on mainstream medical diagnostics.

  5. Spectral signature barcodes based on S-shaped Split Ring Resonators (S-SRRs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Herrojo Cristian

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, it is shown that S-shaped split ring resonators (S-SRRs are useful particles for the implementation of spectral signature (i.e., a class of radiofrequency barcodes based on coplanar waveguide (CPW transmission lines loaded with such resonant elements. By virtue of its S shape, these resonators are electrically small. Hence S-SRRs are of interest for the miniaturization of the barcodes, since multiple resonators, each tuned at a different frequency, are used for encoding purposes. In particular, a 10-bit barcode occupying 1 GHz spectral bandwidth centered at 2.5 GHz, with dimensions of 9 cm2, is presented in this paper.

  6. DNA Barcoding for Species Identification of Insect Skins: A Test on Chironomidae (Diptera) Pupal Exuviae

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ekrem, Torbjørn; Stur, Elisabeth

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Chironomidae (Diptera) pupal exuviae samples are commonly used for biological monitoring of aquatic habitats. DNA barcoding has proved useful for species identification of chironomid life stages containing cellular tissue, but the barcoding success of chironomid pupal exuviae is unknown. We assessed whether standard DNA barcoding could be efficiently used for species identification of chironomid pupal exuviae when compared with morphological techniques and if there were differences in performance between temperate and tropical ecosystems, subfamilies, and tribes. PCR, sequence, and identification success differed significantly between geographic regions and taxonomic groups. For Norway, 27 out of 190 (14.2%) of pupal exuviae resulted in high-quality chironomid sequences that match species. For Costa Rica, 69 out of 190 (36.3%) Costa Rican pupal exuviae resulted in high-quality sequences, but none matched known species. Standard DNA barcoding of chironomid pupal exuviae had limited success in species identification of unknown specimens due to contaminations and lack of matching references in available barcode libraries, especially from Costa Rica. Therefore, we recommend future biodiversity studies that focus their efforts on understudied regions, to simultaneously use morphological and molecular identification techniques to identify all life stages of chironomids and populate the barcode reference library with identified sequences.

  7. Effect of field deposition and pore size on Co/Cu barcode nanowires by electrodeposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, Ji Ung; Wu, J.-H.; Min, Ji Hyun; Lee, Ju Hun; Liu, H.-L.; Kim, Young Keun

    2007-01-01

    We have studied the effect of an external magnetic field applied during electrodeposition of Co/Cu barcode nanowires in anodic aluminum oxide nanotemplates. The magnetic properties of the barcode nanowires were greatly enhanced for 50 nm pore diameter regardless of segment aspect ratio, but field deposition has little effect on the 200 nm nanowires. The magnetic improvement is correlated with a structural change, attributed to field modification of the growth habit of the barcode nanowires. A mechanism of growth subject to geometric confinement is proposed

  8. Effect of field deposition and pore size on Co/Cu barcode nanowires by electrodeposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Ji Ung; Wu, Jun-Hua; Min, Ji Hyun; Lee, Ju Hun; Liu, Hong-Ling; Kim, Young Keun

    2007-03-01

    We have studied the effect of an external magnetic field applied during electrodeposition of Co/Cu barcode nanowires in anodic aluminum oxide nanotemplates. The magnetic properties of the barcode nanowires were greatly enhanced for 50 nm pore diameter regardless of segment aspect ratio, but field deposition has little effect on the 200 nm nanowires. The magnetic improvement is correlated with a structural change, attributed to field modification of the growth habit of the barcode nanowires. A mechanism of growth subject to geometric confinement is proposed.

  9. 77 FR 26185 - POSTNET Barcode Discontinuation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-03

    ... discontinue POSTNET barcodes for automation letter and flat price eligibility. There were six comments... on each piece, to facilitate processing by presort companies. We added language to specifically allow..., with or without prepayment of postage, for return to the address on the reply piece. If postage is...

  10. Synthesis of a multi-functional DNA nanosphere barcode system for direct cell detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Sangwoo; Lee, Jae Sung; Lee, Jong Bum

    2017-09-28

    Nucleic acid-based technologies have been applied to numerous biomedical applications. As a novel material for target detection, DNA has been used to construct a barcode system with a range of structures. This paper reports multi-functionalized DNA nanospheres (DNANSs) by rolling circle amplification (RCA) with several functionalized nucleotides. DNANSs with a barcode system were designed to exhibit fluorescence for coding enhanced signals and contain biotin for more functionalities, including targeting through the biotin-streptavidin (biotin-STA) interaction. Functionalized deoxynucleotide triphosphates (dNTPs) were mixed in the RCA process and functional moieties can be expressed on the DNANSs. The anti-epidermal growth factor receptor antibodies (anti-EGFR Abs) can be conjugated on DNANSs for targeting cancer cells specifically. As a proof of concept, the potential of the multi-functional DNANS barcode was demonstrated by direct cell detection as a simple detection method. The DNANS barcode provides a new route for the simple and rapid selective recognition of cancer cells.

  11. BEST: barcode enabled sequencing of tetrads.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, Adrian C; Ludlow, Catherine L; Cromie, Gareth A; Dudley, Aimée M

    2014-05-01

    Tetrad analysis is a valuable tool for yeast genetics, but the laborious manual nature of the process has hindered its application on large scales. Barcode Enabled Sequencing of Tetrads (BEST)1 replaces the manual processes of isolating, disrupting and spacing tetrads. BEST isolates tetrads by virtue of a sporulation-specific GFP fusion protein that permits fluorescence-activated cell sorting of tetrads directly onto agar plates, where the ascus is enzymatically digested and the spores are disrupted and randomly arrayed by glass bead plating. The haploid colonies are then assigned sister spore relationships, i.e. information about which spores originated from the same tetrad, using molecular barcodes read during genotyping. By removing the bottleneck of manual dissection, hundreds or even thousands of tetrads can be isolated in minutes. Here we present a detailed description of the experimental procedures required to perform BEST in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, starting with a heterozygous diploid strain through the isolation of colonies derived from the haploid meiotic progeny.

  12. Decision Tree Algorithm-Generated Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism Barcodes of rbcL Genes for 38 Brassicaceae Species Tagging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Cheng-Hong; Wu, Kuo-Chuan; Chuang, Li-Yeh; Chang, Hsueh-Wei

    2018-01-01

    DNA barcode sequences are accumulating in large data sets. A barcode is generally a sequence larger than 1000 base pairs and generates a computational burden. Although the DNA barcode was originally envisioned as straightforward species tags, the identification usage of barcode sequences is rarely emphasized currently. Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) association studies provide us an idea that the SNPs may be the ideal target of feature selection to discriminate between different species. We hypothesize that SNP-based barcodes may be more effective than the full length of DNA barcode sequences for species discrimination. To address this issue, we tested a r ibulose diphosphate carboxylase ( rbcL ) S NP b arcoding (RSB) strategy using a decision tree algorithm. After alignment and trimming, 31 SNPs were discovered in the rbcL sequences from 38 Brassicaceae plant species. In the decision tree construction, these SNPs were computed to set up the decision rule to assign the sequences into 2 groups level by level. After algorithm processing, 37 nodes and 31 loci were required for discriminating 38 species. Finally, the sequence tags consisting of 31 rbcL SNP barcodes were identified for discriminating 38 Brassicaceae species based on the decision tree-selected SNP pattern using RSB method. Taken together, this study provides the rational that the SNP aspect of DNA barcode for rbcL gene is a useful and effective sequence for tagging 38 Brassicaceae species.

  13. Barcoding the food chain: from Sanger to high-throughput sequencing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Littlefair, Joanne E; Clare, Elizabeth L

    2016-11-01

    Society faces the complex challenge of supporting biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, while ensuring food security by providing safe traceable food through an ever-more-complex global food chain. The increase in human mobility brings the added threat of pests, parasites, and invaders that further complicate our agro-industrial efforts. DNA barcoding technologies allow researchers to identify both individual species, and, when combined with universal primers and high-throughput sequencing techniques, the diversity within mixed samples (metabarcoding). These tools are already being employed to detect market substitutions, trace pests through the forensic evaluation of trace "environmental DNA", and to track parasitic infections in livestock. The potential of DNA barcoding to contribute to increased security of the food chain is clear, but challenges remain in regulation and the need for validation of experimental analysis. Here, we present an overview of the current uses and challenges of applied DNA barcoding in agriculture, from agro-ecosystems within farmland to the kitchen table.

  14. Creation of reference DNA barcode library and authentication of medicinal plant raw drugs used in Ayurvedic medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vassou, Sophie Lorraine; Nithaniyal, Stalin; Raju, Balaji; Parani, Madasamy

    2016-07-18

    Ayurveda is a system of traditional medicine that originated in ancient India, and it is still in practice. Medicinal plants are the backbone of Ayurveda, which heavily relies on the plant-derived therapeutics. While Ayurveda is becoming more popular in several countries throughout the World, lack of authenticated medicinal plant raw drugs is a growing concern. Our aim was to DNA barcode the medicinal plants that are listed in the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India (API) to create a reference DNA barcode library, and to use the same to authenticate the raw drugs that are sold in markets. We have DNA barcoded 347 medicinal plants using rbcL marker, and curated rbcL DNA barcodes for 27 medicinal plants from public databases. These sequences were used to create Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India - Reference DNA Barcode Library (API-RDBL). This library was used to authenticate 100 medicinal plant raw drugs, which were in the form of powders (82) and seeds (18). Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India - Reference DNA Barcode Library (API-RDBL) was created with high quality and authentic rbcL barcodes for 374 out of the 395 medicinal plants that are included in the API. The rbcL DNA barcode differentiated 319 species (85 %) with the pairwise divergence ranging between 0.2 and 29.9 %. PCR amplification and DNA sequencing success rate of rbcL marker was 100 % even for the poorly preserved medicinal plant raw drugs that were collected from local markets. DNA barcoding revealed that only 79 % raw drugs were authentic, and the remaining 21 % samples were adulterated. Further, adulteration was found to be much higher with powders (ca. 25 %) when compared to seeds (ca. 5 %). The present study demonstrated the utility of DNA barcoding in authenticating medicinal plant raw drugs, and found that approximately one fifth of the market samples were adulterated. Powdered raw drugs, which are very difficult to be identified by taxonomists as well as common people, seem to be the easy

  15. Assessing DNA Barcodes for Species Identification in North American Reptiles and Amphibians in Natural History Collections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chambers, E Anne; Hebert, Paul D N

    2016-01-01

    High rates of species discovery and loss have led to the urgent need for more rapid assessment of species diversity in the herpetofauna. DNA barcoding allows for the preliminary identification of species based on sequence divergence. Prior DNA barcoding work on reptiles and amphibians has revealed higher biodiversity counts than previously estimated due to cases of cryptic and undiscovered species. Past studies have provided DNA barcodes for just 14% of the North American herpetofauna, revealing the need for expanded coverage. This study extends the DNA barcode reference library for North American herpetofauna, assesses the utility of this approach in aiding species delimitation, and examines the correspondence between current species boundaries and sequence clusters designated by the BIN system. Sequences were obtained from 730 specimens, representing 274 species (43%) from the North American herpetofauna. Mean intraspecific divergences were 1% and 3%, while average congeneric sequence divergences were 16% and 14% in amphibians and reptiles, respectively. BIN assignments corresponded with current species boundaries in 79% of amphibians, 100% of turtles, and 60% of squamates. Deep divergences (>2%) were noted in 35% of squamate and 16% of amphibian species, and low divergences (reptiles and 23% of amphibians, patterns reflected in BIN assignments. Sequence recovery declined with specimen age, and variation in recovery success was noted among collections. Within collections, barcodes effectively flagged seven mislabeled tissues, and barcode fragments were recovered from five formalin-fixed specimens. This study demonstrates that DNA barcodes can effectively flag errors in museum collections, while BIN splits and merges reveal taxa belonging to deeply diverged or hybridizing lineages. This study is the first effort to compile a reference library of DNA barcodes for herpetofauna on a continental scale.

  16. ITS1: a DNA barcode better than ITS2 in eukaryotes?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xin-Cun; Liu, Chang; Huang, Liang; Bengtsson-Palme, Johan; Chen, Haimei; Zhang, Jian-Hui; Cai, Dayong; Li, Jian-Qin

    2015-05-01

    A DNA barcode is a short piece of DNA sequence used for species determination and discovery. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS/ITS2) region has been proposed as the standard DNA barcode for fungi and seed plants and has been widely used in DNA barcoding analyses for other biological groups, for example algae, protists and animals. The ITS region consists of both ITS1 and ITS2 regions. Here, a large-scale meta-analysis was carried out to compare ITS1 and ITS2 from three aspects: PCR amplification, DNA sequencing and species discrimination, in terms of the presence of DNA barcoding gaps, species discrimination efficiency, sequence length distribution, GC content distribution and primer universality. In total, 85 345 sequence pairs in 10 major groups of eukaryotes, including ascomycetes, basidiomycetes, liverworts, mosses, ferns, gymnosperms, monocotyledons, eudicotyledons, insects and fishes, covering 611 families, 3694 genera, and 19 060 species, were analysed. Using similarity-based methods, we calculated species discrimination efficiencies for ITS1 and ITS2 in all major groups, families and genera. Using Fisher's exact test, we found that ITS1 has significantly higher efficiencies than ITS2 in 17 of the 47 families and 20 of the 49 genera, which are sample-rich. By in silico PCR amplification evaluation, primer universality of the extensively applied ITS1 primers was found superior to that of ITS2 primers. Additionally, shorter length of amplification product and lower GC content was discovered to be two other advantages of ITS1 for sequencing. In summary, ITS1 represents a better DNA barcode than ITS2 for eukaryotic species. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Barcode Technology Acceptance and Utilization in Health Information Management Department at Academic Hospitals According to Technology Acceptance Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ehteshami, Asghar

    2017-03-01

    Nowdays, due to the increasing importance of quality care, organizations focuse on the improving provision, management and distribution of health. On one hand, incremental costs of the new technologies and on the other hand, increased knowledge of health care recipients and their expectations for high quality services have doubled the need to make changes in order to respond to resource constraints (financial, human, material). For this purpose, several technologies, such as barcode, have been used in hospitals to improve services and staff productivity; but various factors effect on the adoption of new technologies and despite good implementation of a technology and its benefits, sometimes personnel don't accept and don't use it. This is an applied descriptive cross-sectional study in which all the barcode users in health information management department of the three academic hospitals (Feiz, Al-Zahra, Ayatollah Kashani) affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences were surveyed by the barcode technology acceptance questionnaire, in six areas as following: barcode ease of learning, capabilities, perception of its usefulness and its ease of use, users attitudes towards its using, and users intention. The finding showed that barcode technology total acceptance was relatively desirable (%76.9); the most compliance with TAM model was related to the user perceptions about the ease of use of barcode technology and the least compliance was related to the ease of learning barcode technology (respectively %83.7 and %71.5). Ease of learning and barcode capability effect of usefulness and perceived ease of barcode technology. Users perceptions effect their attitudes toward greater use of technology and their attitudes have an effect on their intention to use the technology and finally, their intention makes actual use of the technology (acceptance). Therefore, considering the six elements related to technology implementation can be important in the barcode

  18. A System for Anesthesia Drug Administration Using Barcode Technology: The Codonics Safe Label System and Smart Anesthesia Manager.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jelacic, Srdjan; Bowdle, Andrew; Nair, Bala G; Kusulos, Dolly; Bower, Lynnette; Togashi, Kei

    2015-08-01

    Many anesthetic drug errors result from vial or syringe swaps. Scanning the barcodes on vials before drug preparation, creating syringe labels that include barcodes, and scanning the syringe label barcodes before drug administration may help to prevent errors. In contrast, making syringe labels by hand that comply with the recommendations of regulatory agencies and standards-setting bodies is tedious and time consuming. A computerized system that uses vial barcodes and generates barcoded syringe labels could address both safety issues and labeling recommendations. We measured compliance of syringe labels in multiple operating rooms (ORs) with the recommendations of regulatory agencies and standards-setting bodies before and after the introduction of the Codonics Safe Label System (SLS). The Codonics SLS was then combined with Smart Anesthesia Manager software to create an anesthesia barcode drug administration system, which allowed us to measure the rate of scanning syringe label barcodes at the time of drug administration in 2 cardiothoracic ORs before and after introducing a coffee card incentive. Twelve attending cardiothoracic anesthesiologists and the OR satellite pharmacy participated. The use of the Codonics SLS drug labeling system resulted in >75% compliant syringe labels (95% confidence interval, 75%-98%). All syringe labels made using the Codonics SLS system were compliant. The average rate of scanning barcodes on syringe labels using Smart Anesthesia Manager was 25% (730 of 2976) over 13 weeks but increased to 58% (956 of 1645) over 8 weeks after introduction of a simple (coffee card) incentive (P < 0.001). An anesthesia barcode drug administration system resulted in a moderate rate of scanning syringe label barcodes at the time of drug administration. Further, adaptation of the system will be required to achieve a higher utilization rate.

  19. Identification of Amazonian trees with DNA barcodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez, Mailyn Adriana; Baraloto, Christopher; Engel, Julien; Mori, Scott A; Pétronelli, Pascal; Riéra, Bernard; Roger, Aurélien; Thébaud, Christophe; Chave, Jérôme

    2009-10-16

    Large-scale plant diversity inventories are critical to develop informed conservation strategies. However, the workload required for classic taxonomic surveys remains high and is particularly problematic for megadiverse tropical forests. Based on a comprehensive census of all trees in two hectares of a tropical forest in French Guiana, we examined whether plant DNA barcoding could contribute to increasing the quality and the pace of tropical plant biodiversity surveys. Of the eight plant DNA markers we tested (rbcLa, rpoC1, rpoB, matK, ycf5, trnL, psbA-trnH, ITS), matK and ITS had a low rate of sequencing success. More critically, none of the plastid markers achieved a rate of correct plant identification greater than 70%, either alone or combined. The performance of all barcoding markers was noticeably low in few species-rich clades, such as the Laureae, and the Sapotaceae. A field test of the approach enabled us to detect 130 molecular operational taxonomic units in a sample of 252 juvenile trees. Including molecular markers increased the identification rate of juveniles from 72% (morphology alone) to 96% (morphology and molecular) of the individuals assigned to a known tree taxon. We conclude that while DNA barcoding is an invaluable tool for detecting errors in identifications and for identifying plants at juvenile stages, its limited ability to identify collections will constrain the practical implementation of DNA-based tropical plant biodiversity programs.

  20. INTERNAL TRANSCRIBED SPACER (ITS), AN IDEAL DNA BARCODE FOR SPECIES DISCRIMINATION IN CRAWFURDIA WALL. (GENTIANACEAE).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Dequan; Jiang, Bei; Duan, Lizhen; Zhou, Nong

    2016-01-01

    DNA barcoding is a technique used to identify species based on species-specific differences in short regions of their DNA. It is widely used in species discrimination of medicinal plants and traditional medicines. In the present study, four potential DNA barcodes, namely rbcL , matK , trnH-psbA and ITS (nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer) were adopted for species discrimination in Crawfurdia Wall (Genetiaceae). Identification ability of these DNA barcodes and combinations were evaluated using three classic methods (Distance, Blast and Tree-Building). As a result, ITS, trnH-psbA and rbcL regions showed great universality for a success rate of 100%; whereas matK was disappointing for which only 65% samples gained useful DNA sequences. ITS region, which could clearly and effectively identify the five species in Crawfurdia , performed very well in this study. On the contrary, trnH-psbA and rbcL performed poorly in discrimination among these species. ITS marker was an ideal DNA barcode in Crawfurdia and it should be incorporated into one of the core barcodes for seed plants.

  1. Automating quantum dot barcode assays using microfluidics and magnetism for the development of a point-of-care device.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Yali; Lam, Albert W Y; Chan, Warren C W

    2013-04-24

    The impact of detecting multiple infectious diseases simultaneously at point-of-care with good sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility would be enormous for containing the spread of diseases in both resource-limited and rich countries. Many barcoding technologies have been introduced for addressing this need as barcodes can be applied to detecting thousands of genetic and protein biomarkers simultaneously. However, the assay process is not automated and is tedious and requires skilled technicians. Barcoding technology is currently limited to use in resource-rich settings. Here we used magnetism and microfluidics technology to automate the multiple steps in a quantum dot barcode assay. The quantum dot-barcoded microbeads are sequentially (a) introduced into the chip, (b) magnetically moved to a stream containing target molecules, (c) moved back to the original stream containing secondary probes, (d) washed, and (e) finally aligned for detection. The assay requires 20 min, has a limit of detection of 1.2 nM, and can detect genetic targets for HIV, hepatitis B, and syphilis. This study provides a simple strategy to automate the entire barcode assay process and moves barcoding technologies one step closer to point-of-care applications.

  2. Reexamination of the species assignment of Diacavolinia pteropods using DNA barcoding.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amy E Maas

    Full Text Available Thecosome pteropods (Mollusca, Gastropoda are an ecologically important, diverse, and ubiquitous group of holoplanktonic animals that are the focus of intense research interest due to their external aragonite shell and vulnerability to ocean acidification. Characterizing the response of these animals to low pH and other environmental stressors has been hampered by continued uncertainty in their taxonomic identification. An example of this confusion in species assignment is found in the genus Diacavolinia. All members of this genus were originally indentified as a single species, Cavolinia longirostris, but over the past fifty years the taxonomy has been revisited multiple times; currently the genus comprises 22 different species. This study examines five species of Diacavolinia, including four sampled in the Northeast Atlantic (78 individuals and one from the Eastern tropical North Pacific (15 individuals. Diacavolina were identified to species based on morphological characteristics according to the current taxonomy, photographed, and then used to determine the sequence of the "DNA barcoding" region of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI. Specimens from the Atlantic, despite distinct differences in shell morphology, showed polyphyly and a genetic divergence of <3% (K2P distance whereas the Pacific and Atlantic samples were more distant (≈ 19%. Comparisons of Diacavolinia spp. with other Cavolinia spp. reveal larger distances (≈ 24%. These results indicate that specimens from the Atlantic comprise a single monophyletic species and suggest possible species-level divergence between Atlantic and Pacific populations. The findings support the maintenance of Diacavolinia as a separate genus, yet emphasize the inadequacy of our current taxonomic understanding of pteropods. They highlight the need for accurate species identifications to support estimates of biodiversity, range extent and natural exposure of these planktonic calcifiers to

  3. DNA barcoding for biosecurity: case studies from the UK plant protection program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hodgetts, Jennifer; Ostojá-Starzewski, Jozef C; Prior, Thomas; Lawson, Rebecca; Hall, Jayne; Boonham, Neil

    2016-11-01

    Since its conception, DNA barcoding has seen a rapid uptake within the research community. Nevertheless, as with many new scientific tools, progression towards the point of routine deployment within diagnostic laboratories has been slow. In this paper, we discuss the application of DNA barcoding in the Defra plant health diagnostic laboratories, where DNA barcoding is used primarily for the identification of invertebrate pests. We present a series of case studies that demonstrate the successful application of DNA barcoding but also reveal some potential limitations to expanded use. The regulated plant pest, Bursephalenchus xylophilus, and one of its vectors, Monochamus alternatus, were found in dining chairs. Some traded wood products are potentially high risk, allowing the movement of longhorn beetles; Trichoferus campestris, Leptura quadrifasciata, and Trichoferus holosericeus were found in a wooden cutlery tray, a railway sleeper, and a dining chair, respectively. An outbreak of Meloidogyne fallax was identified in Allium ampeloprasum and in three weed species. Reference sequences for UK native psyllids were generated to enable the development of rapid diagnostics to be used for monitoring following the release of Aphalara itadori as a biological control agent for Fallopia japonica.

  4. Genetic differentiating Aphis fabae and Aphis craccivora (Hemiptera: Sternorranycha: Aphididae) populations in Egypt using mitochondrial COI

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Helmi, A.; Sharaf, Abdoallah

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 71, č. 11 (2016), s. 1266-1273 ISSN 0006-3088 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : DNA sequencing * Aphididae * COI * biotypes * SNPs * molecular phylogeny Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 0.759, year: 2016

  5. Pooled-matrix protein interaction screens using Barcode Fusion Genetics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yachie, Nozomu; Petsalaki, Evangelia; Mellor, Joseph C; Weile, Jochen; Jacob, Yves; Verby, Marta; Ozturk, Sedide B; Li, Siyang; Cote, Atina G; Mosca, Roberto; Knapp, Jennifer J; Ko, Minjeong; Yu, Analyn; Gebbia, Marinella; Sahni, Nidhi; Yi, Song; Tyagi, Tanya; Sheykhkarimli, Dayag; Roth, Jonathan F; Wong, Cassandra; Musa, Louai; Snider, Jamie; Liu, Yi-Chun; Yu, Haiyuan; Braun, Pascal; Stagljar, Igor; Hao, Tong; Calderwood, Michael A; Pelletier, Laurence; Aloy, Patrick; Hill, David E; Vidal, Marc; Roth, Frederick P

    2016-04-22

    High-throughput binary protein interaction mapping is continuing to extend our understanding of cellular function and disease mechanisms. However, we remain one or two orders of magnitude away from a complete interaction map for humans and other major model organisms. Completion will require screening at substantially larger scales with many complementary assays, requiring further efficiency gains in proteome-scale interaction mapping. Here, we report Barcode Fusion Genetics-Yeast Two-Hybrid (BFG-Y2H), by which a full matrix of protein pairs can be screened in a single multiplexed strain pool. BFG-Y2H uses Cre recombination to fuse DNA barcodes from distinct plasmids, generating chimeric protein-pair barcodes that can be quantified via next-generation sequencing. We applied BFG-Y2H to four different matrices ranging in scale from ~25 K to 2.5 M protein pairs. The results show that BFG-Y2H increases the efficiency of protein matrix screening, with quality that is on par with state-of-the-art Y2H methods. © 2016 The Authors. Published under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license.

  6. Application bar-code system for solid radioactive waste management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Y. H.; Kim, T. K.; Kang, I. S.; Cho, H. S.; Son, J. S. [KAERI, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    2004-07-01

    Solid radioactive wastes are generated from the post-irradiated fuel examination facility, the irradiated material examination facility, the research reactor, and the laboratories at KAERI. A bar-code system for a solid radioactive waste management of a research organization became necessary while developing the RAWMIS(Radioactive Waste Management Integration System) which it can generate personal history management for efficient management of a waste, documents, all kinds of statistics. This paper introduces an input and output application program design to do to database with data in the results and a stream process of a treatment that analyzed the waste occurrence present situation and data by bar-code system.

  7. How many loci does it take to DNA barcode a crocus?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seberg, Ole; Petersen, Gitte

    2009-01-01

    DNA barcoding promises to revolutionize the way taxonomists work, facilitating species identification by using small, standardized portions of the genome as substitutes for morphology. The concept has gained considerable momentum in many animal groups, but the higher plant world has been largely recalcitrant to the effort. In plants, efforts are concentrated on various regions of the plastid genome, but no agreement exists as to what kinds of regions are ideal, though most researchers agree that more than one region is necessary. One reason for this discrepancy is differences in the tests that are used to evaluate the performance of the proposed regions. Most tests have been made in a floristic setting, where the genetic distance and therefore the level of variation of the regions between taxa is large, or in a limited set of congeneric species. Here we present the first in-depth coverage of a large taxonomic group, all 86 known species (except two doubtful ones) of crocus. Even six average-sized barcode regions do not identify all crocus species. This is currently an unrealistic burden in a barcode context. Whereas most proposed regions work well in a floristic context, the majority will--as is the case in crocus--undoubtedly be less efficient in a taxonomic setting. However, a reasonable but less than perfect level of identification may be reached--even in a taxonomic context. The time is ripe for selecting barcode regions in plants, and for prudent examination of their utility. Thus, there is no reason for the plant community to hold back the barcoding effort by continued search for the Holy Grail. We must acknowledge that an emerging system will be far from perfect, fraught with problems and work best in a floristic setting.

  8. BOKP: A DNA Barcode Reference Library for Monitoring Herbal Drugs in the Korean Pharmacopeia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jinxin Liu

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Herbal drug authentication is an important task in traditional medicine; however, it is challenged by the limitations of traditional authentication methods and the lack of trained experts. DNA barcoding is conspicuous in almost all areas of the biological sciences and has already been added to the British pharmacopeia and Chinese pharmacopeia for routine herbal drug authentication. However, DNA barcoding for the Korean pharmacopeia still requires significant improvements. Here, we present a DNA barcode reference library for herbal drugs in the Korean pharmacopeia and developed a species identification engine named KP-IDE to facilitate the adoption of this DNA reference library for the herbal drug authentication. Using taxonomy records, specimen records, sequence records, and reference records, KP-IDE can identify an unknown specimen. Currently, there are 6,777 taxonomy records, 1,054 specimen records, 30,744 sequence records (ITS2 and psbA-trnH and 285 reference records. Moreover, 27 herbal drug materials were collected from the Seoul Yangnyeongsi herbal medicine market to give an example for real herbal drugs authentications. Our study demonstrates the prospects of the DNA barcode reference library for the Korean pharmacopeia and provides future directions for the use of DNA barcoding for authenticating herbal drugs listed in other modern pharmacopeias.

  9. DNA barcodes and citizen science provoke a diversity reappraisal for the "ring" butterflies of Peninsular Malaysia (Ypthima: Satyrinae: Nymphalidae: Lepidoptera).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jisming-See, Shi-Wei; Sing, Kong-Wah; Wilson, John-James

    2016-10-01

    The "rings" belonging to the genus Ypthima are amongst the most common butterflies in Peninsular Malaysia. However, the species can be difficult to tell apart, with keys relying on minor and often non-discrete ring characters found on the hindwing. Seven species have been reported from Peninsular Malaysia, but this is thought to be an underestimate of diversity. DNA barcodes of 165 individuals, and wing and genital morphology, were examined to reappraise species diversity of this genus in Peninsular Malaysia. DNA barcodes collected during citizen science projects-School Butterfly Project and Peninsular Malaysia Butterfly Count-recently conducted in Peninsular Malaysia were included. The new DNA barcodes formed six groups with different Barcode Index Numbers (BINs) representing four species reported in Peninsular Malaysia. When combined with public DNA barcodes from the Barcode Of Life Datasystems, several taxonomic issues arose. We consider the taxon Y. newboldi, formerly treated as a subspecies of Y. baldus, as a distinct species. DNA barcodes also supported an earlier suggestion that Y. nebulosa is a synonym under Y. horsfieldii humei. Two BINs of the genus Ypthima comprising DNA barcodes collected during citizen science projects did not correspond to any species previously reported in Peninsular Malaysia.

  10. Haplotype Diversity of COI Gene of Hylarana chalconota Species Found at State University of Malang

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dian Ratri Wulandari

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Hylarana chalconota is a cryptic species of frog endemic to Java Island [1]. This species is small with long legs, and brown skin. The Snout-Vent Length (SVL ranges between 30-40 mm for male and 45-65 mm for female. [4] Reports the existence of this species in State University of Malang, which was not found in 1995 [5]. Sampel #1 displays spots in its skin, which does not exist in sample #2. To reveal the haplotype diversity of COI gene in this species, we analyzed Cytochrome-c oxidase subunit-1 (COI sequences of both samples. Using a pair of primers according to [6] both samples had 604 bp and 574 bp fragment length, respectively. These fragments showed polymorphism; with mutation position in sites 104, 105, and 124. Based on this result, we suggest that the two samples share a different haplotypes, proposed as UM1 and UM2.

  11. Next-generation detection of antigen-responsive T cells using DNA barcode-labeled peptide-major histocompatibility complex I multimers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bentzen, Amalie Kai; Marquard, Andrea Marion; Lyngaa, Rikke Birgitte

    2016-01-01

    sample using >1000 different peptide-MHC multimers labeled with individual DNA barcodes.After isolation of MHC multimer binding T cells their recognition are revealed by amplification andsequencing of the MHC multimer-associated DNA barcodes. The relative frequency of the sequencedDNA barcodes...... originating from a given peptide-MHC motif relates to the size of the antigenresponsiveT cell population. We have demonstrated the use of large panels of >1000 DNA barcodedMHC multimers for detection of rareT cell populations of virus and cancer-restricted origin in various tissues and compared...

  12. Application of DNA Barcodes in Asian Tropical Trees--A Case Study from Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve, Southwest China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Xiao-cui; Ci, Xiu-qin; Conran, John G; Li, Jie

    2015-01-01

    Within a regional floristic context, DNA barcoding is more useful to manage plant diversity inventories on a large scale and develop valuable conservation strategies. However, there are no DNA barcode studies from tropical areas of China, which represents one of the biodiversity hotspots around the world. A DNA barcoding database of an Asian tropical trees with high diversity was established at Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve, Yunnan, southwest China using rbcL and matK as standard barcodes, as well as trnH-psbA and ITS as supplementary barcodes. The performance of tree species identification success was assessed using 2,052 accessions from four plots belonging to two vegetation types in the region by three methods: Neighbor-Joining, Maximum-Likelihood and BLAST. We corrected morphological field identification errors (9.6%) for the three plots using rbcL and matK based on Neighbor-Joining tree. The best barcode region for PCR and sequencing was rbcL (97.6%, 90.8%), followed by trnH-psbA (93.6%, 85.6%), while matK and ITS obtained relative low PCR and sequencing success rates. However, ITS performed best for both species (44.6-58.1%) and genus (72.8-76.2%) identification. With trnH-psbA slightly less effective for species identification. The two standard barcode rbcL and matK gave poor results for species identification (24.7-28.5% and 31.6-35.3%). Compared with other studies from comparable tropical forests (e.g. Cameroon, the Amazon and India), the overall performance of the four barcodes for species identification was lower for the Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve, possibly because of species/genus ratios and species composition between these tropical areas. Although the core barcodes rbcL and matK were not suitable for species identification of tropical trees from Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve, they could still help with identification at the family and genus level. Considering the relative sequence recovery and the species identification performance, we recommend the

  13. Genetic patterns in European Geometrid Moths revealed by the Barcode Index Number (BIN) System

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hausmann, A.; Godfray, H.C.J.; Huemer, J.; Mutane, M.; Rougerie, R.; Nieukerken, van E.J.; Ratnasingham, S.; Hebert, P.D.N.

    2013-01-01

    Background: The geometrid moths of Europe are one of the best investigated insect groups in traditional taxonomy making them an ideal model group to test the accuracy of the Barcode Index Number (BIN) system of BOLD (Barcode of Life Datasystems), a method that supports automated, rapid species

  14. Craspedacusta sowerbii, Lankester 1880 – population dispersal analysis using COI and ITS sequences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Franz BRÜMMER

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available Craspedacusta sowerbii (Hydrozoa, Limnomedusae, Olindiidae is a freshwater jellyfish, which was discovered in England in 1880. Although thought to originate in South America, it became obvious that the species is native to the Yangtze River system in China. It has spread from China into lakes all over the world. Many different species, variations and sub-species have been described based on morphological characters. Specimens discovered in North America were described as separate species, as morphological differences appeared to be significant compared to European specimens. Even within Europe, differences were assumed to be obvious. Up to this point, three valid species are published; others are considered by various scientists to be true species as well, but mostly are recognized as variations. To obtain further insight into population dynamics of C. sowerbii as well as molecular information on the species itself, sequences of internal transcribed spacers (ITS and cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI have been used to analyze specimens collected in Germany and Austria. These sequences have been compared to sequences published of different Chinese Craspedacusta species and variations. In addition, morphological descriptions were compared. For the COI sequences, we found uniformity throughout the complete set of samples. However, no comparisons could be made, as no data had been published on COI of Chinese specimens. ITS1, 5.8S and ITS2, including partial 18S and 28S, sequences, were almost uniform within the German populations, showing only minor base pair exchanges. However, comparisons to Chinese organisms indicated, that the investigated sequences of C. sowerbii from Germany and Austria are similar, although not identical in morphology, to Craspedacusta sowerbii var. kiatingi from China. Overall our data support the assumption that there are three valid species, with the possibility of C. ziguiensis being a fourth one, and several

  15. Genetic barcoding with fluorescent proteins for multiplexed applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smurthwaite, Cameron A; Williams, Wesley; Fetsko, Alexandra; Abbadessa, Darin; Stolp, Zachary D; Reed, Connor W; Dharmawan, Andre; Wolkowicz, Roland

    2015-04-14

    Fluorescent proteins, fluorescent dyes and fluorophores in general have revolutionized the field of molecular cell biology. In particular, the discovery of fluorescent proteins and their genes have enabled the engineering of protein fusions for localization, the analysis of transcriptional activation and translation of proteins of interest, or the general tracking of individual cells and cell populations. The use of fluorescent protein genes in combination with retroviral technology has further allowed the expression of these proteins in mammalian cells in a stable and reliable manner. Shown here is how one can utilize these genes to give cells within a population of cells their own biosignature. As the biosignature is achieved with retroviral technology, cells are barcoded 'indefinitely'. As such, they can be individually tracked within a mixture of barcoded cells and utilized in more complex biological applications. The tracking of distinct populations in a mixture of cells is ideal for multiplexed applications such as discovery of drugs against a multitude of targets or the activation profile of different promoters. The protocol describes how to elegantly develop and amplify barcoded mammalian cells with distinct genetic fluorescent markers, and how to use several markers at once or one marker at different intensities. Finally, the protocol describes how the cells can be further utilized in combination with cell-based assays to increase the power of analysis through multiplexing.

  16. Multiplexed precision genome editing with trackable genomic barcodes in yeast.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roy, Kevin R; Smith, Justin D; Vonesch, Sibylle C; Lin, Gen; Tu, Chelsea Szu; Lederer, Alex R; Chu, Angela; Suresh, Sundari; Nguyen, Michelle; Horecka, Joe; Tripathi, Ashutosh; Burnett, Wallace T; Morgan, Maddison A; Schulz, Julia; Orsley, Kevin M; Wei, Wu; Aiyar, Raeka S; Davis, Ronald W; Bankaitis, Vytas A; Haber, James E; Salit, Marc L; St Onge, Robert P; Steinmetz, Lars M

    2018-07-01

    Our understanding of how genotype controls phenotype is limited by the scale at which we can precisely alter the genome and assess the phenotypic consequences of each perturbation. Here we describe a CRISPR-Cas9-based method for multiplexed accurate genome editing with short, trackable, integrated cellular barcodes (MAGESTIC) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. MAGESTIC uses array-synthesized guide-donor oligos for plasmid-based high-throughput editing and features genomic barcode integration to prevent plasmid barcode loss and to enable robust phenotyping. We demonstrate that editing efficiency can be increased more than fivefold by recruiting donor DNA to the site of breaks using the LexA-Fkh1p fusion protein. We performed saturation editing of the essential gene SEC14 and identified amino acids critical for chemical inhibition of lipid signaling. We also constructed thousands of natural genetic variants, characterized guide mismatch tolerance at the genome scale, and ascertained that cryptic Pol III termination elements substantially reduce guide efficacy. MAGESTIC will be broadly useful to uncover the genetic basis of phenotypes in yeast.

  17. Adhoc: an R package to calculate ad hoc distance thresholds for DNA barcoding identification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gontran Sonet

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Identification by DNA barcoding is more likely to be erroneous when it is based on a large distance between the query (the barcode sequence of the specimen to identify and its best match in a reference barcode library. The number of such false positive identifications can be decreased by setting a distance threshold above which identification has to be rejected. To this end, we proposed recently to use an ad hoc distance threshold producing identifications with an estimated relative error probability that can be fixed by the user (e.g. 5%. Here we introduce two R functions that automate the calculation of ad hoc distance thresholds for reference libraries of DNA barcodes. The scripts of both functions, a user manual and an example file are available on the JEMU website (http://jemu.myspecies.info/computer-programs as well as on the comprehensive R archive network (CRAN, http://cran.r-project.org.

  18. Taxonomy, distribution and ecology of the order Phyllodocida (Annelida, Polychaeta) in deep-sea habitats around the Iberian margin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ravara, Ascensão; Ramos, Diana; Teixeira, Marcos A. L.; Costa, Filipe O.; Cunha, Marina R.

    2017-03-01

    The polychaetes of the order Phyllodocida (excluding Nereidiformia and Phyllodociformia incertae sedis) collected from deep-sea habitats of the Iberian margin (Bay of Biscay, Horseshoe continental rise, Gulf of Cadiz and Alboran Sea), and Atlantic seamounts (Gorringe Bank, Atlantis and Nameless) are reported herein. Thirty-six species belonging to seven families - Acoetidae, Pholoidae, Polynoidae, Sigalionidae, Glyceridae, Goniadidae and Phyllodocidae, were identified. Amended descriptions and/or new illustrations are given for the species Allmaniella setubalensis, Anotochaetonoe michelbhaudi, Lepidasthenia brunnea and Polynoe sp. Relevant taxonomical notes are provided for other seventeen species. Allmaniella setubalensis, Anotochaetonoe michelbhaudi, Harmothoe evei, Eumida longicirrata and Glycera noelae, previously known only from their type localities were found in different deep-water places of the studied areas and constitute new records for the Iberian margin. The geographic distributions and the bathymetric range of thirteen and fifteen species, respectively, are extended. The morphology-based biodiversity inventory was complemented with DNA sequences of the mitochondrial barcode region (COI barcodes) providing a molecular tag for future reference. Twenty new sequences were obtained for nine species in the families Acoetidae, Glyceridae and Polynoidae and for three lineages within the Phylodoce madeirensis complex (Phyllodocidae). A brief analysis of the newly obtained sequences and publicly available COI barcode data for the genera herein reported, highlighted several cases of unclear taxonomic assignments, which need further study.

  19. A dual amplification strategy for DNA detection combining bio-barcode assay and metal-enhanced fluorescence modality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Zhenpeng; Li, Tian; Huang, Hongduan; Chen, Yang; Liu, Feng; Huang, Chengzhi; Li, Na

    2014-11-11

    Silver-enhanced fluorescence was coupled with a bio-barcode assay to facilitate a dual amplification assay to demonstrate a non-enzymatic approach for simple and sensitive detection of DNA. In the assay design, magnetic nanoparticles seeded with silver nanoparticles were modified with the capture DNA, and silver nanoparticles were modified with the binding of ssDNA and the fluorescently labeled barcode dsDNA. Upon introduction of the target DNA, a sandwich structure was formed because of the hybridization reaction. By simple magnetic separation, silver-enhanced fluorescence of barcode DNAs could be readily measured without the need of a further step to liberate barcode DNAs from silver nanoparticles, endowing the method with simplicity and high sensitivity with a detection limit of 1 pM.

  20. DNA barcoding of the Lemnaceae, a family of aquatic monocots

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang Wenqin

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Members of the aquatic monocot family Lemnaceae (commonly called duckweeds represent the smallest and fastest growing flowering plants. Their highly reduced morphology and infrequent flowering result in a dearth of characters for distinguishing between the nearly 38 species that exhibit these tiny, closely-related and often morphologically similar features within the same family of plants. Results We developed a simple and rapid DNA-based molecular identification system for the Lemnaceae based on sequence polymorphisms. We compared the barcoding potential of the seven plastid-markers proposed by the CBOL (Consortium for the Barcode of Life plant-working group to discriminate species within the land plants in 97 accessions representing 31 species from the family of Lemnaceae. A Lemnaceae-specific set of PCR and sequencing primers were designed for four plastid coding genes (rpoB, rpoC1, rbcL and matK and three noncoding spacers (atpF-atpH, psbK-psbI and trnH-psbA based on the Lemna minor chloroplast genome sequence. We assessed the ease of amplification and sequencing for these markers, examined the extent of the barcoding gap between intra- and inter-specific variation by pairwise distances, evaluated successful identifications based on direct sequence comparison of the "best close match" and the construction of a phylogenetic tree. Conclusions Based on its reliable amplification, straightforward sequence alignment, and rates of DNA variation between species and within species, we propose that the atpF-atpH noncoding spacer could serve as a universal DNA barcoding marker for species-level identification of duckweeds.

  1. Untangling taxonomy: a DNA barcode reference library for Canadian spiders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blagoev, Gergin A; deWaard, Jeremy R; Ratnasingham, Sujeevan; deWaard, Stephanie L; Lu, Liuqiong; Robertson, James; Telfer, Angela C; Hebert, Paul D N

    2016-01-01

    Approximately 1460 species of spiders have been reported from Canada, 3% of the global fauna. This study provides a DNA barcode reference library for 1018 of these species based upon the analysis of more than 30,000 specimens. The sequence results show a clear barcode gap in most cases with a mean intraspecific divergence of 0.78% vs. a minimum nearest-neighbour (NN) distance averaging 7.85%. The sequences were assigned to 1359 Barcode index numbers (BINs) with 1344 of these BINs composed of specimens belonging to a single currently recognized species. There was a perfect correspondence between BIN membership and a known species in 795 cases, while another 197 species were assigned to two or more BINs (556 in total). A few other species (26) were involved in BIN merges or in a combination of merges and splits. There was only a weak relationship between the number of specimens analysed for a species and its BIN count. However, three species were clear outliers with their specimens being placed in 11-22 BINs. Although all BIN splits need further study to clarify the taxonomic status of the entities involved, DNA barcodes discriminated 98% of the 1018 species. The present survey conservatively revealed 16 species new to science, 52 species new to Canada and major range extensions for 426 species. However, if most BIN splits detected in this study reflect cryptic taxa, the true species count for Canadian spiders could be 30-50% higher than currently recognized. © 2015 The Authors. Molecular Ecology Resources Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Forensic identification of CITES protected slimming cactus (Hoodia) using DNA barcoding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gathier, Gerard; van der Niet, Timotheus; Peelen, Tamara; van Vugt, Rogier R; Eurlings, Marcel C M; Gravendeel, Barbara

    2013-11-01

    Slimming cactus (Hoodia), found only in southwestern Africa, is a well-known herbal product for losing weight. Consequently, Hoodia extracts are sought-after worldwide despite a CITES Appendix II status. The failure to eradicate illegal trade is due to problems with detecting and identifying Hoodia using morphological and chemical characters. Our aim was to evaluate the potential of molecular identification of Hoodia based on DNA barcoding. Screening of nrITS1 and psbA-trnH DNA sequences from 26 accessions of Ceropegieae resulted in successful identification, while conventional chemical profiling using DLI-MS led to inaccurate detection and identification of Hoodia. The presence of Hoodia in herbal products was also successfully established using DNA sequences. A validation procedure of our DNA barcoding protocol demonstrated its robustness to changes in PCR conditions. We conclude that DNA barcoding is an effective tool for Hoodia detection and identification which can contribute to preventing illegal trade. © 2013 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  3. DNA Barcoding of Ichthyoplankton in Hampton Roads Bay Estuary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilkins, N.; Rodríguez, Á. E.

    2016-02-01

    Zooplankton is composed of animals that drift within the water column. The study of zooplankton biodiversity and distribution is crucial to understand oceanic ecosystems and anticipate the effects of climate change. In this study our focus is on ichthyoplankton (fish eggs and larvae). Our aim is to employ molecular genetic techniques such as DNA barcoding to begin a detailed characterization of ichthyoplankton diversity, abundance and community structure in the Hampton Roads Bay Estuary (HRBE). A sampling of zooplankton was performed on June 19, 2015. Samples were taken with a 0.5m, 200 µm mesh net in triplicates at two stations: inner shore in the mouth of Jones Creek and 5 miles off Hampton in the lower part of Chesapeake Bay. Physical parameters (dissolved oxygen, salinity, and temperature and water transparency) were measured simultaneously. Species were identified by DNA barcoding using the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of the Cytochrome Oxidase 1 (CO1) gene. Fish eggs were identified from Opistonema oglinum (Atlantic Thread Herring) at the offshore stations while, Anchoa mitchilli was found at both stations. These species are common to the area and as observed, differences in species between stations were found. O. oglinum eggs were found in the offshore stations, which is their reported habitat. A. mitchilli eggs were found in both stations; both known to exhibit a wider salinity tolerance. This work indicates that using mtDNA-CO1 barcoding is suitable to identify ichthyoplankton to the species level and helped validate DNA barcoding as a faster taxonomic approach. The long term objective of this project is to provide taxonomic composition and biodiversity assessment of ichthyoplankton in HRBE. This data will be a reference for broad monitoring programs; for a better understanding and management of ecologically and commercially important species in the HRBE. Monthly samplings will be performed for a year beginning September 2015.

  4. Barcode tagging of human oocytes and embryos to prevent mix-ups in assisted reproduction technologies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Novo, Sergi; Nogués, Carme; Penon, Oriol; Barrios, Leonardo; Santaló, Josep; Gómez-Martínez, Rodrigo; Esteve, Jaume; Errachid, Abdelhamid; Plaza, José Antonio; Pérez-García, Lluïsa; Ibáñez, Elena

    2014-01-01

    Is the attachment of biofunctionalized polysilicon barcodes to the outer surface of the zona pellucida an effective approach for the direct tagging and identification of human oocytes and embryos during assisted reproduction technologies (ARTs)? The direct tagging system based on lectin-biofunctionalized polysilicon barcodes of micrometric dimensions is simple, safe and highly efficient, allowing the identification of human oocytes and embryos during the various procedures typically conducted during an assisted reproduction cycle. Measures to prevent mismatching errors (mix-ups) of the reproductive samples are currently in place in fertility clinics, but none of them are totally effective and several mix-up cases have been reported worldwide. Using a mouse model, our group has previously developed an effective direct embryo tagging system which does not interfere with the in vitro and in vivo development of the tagged embryos. This system has now been tested in human oocytes and embryos. Fresh immature and mature fertilization-failed oocytes (n = 21) and cryopreserved day 1 embryos produced by in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) (n = 205) were donated by patients (n = 76) undergoing ARTs. In vitro development rates, embryo quality and post-vitrification survival were compared between tagged (n = 106) and non-tagged (control) embryos (n = 99). Barcode retention and identification rates were also calculated, both for embryos and for oocytes subjected to a simulated ICSI and parthenogenetic activation. Experiments were conducted from January 2012 to January 2013. Barcodes were fabricated in polysilicon and biofunctionalizated with wheat germ agglutinin lectin. Embryos were tagged with 10 barcodes and cultured in vitro until the blastocyst stage, when they were either differentially stained with propidium iodide and Hoechst or vitrified using the Cryotop method. Embryo quality was also analyzed by embryo grading and time

  5. Assessment of four molecular markers as potential DNA barcodes for red algae Kappaphycus Doty and Eucheuma J. Agardh (Solieriaceae, Rhodophyta).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Ji; Lim, Phaik-Eem; Phang, Siew-Moi; Hong, Dang Diem; Sunarpi, H; Hurtado, Anicia Q

    2012-01-01

    DNA barcoding has been a major advancement in the field of taxonomy, seeing much effort put into the barcoding of wide taxa of organisms, macro and microalgae included. The mitochondrial-encoded cox1 and plastid-encoded rbcL has been proposed as potential DNA barcodes for rhodophytes, but are yet to be tested on the commercially important carrageenophytes Kappaphycus and Eucheuma. This study gauges the effectiveness of four markers, namely the mitochondrial cox1, cox2, cox2-3 spacer and the plastid rbcL in DNA barcoding on selected Kappaphycus and Eucheuma from Southeast Asia. Marker assessments were performed using established distance and tree-based identification criteria from earlier studies. Barcoding patterns on a larger scale were simulated by empirically testing on the commonly used cox2-3 spacer. The phylogeny of these rhodophytes was also briefly described. In this study, the cox2 marker which satisfies the prerequisites of DNA barcodes was found to exhibit moderately high interspecific divergences with no intraspecific variations, thus a promising marker for the DNA barcoding of Kappaphycus and Eucheuma. However, the already extensively used cox2-3 spacer was deemed to be in overall more appropriate as a DNA barcode for these two genera. On a wider scale, cox1 and rbcL were still better DNA barcodes across the rhodophyte taxa when practicality and cost-efficiency were taken into account. The phylogeny of Kappaphycus and Eucheuma were generally similar to those earlier reported. Still, the application of DNA barcoding has demonstrated our relatively poor taxonomic comprehension of these seaweeds, thus suggesting more in-depth efforts in taxonomic restructuring as well as establishment.

  6. Using DNA barcoding to assess Caribbean reef fish biodiversity: expanding taxonomic and geographic coverage.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lee A Weigt

    Full Text Available This paper represents a DNA barcode data release for 3,400 specimens representing 521 species of fishes from 6 areas across the Caribbean and western central Atlantic regions (FAO Region 31. Merged with our prior published data, the combined efforts result in 3,964 specimens representing 572 species of marine fishes and constitute one of the most comprehensive DNA barcoding "coverages" for a region reported to date. The barcode data are providing new insights into Caribbean shorefish diversity, allowing for more and more accurate DNA-based identifications of larvae, juveniles, and unknown specimens. Examples are given correcting previous work that was erroneous due to database incompleteness.

  7. Internal transcribed spacer 2 barcode: A good tool for identifying Acanthopanacis cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sha eZhao

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Acanthopanacis cortex has been used in clinical applications for a long time. Considering some historical and geographical factors, Acanthopanacis cortex is easily confused with other herbs in medicine markets, thereby causing potential safety issues. In this study, we used the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2 barcode to identify 69 samples belonging to six species, including Acanthopanacis cortex and its adulterants. The nearest distance, single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, and neighbor-joining (NJ tree methods were used to evaluate the identification ability of the ITS2 barcode. According to the kimura-2-parameter model, the intraspecific distance of Eleutherococcus nodiflorus ITS2 sequences ranged from 0 to 0.0132. The minimum interspecific distance between E. nodiflorus and E. giraldii was 0.0221, which was larger than the maximum intraspecific distance of E. nodiflorus. Three stable SNPs in ITS2 can be used to distinguish Acanthopanacis cortex and its closely related species. The NJ tree indicated that the Acanthopanacis cortex samples clustered into one clade, which can be distinguished clearly from the adulterants of this herb. A secondary structure of ITS2 provided another dimensionality to identify species. In conclusion, the ITS2 barcode effectively identifies Acanthopanacis cortex, and DNA barcoding is a convenient tool for medicine market supervision.

  8. ISBN and QR Barcode Scanning Mobile App for Libraries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Graham McCarthy

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available This article outlines the development of a mobile application for the Ryerson University Library. The application provides for ISBN barcode scanning that results in a lookup of library copies and services for the book scanned, as well as QR code scanning. Two versions of the application were developed, one for iOS and one for Android. The article includes some details on the free packages used for barcode scanning functionality. Source code for the Ryerson iOS and Android applications are freely available, and instructions are provided on customizing the Ryerson application for use in other library environments. Some statistics on the number of downloads of the Ryerson mobile app by users are included.

  9. The jasmonate receptor COI1 plays a role in jasmonate-induced lateral root formation and lateral root positioning in Arabidopsis thaliana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raya-González, Javier; Pelagio-Flores, Ramón; López-Bucio, José

    2012-09-15

    Jasmonic acid (JA) regulates a broad range of plant defense and developmental responses. COI1 has been recently found to act as JA receptor. In this report, we show that low micromolar concentrations of JA inhibited primary root (PR) growth and promoted lateral root (LR) formation in Arabidopsis wild-type (WT) seedlings. It was observed that the coi1-1 mutant was less sensitive to JA on pericycle cell activation to induce lateral root primordia (LRP) formation and presented alterations in lateral root positioning and lateral root emergence on bends. To investigate JA-auxin interactions important for remodeling of root system (RS) architecture, we tested the expression of auxin-inducible markers DR5:uidA and BA3:uidA in WT and coi1-1 seedlings in response to indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and JA and analyzed the RS architecture of a suite of auxin-related mutants under JA treatments. We found that JA did not affect DR5:uidA and BA3:uidA expression in WT and coi1-1 seedlings. Our data also showed that PR growth inhibition in response to JA was likely independent of auxin signaling and that the induction of LRP required ARF7, ARF19, SLR, TIR1, AFB2, AFB3 and AXR1 loci. We conclude that JA regulation of postembryonic root development involves both auxin-dependent and independent mechanisms. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  10. Barcoding success as a function of phylogenetic relatedness in Viburnum, a clade of woody angiosperms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clement Wendy L

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The chloroplast genes matK and rbcL have been proposed as a “core” DNA barcode for identifying plant species. Published estimates of successful species identification using these loci (70-80% may be inflated because they may have involved comparisons among distantly related species within target genera. To assess the ability of the proposed two-locus barcode to discriminate closely related species, we carried out a hierarchically structured set of comparisons within Viburnum, a clade of woody angiosperms containing ca. 170 species (some 70 of which are currently used in horticulture. For 112 Viburnum species, we evaluated rbcL + matK, as well as the chloroplast regions rpl32-trnL, trnH-psbA, trnK, and the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region (nrITS. Results At most, rbcL + matK could discriminate 53% of all Viburnum species, with only 18% of the comparisons having genetic distances >1%. When comparisons were progressively restricted to species within major Viburnum subclades, there was a significant decrease in both the discriminatory power and the genetic distances. trnH-psbA and nrITS show much higher levels of variation and potential discriminatory power, and their use in plant barcoding should be reconsidered. As barcoding has often been used to discriminate species within local areas, we also compared Viburnum species within two regions, Japan and Mexico and Central America. Greater success in discriminating among the Japanese species reflects the deeper evolutionary history of Viburnum in that area, as compared to the recent radiation of a single clade into the mountains of Latin America. Conclusions We found very low levels of discrimination among closely related species of Viburnum, and low levels of variation in the proposed barcoding loci may limit success within other clades of long-lived woody plants. Inclusion of the supplementary barcodes trnH-psbA and nrITS increased discrimination rates but

  11. Testing DNA barcodes in closely related species of Curcuma (Zingiberaceae) from Myanmar and China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Juan; Zhao, Jietang; Erickson, David L; Xia, Nianhe; Kress, W John

    2015-03-01

    The genus Curcuma L. is commonly used as spices, medicines, dyes and ornamentals. Owing to its economic significance and lack of clear-cut morphological differences between species, this genus is an ideal case for developing DNA barcodes. In this study, four chloroplast DNA regions (matK, rbcL, trnH-psbA and trnL-F) and one nuclear region (ITS2) were generated for 44 Curcuma species and five species from closely related genera, represented by 96 samples. PCR amplification success rate, intra- and inter-specific genetic distance variation and the correct identification percentage were taken into account to assess candidate barcode regions. PCR and sequence success rate were high in matK (89.7%), rbcL (100%), trnH-psbA (100%), trnL-F (95.7%) and ITS2 (82.6%) regions. The results further showed that four candidate chloroplast barcoding regions (matK, rbcL, trnH-psbA and trnL-F) yield no barcode gaps, indicating that the genus Curcuma represents a challenging group for DNA barcoding. The ITS2 region presented large interspecific variation and provided the highest correct identification rates (46.7%) based on BLASTClust method among the five regions. However, the ITS2 only provided 7.9% based on NJ tree method. An increase in discriminatory power needs the development of more variable markers. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. New gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) from Papua New Guinea

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Kolesik, P.; Butterill, Philip T.

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 54, č. 1 (2015), s. 79-86 ISSN 2052-1758 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-10486S EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 669609 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : barcoding * COI * insect taxonomy Subject RIV: EG - Zoology Impact factor: 1.114, year: 2015 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aen.12095/abstract

  13. Species of Philometra (Nematoda, Philometridae) from fishes off the Mediterranean coast of Africa, with a description of Philometra rara n. sp from Hyporthodus haifensis and a molecular analysis of Philometra saltatrix from Pomatomus saltatrix

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Moravec, František; Chaabane, A.; Neifar, L.; Gey, D.; Justine, J.-L.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 24, 10 March (2017), č. článku 8. ISSN 1252-607X R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GBP505/12/G112 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : parasitic nematode * taxonomy * Dracunculoidea * Mediterranean Sea * Libya * Tunisia * coi * barcoding Subject RIV: EG - Zoology OBOR OECD: Zoology Impact factor: 2.545, year: 2016

  14. Barcoding of fresh water fishes from Pakistan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karim, Asma; Iqbal, Asad; Akhtar, Rehan; Rizwan, Muhammad; Amar, Ali; Qamar, Usman; Jahan, Shah

    2016-07-01

    DNA bar-coding is a taxonomic method that uses small genetic markers in organisms' mitochondrial DNA (mt DNA) for identification of particular species. It uses sequence diversity in a 658-base pair fragment near the 5' end of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) gene as a tool for species identification. DNA barcoding is more accurate and reliable method as compared with the morphological identification. It is equally useful in juveniles as well as adult stages of fishes. The present study was conducted to identify three farm fish species of Pakistan (Cyprinus carpio, Cirrhinus mrigala, and Ctenopharyngodon idella) genetically. All of them belonged to family cyprinidae. CO1 gene was amplified. PCR products were sequenced and analyzed by bioinformatic software. Conspecific, congenric, and confamilial k2P nucleotide divergence was estimated. From these findings, it was concluded that the gene sequence, CO1, may serve as milestone for the identification of related species at molecular level.

  15. Aptamer-based hydrogel barcodes for the capture and detection of multiple types of pathogenic bacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Yueshuang; Wang, Huan; Luan, Chengxin; Liu, Yuxiao; Chen, Baoan; Zhao, Yuanjin

    2018-02-15

    Rapid and sensitive diagnosing hematological infections based on the separation and detection of pathogenic bacteria in the patient's blood is a significant challenge. To address this, we herein present a new barcodes technology that can simultaneously capture and detect multiple types of pathogenic bacteria from a complex sample. The barcodes are poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogel inverse opal particles with characteristic reflection peak codes that remain stable during bacteria capture on their surfaces. As the spherical surface of the particles has ordered porous nanostructure, the barcodes can provide not only more surface area for probe immobilization and reaction, but also a nanopatterned platform for highly efficient bioreactions. In addition, the PEG hydrogel scaffold could decrease the non-specificity adsorption by its anti-adhesive effect, and the decorated aptamer probes in the scaffolds could increase the sensitivity, reliability, and specificity of the bacteria capture and detection. Moreover, the tagged magnetic nanoparticles in the PEG scaffold could impart the barcodes with controllable movement under magnetic fields, which can be used to significantly increase the reaction speed and simplify the processing of the bioassays. Based on the describe barcodes, it was demonstrated that the bacteria could be captured and identified even at low bacterial concentrations (100 CFU mL -1 ) within 2.5h, which is effectively shortened in comparison with the "gold standard" in clinic. These features make the barcodes ideal for capturing and detecting multiple bacteria from clinical samples for hematological infection diagnostics. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Mini-DNA barcode in identification of the ornamental fish: A case study from Northeast India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhar, Bishal; Ghosh, Sankar Kumar

    2017-09-05

    The ornamental fishes were exported under the trade names or generic names, thus creating problems in species identification. In this regard, DNA barcoding could effectively elucidate the actual species status. However, the problem arises if the specimen is having taxonomic disputes, falsified by trade/generic names, etc., On the other hand, barcoding the archival museum specimens would be of greater benefit to address such issues as it would create firm, error-free reference database for rapid identification of any species. This can be achieved only by generating short sequences as DNA from chemically preserved are mostly degraded. Here we aimed to identify a short stretch of informative sites within the full-length barcode segment, capable of delineating diverse group of ornamental fish species, commonly traded from NE India. We analyzed 287 full-length barcode sequences from the major fish orders and compared the interspecific K2P distance with nucleotide substitutions patterns and found a strong correlation of interspecies distance with transversions (0.95, pbarcode. The proposed segment was compared with the full-length barcodes and found to delineate the species effectively. Successful PCR amplification and sequencing of the 171bp segment using designed primers for different orders validated it as mini-barcodes for ornamental fishes. Thus, our findings would be helpful in strengthening the global database with the sequence of archived fish species as well as an effective identification tool of the traded ornamental fish species, as a less time consuming, cost effective field-based application. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Assembling and auditing a comprehensive DNA barcode reference library for European marine fishes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveira, L M; Knebelsberger, T; Landi, M; Soares, P; Raupach, M J; Costa, F O

    2016-12-01

    A large-scale comprehensive reference library of DNA barcodes for European marine fishes was assembled, allowing the evaluation of taxonomic uncertainties and species genetic diversity that were otherwise hidden in geographically restricted studies. A total of 4118 DNA barcodes were assigned to 358 species generating 366 Barcode Index Numbers (BIN). Initial examination revealed as much as 141 BIN discordances (more than one species in each BIN). After implementing an auditing and five-grade (A-E) annotation protocol, the number of discordant species BINs was reduced to 44 (13% grade E), while concordant species BINs amounted to 271 (78% grades A and B) and 14 other had insufficient data (grade D). Fifteen species displayed comparatively high intraspecific divergences ranging from 2·6 to 18·5% (grade C), which is biologically paramount information to be considered in fish species monitoring and stock assessment. On balance, this compilation contributed to the detection of 59 European fish species probably in need of taxonomic clarification or re-evaluation. The generalized implementation of an auditing and annotation protocol for reference libraries of DNA barcodes is recommended. © 2016 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

  18. Pictorial AR Tag with Hidden Multi-Level Bar-Code and Its Potential Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huy Le

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available For decades, researchers have been trying to create intuitive virtual environments by blending reality and virtual reality, thus enabling general users to interact with the digital domain as easily as with the real world. The result is “augmented reality” (AR. AR seamlessly superimposes virtual objects on to a real environment in three dimensions (3D and in real time. One of the most important parts that helps close the gap between virtuality and reality is the marker used in the AR system. While pictorial marker and bar-code marker are the two most commonly used marker types in the market, they have some disadvantages in visual and processing performance. In this paper, we present a novelty method that combines the bar-code with the original feature of a colour picture (e.g., photos, trading cards, advertisement’s figure. Our method decorates on top of the original pictorial images additional features with a single stereogram image that optically conceals a multi-level (3D bar-code. Thus, it has a larger capability of storing data compared to the general 1D barcode. This new type of marker has the potential of addressing the issues that the current types of marker are facing. It not only keeps the original information of the picture but also contains encoded numeric information. In our limited evaluation, this pictorial bar-code shows a relatively robust performance under various conditions and scaling; thus, it provides a promising AR approach to be used in many applications such as trading card games, educations, and advertisements.

  19. CO I barcoding reveals new clades and radiation patterns of Indo-Pacific sponges of the family Irciniidae (Demospongiae: Dictyoceratida.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Judith Pöppe

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available DNA barcoding is a promising tool to facilitate a rapid and unambiguous identification of sponge species. Demosponges of the order Dictyoceratida are particularly challenging to identify, but are of ecological as well as biochemical importance.Here we apply DNA barcoding with the standard CO1-barcoding marker on selected Indo-Pacific specimens of two genera, Ircinia and Psammocinia of the family Irciniidae. We show that the CO1 marker identifies several species new to science, reveals separate radiation patterns of deep-sea Ircinia sponges and indicates dispersal patterns of Psammocinia species. However, some species cannot be unambiguously barcoded by solely this marker due to low evolutionary rates.We support previous suggestions for a combination of the standard CO1 fragment with an additional fragment for sponge DNA barcoding.

  20. Nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region as a universal DNA barcode marker for Fungi

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schoch, C.L.; Seifert, K.A.; Huhndorf, S.; Robert, V.; Spouge, J.L.; Levesque, C.A.; Chen, W.; Crous, P.W.; Boekhout, T.; Damm, U.; Hoog, de G.S.; Eberhardt, U.; Groenewald, J.Z.; Groenewald, M.; Hagen, F.; Houbraken, J.; Quaedvlieg, W.; Stielow, B.; Vu, T.D.; Walther, G.

    2012-01-01

    Six DNA regions were evaluated as potential DNA barcodes for Fungi, the second largest kingdom of eukaryotic life, by a multinational, multilaboratory consortium. The region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 used as the animal barcode was excluded as a potential marker, because it

  1. Detection of HIV-1 p24 Gag in plasma by a nanoparticle-based bio-barcode-amplification method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Eun-Young; Stanton, Jennifer; Korber, Bette T M; Krebs, Kendall; Bogdan, Derek; Kunstman, Kevin; Wu, Samuel; Phair, John P; Mirkin, Chad A; Wolinsky, Steven M

    2008-06-01

    Detection of HIV-1 in patients is limited by the sensitivity and selectivity of available tests. The nanotechnology-based bio-barcode-amplification method offers an innovative approach to detect specific HIV-1 antigens from diverse HIV-1 subtypes. We evaluated the efficacy of this protein-detection method in detecting HIV-1 in men enrolled in the Chicago component of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS). The method relies on magnetic microparticles with antibodies that specifically bind the HIV-1 p24 Gag protein and nanoparticles that are encoded with DNA and antibodies that can sandwich the target protein captured by the microparticle-bound antibodies. The aggregate sandwich structures are magnetically separated from solution, and treated to remove the conjugated barcode DNA. The DNA barcodes (hundreds per target) were identified by a nanoparticle-based detection method that does not rely on PCR. Of 112 plasma samples from HIV-1-infected subjects, 111 were positive for HIV-1 p24 Gag protein (range: 0.11-71.5 ng/ml of plasma) by the bio-barcode-amplification method. HIV-1 p24 Gag protein was detected in only 23 out of 112 men by the conventional ELISA. A total of 34 uninfected subjects were negative by both tests. Thus, the specificity of the bio-barcode-amplification method was 100% and the sensitivity 99%. The bio-barcode-amplification method detected HIV-1 p24 Gag protein in plasma from all study subjects with less than 200 CD4(+) T cells/microl of plasma (100%) and 19 out of 20 (95%) HIV-1-infected men who had less than 50 copies/ml of plasma of HIV-1 RNA. In a separate group of 60 diverse international isolates, representative of clades A, B, C and D and circulating recombinant forms CRF01_AE and CRF02_AG, the bio-barcode-amplification method identified the presence of virus correctly. The bio-barcode-amplification method was superior to the conventional ELISA assay for the detection of HIV-1 p24 Gag protein in plasma with a breadth of coverage for diverse

  2. DNA barcoding: a tool for standardization of herbal medicinal products (HMPS) of lamiaceae from pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zahra, N.B.; Shinwari, Z.K.

    2016-01-01

    There has been a considerable interest worldwide in traditional and alternative medicine, particularly herbal products over the past few decades but the adulteration or contamination of herbal medicinal products (HMPs) is a potential threat to consumer safety. The fact highlights the importance of an effective and accurate science integrated method for taxonomic identification of the medicinal plants and their HMPs. DNA barcoding is a molecular technique which has made it possible to identify the herbs and to find the adulterants in HMPs. The current study was designed on DNA barcoding of medicinal plants of family Lamiaceae for their correct identification and to fix the problem of adulteration for protecting consumers from health risks associated with product substitution and contamination. Many Lamiaceae species are used as traditional medicines, as culinary herbs, spices and as source of essential oils. HMPs representing 32 Lamiaceae plant samples were purchased/collected from three herbal stores (Pansar stores) in Islamabad and a herbal pharmaceutical industry. We selected three plastid loci rbcL, matK and psbA-trnH to barcode these HMPs. MEGABLAST sequence comparison was performed to verify the taxonomic identity of the samples. We found four mislabeled samples and two product substitutions. The overall amplification success for rbcL and matK was 87% and 81% while psbA-trnH showed 69%. matK and psbA-trnH were able to distinguish the species relatively better with 40% success rate than rbcL (16%). On the whole we generated a total of 22 genus-level barcodes (78%) and 12 species-level barcodes (44%). The species-level identification was considerably low due to insufficient reference data and selection of plastid markers. Therefore, it is recommended to develop herbal barcode library for adequate availability of reference sequence data and addition of nuclear markers. DNA barcoding can help the regulatory authorities to devise a mechanism for quality control and

  3. Nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region as a universal DNA barcode marker for Fungi

    Science.gov (United States)

    Six DNA regions were evaluated in a multi-national, multi-laboratory consortium as potential DNA barcodes for Fungi, the second largest kingdom of eukaryotic life. The region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 used as the animal barcode was excluded as a potential marker, because it...

  4. DNA barcoding for conservation, seed banking and ecological restoration of Acacia in the Midwest of Western Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nevill, Paul G; Wallace, Mark J; Miller, Joseph T; Krauss, Siegfried L

    2013-11-01

    We used DNA barcoding to address an important conservation issue in the Midwest of Western Australia, working on Australia's largest genus of flowering plant. We tested whether or not currently recommended plant DNA barcoding regions (matK and rbcL) were able to discriminate Acacia taxa of varying phylogenetic distances, and ultimately identify an ambiguously labelled seed collection from a mine-site restoration project. Although matK successfully identified the unknown seed as the rare and conservation priority listed A. karina, and was able to resolve six of the eleven study species, this region was difficult to amplify and sequence. In contrast, rbcL was straightforward to recover and align, but could not determine the origin of the seed and only resolved 3 of the 11 species. Other chloroplast regions (rpl32-trnL, psbA-trnH, trnL-F and trnK) had mixed success resolving the studied taxa. In general, species were better resolved in multilocus data sets compared to single-locus data sets. We recommend using the formal barcoding regions supplemented with data from other plastid regions, particularly rpl32-trnL, for barcoding in Acacia. Our study demonstrates the novel use of DNA barcoding for seed identification and illustrates the practical potential of DNA barcoding for the growing discipline of restoration ecology. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Identification of SNP barcode biomarkers for genes associated with facial emotion perception using particle swarm optimization algorithm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chuang, Li-Yeh; Lane, Hsien-Yuan; Lin, Yu-Da; Lin, Ming-Teng; Yang, Cheng-Hong; Chang, Hsueh-Wei

    2014-01-01

    Facial emotion perception (FEP) can affect social function. We previously reported that parts of five tested single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the MET and AKT1 genes may individually affect FEP performance. However, the effects of SNP-SNP interactions on FEP performance remain unclear. This study compared patients with high and low FEP performances (n = 89 and 93, respectively). A particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm was used to identify the best SNP barcodes (i.e., the SNP combinations and genotypes that revealed the largest differences between the high and low FEP groups). The analyses of individual SNPs showed no significant differences between the high and low FEP groups. However, comparisons of multiple SNP-SNP interactions involving different combinations of two to five SNPs showed that the best PSO-generated SNP barcodes were significantly associated with high FEP score. The analyses of the joint effects of the best SNP barcodes for two to five interacting SNPs also showed that the best SNP barcodes had significantly higher odds ratios (2.119 to 3.138; P < 0.05) compared to other SNP barcodes. In conclusion, the proposed PSO algorithm effectively identifies the best SNP barcodes that have the strongest associations with FEP performance. This study also proposes a computational methodology for analyzing complex SNP-SNP interactions in social cognition domains such as recognition of facial emotion.

  6. Molecular Authentication of the Traditional Medicinal Plant "Lakshman Booti" (Smithia conferta Sm.) and Its Adulterants through DNA Barcoding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Umdale, Suraj D; Kshirsagar, Parthraj R; Lekhak, Manoj M; Gaikwad, Nikhil B

    2017-07-01

    Smithia conferta Sm. is an annual herb widely used in Indian traditional medical practice and commonly known as "Lakshman booti" in Sanskrit. Morphological resemblance among the species of genus Smithia Aiton . leads to inaccurate identification and adulteration. This causes inconsistent therapeutic effects and also affects the quality of herbal medicine. This study aimed to generate potential barcode for authentication of S. conferta and its adulterants through DNA barcoding technique. Genomic DNA extracted from S. conferta and its adulterants was used as templates for polymerase chain reaction amplification of the barcoding regions. The amplicons were directed for sequencing, and species identification was conducted using BLASTn and unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic mean trees. In addition, the secondary structures of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) 2 region were predicted. The nucleotide sequence of ITS provides species-specific single nucleotide polymorphisms and sequence divergence (22%) than psb A- trn H (10.9%) and rbc L (3.1%) sequences. The ITS barcode indicates that S. conferta and Smithia sensitiva are closely related compared to other species. ITS is the most applicable barcode for molecular authentication of S. conferta , and further chloroplast barcodes should be tested for phylogenetic analysis of genus Smithia. The present investigation is the first effort of utilization of DNA barcode for molecular authentication of S. conferta and its adulterants. Also, this study expanded the application of the ITS2 sequence data in the authentication. The ITS has been proved as a potential and reliable candidate barcode for the authentication of S. conferta . Abbreviations used: BLASTn: Basic Local Alignment Search Tool for Nucleotide; MEGA: Molecular Evolutionary Genetic Analysis; EMBL: European Molecular Biology Laboratory; psb A- trn H: Photosystem II protein D1- stuctural RNA: His tRNA gene; rbcL: Ribulose 1,5 bi-phosphate carboxylase

  7. High-Throughput Mapping of Single-Neuron Projections by Sequencing of Barcoded RNA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kebschull, Justus M; Garcia da Silva, Pedro; Reid, Ashlan P; Peikon, Ian D; Albeanu, Dinu F; Zador, Anthony M

    2016-09-07

    Neurons transmit information to distant brain regions via long-range axonal projections. In the mouse, area-to-area connections have only been systematically mapped using bulk labeling techniques, which obscure the diverse projections of intermingled single neurons. Here we describe MAPseq (Multiplexed Analysis of Projections by Sequencing), a technique that can map the projections of thousands or even millions of single neurons by labeling large sets of neurons with random RNA sequences ("barcodes"). Axons are filled with barcode mRNA, each putative projection area is dissected, and the barcode mRNA is extracted and sequenced. Applying MAPseq to the locus coeruleus (LC), we find that individual LC neurons have preferred cortical targets. By recasting neuroanatomy, which is traditionally viewed as a problem of microscopy, as a problem of sequencing, MAPseq harnesses advances in sequencing technology to permit high-throughput interrogation of brain circuits. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Detection of plant-based adulterants in turmeric powder using DNA barcoding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parvathy, V A; Swetha, V P; Sheeja, T E; Sasikumar, B

    2015-01-01

    In its powdered form, turmeric [Curcuma longa L. (Zingiberaceae)], a spice of medical importance, is often adulterated lowering its quality. The study sought to detect plant-based adulterants in traded turmeric powder using DNA barcoding. Accessions of Curcuma longa L., Curcuma zedoaria Rosc. (Zingiberaceae), and cassava starch served as reference samples. Three barcoding loci, namely ITS, rbcL, and matK, were used for PCR amplification of the reference samples and commercial samples representing 10 different companies. PCR success rate, sequencing efficiency, occurrence of SNPs, and BLAST analysis were used to assess the potential of the barcoding loci in authenticating the traded samples of turmeric. The PCR and sequencing success of the loci rbcL and ITS were found to be 100%, whereas matK showed no amplification. ITS proved to be the ideal locus because it showed greater variability than rbcL in discriminating the Curcuma species. The presence of C. zedoaria could be detected in one of the samples whereas cassava starch, wheat, barley, and rye in other two samples although the label claimed nothing other than turmeric powder in the samples. Unlabeled materials in turmeric powder are considered as adulterants or fillers, added to increase the bulk weight and starch content of the commodity for economic gains. These adulterants pose potential health hazards to consumers who are allergic to these plants, lowering the product's medicinal value and belying the claim that the product is gluten free. The study proved DNA barcoding as an efficient tool for testing the integrity and the authenticity of commercial products of turmeric.

  9. DNA barcoding in Mucorales: an inventory of biodiversity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Walther, G.; Pawlowska, J.; Alastruey-Izquierdo, A.; Wrzosek, M.; Rodriguez-Tudela, J.L.; Dolatabadi, S.; Chakrabarti, A.; de Hoog, G.S.

    2013-01-01

    The order Mucorales comprises predominantly fast-growing saprotrophic fungi, some of which are used for the fermentation of foodstuffs but it also includes species known to cause infections in patients with severe immune or metabolic impairments. To inventory biodiversity in Mucorales ITS barcodes

  10. One fungus , which genes ? Development and assessment of universal primers for potential secondary fungal DNA barcodes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stielow, J B; Lévesque, C A; Seifert, K A; Meyer, W; Irinyi, L; Smits, D; Renfurm, R; Verkley, G J M; Groenewald, M; Chaduli, D; Lomascolo, A; Welti, S; Lesage-Meessen, L; Favel, A; Al-Hatmi, A M S; Damm, U; Yilmaz, N.; Houbraken, J.; Lombard, L.; Quaedvlieg, W.; Binder, M.; Vaas, L.A.I.; Vu, D.; Yurkov, A.; Begerow, D.; Roehl, O.; Guerreiro, M.; Fonseca, A.; Samerpitak, K.; Diepeningen, A.D. van; Dolatabadi, S.; Moreno, L.F.; Casaregola, S.; Mallet, S.; Jacques, N.; Roscini, L.; Egidi, E.; Bizet, C.; Garcia-Hermoso, D.; Martín, M.P.; Deng, S.; Groenewald, J.Z.; Boekhout, T.; Beer, Z.W. de; Barnes, I.; Duong, T.A.; Wingfield, M.J.; Hoog, G.S. de; Crous, P.W.; Lewis, C.T.; Hambleton, S.; Moussa, T.A.A.; Al-Zahrani, H.S.; Almaghrabi, O.A.; Louis-Seize, G.; Assabgui, R.; McCormick, W.; Omer, G.; Dukik, K.; Cardinali, G.; Eberhardt, U.; Vries, M. de; Robert, V.

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to assess potential candidate gene regions and corresponding universal primer pairs as secondary DNA barcodes for the fungal kingdom, additional to ITS rDNA as primary barcode. Amplification efficiencies of 14 (partially) universal primer pairs targeting eight genetic

  11. Identifying insects with incomplete DNA barcode libraries, African fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) as a test case.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Virgilio, Massimiliano; Jordaens, Kurt; Breman, Floris C; Backeljau, Thierry; De Meyer, Marc

    2012-01-01

    We propose a general working strategy to deal with incomplete reference libraries in the DNA barcoding identification of species. Considering that (1) queries with a large genetic distance with their best DNA barcode match are more likely to be misidentified and (2) imposing a distance threshold profitably reduces identification errors, we modelled relationships between identification performances and distance thresholds in four DNA barcode libraries of Diptera (n = 4270), Lepidoptera (n = 7577), Hymenoptera (n = 2067) and Tephritidae (n = 602 DNA barcodes). In all cases, more restrictive distance thresholds produced a gradual increase in the proportion of true negatives, a gradual decrease of false positives and more abrupt variations in the proportions of true positives and false negatives. More restrictive distance thresholds improved precision, yet negatively affected accuracy due to the higher proportions of queries discarded (viz. having a distance query-best match above the threshold). Using a simple linear regression we calculated an ad hoc distance threshold for the tephritid library producing an estimated relative identification error DNA barcodes and should be used as cut-off mark defining whether we can proceed identifying the query with a known estimated error probability (e.g. 5%) or whether we should discard the query and consider alternative/complementary identification methods.

  12. DNA barcoding of medicinal plant material for identification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Because of the increasing demand for herbal remedies and for authentication of the source material, it is vital to provide a single database containing information about authentic plant materials and their potential adulterants. The database should provide DNA barcodes for data retrieval and similar...

  13. DNA Barcoding of Malagasy Rosewoods: Towards a Molecular Identification of CITES-Listed Dalbergia Species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassold, Sonja; Lowry, Porter P; Bauert, Martin R; Razafintsalama, Annick; Ramamonjisoa, Lolona; Widmer, Alex

    2016-01-01

    Illegal selective logging of tropical timber is of increasing concern worldwide. Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot and home to some of the world's most sought after tropical timber species. Malagasy rosewoods belong to the genus Dalbergia (Fabaceae), which is highly diverse and has a pantropical distribution, but these timber species are among the most threatened as a consequence of intensive illegal selective logging and deforestation. Reliable identification of Dalbergia species from Madagascar is important for law enforcement but is almost impossible without fertile plant material, which is often unavailable during forest inventories or when attempting to identify logged trees of cut wood. DNA barcoding has been promoted as a promising tool for species identification in such cases. In this study we tested whether DNA barcoding with partial sequences of three plastid markers (matK, rbcL and trnL (UAA)) can distinguish between Dalbergia from Madagascar and from other areas of its distributional range, and whether Malagasy species can be distinguished from one another. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the Malagasy Dalbergia species studied form two monophyletic groups, each containing two subgroups, only one of which corresponds to a single species. We characterized diagnostic polymorphisms in the three DNA barcoding markers that allow rapid discrimination between Dalbergia from Madagascar and from other areas of its distribution range. Species identification success based on individual barcoding markers or combinations was poor, whereas subgroup identification success was much higher (up to 98%), revealing both the value and limitations of a DNA barcoding approach for the identification of closely related Malagasy rosewoods.

  14. One fungus, which genes? Development and assessment of universal primers for potential secondary fungal DNA barcodes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stielow, J.B.; Lévesque, C.A.; Seifert, K.A.; Meyer, W.; Irinyi, L.; Smits, D.; Renfurm, R.; Verkley, G.J.M.; Groenewald, M.; Chaduli, D.; Lomascolo, A.; Welti, S.; Lesage-Meessen, L.; Favel, A.; Al-Hatmi, A.M.S.; Damm, U.; Yilmaz, N.; Houbraken, J.; Lombard, L.; Quaedvlieg, W.; Binder, M.; Vaas, L.A.I.; Vu, D.; Yurkov, A.; Begerow, D.; Roehl, O.; Guerreiro, M.; Fonseca, A.; Samerpitak, K.; Diepeningen, van A.D.; Dolatabadi, S.; Moreno, L.F.; Casaregola, S.; Mallet, S.; Jacques, N.; Roscini, L.; Egidi, E.; Bizet, C.; Garcia-Hermoso, D.; Martin, M.P.; Deng, S.; Groenewald, J.Z.; Boekhout, T.; Beer, de Z.W.; Barnes, I.; Duong, T.A.; Wingfield, M.J.; Hoog, de G.S.; Crous, P.W.; Lewis, C.T.; Hambleton, S.; Moussa, T.A.A.; Al-Zahrani, H.S.; Almaghrabi, O.A.; Louis-Seize, G.; Assabgui, R.; McCormick, W.; Omer, G.; Dukik, K.; Cardinali, G.; Eberhardt, U.; Vries, de M.; Robert, V.

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to assess potential candidate gene regions and corresponding universal primer pairs as secondary DNA barcodes for the fungal kingdom, additional to ITS rDNA as primary barcode. Amplification efficiencies of 14 (partially) universal primer pairs targeting eight genetic markers

  15. Identifying the ichthyoplankton of a coral reef using DNA barcodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hubert, Nicolas; Espiau, Benoit; Meyer, Christopher; Planes, Serge

    2015-01-01

    Marine fishes exhibit spectacular phenotypic changes during their ontogeny, and the identification of their early stages is challenging due to the paucity of diagnostic morphological characters at the species level. Meanwhile, the importance of early life stages in dispersal and connectivity has recently experienced an increasing interest in conservation programmes for coral reef fishes. This study aims at assessing the effectiveness of DNA barcoding for the automated identification of coral reef fish larvae through large-scale ecosystemic sampling. Fish larvae were mainly collected using bongo nets and light traps around Moorea between September 2008 and August 2010 in 10 sites distributed in open waters. Fish larvae ranged from 2 to 100 mm of total length, with the most abundant individuals being <5 mm. Among the 505 individuals DNA barcoded, 373 larvae (i.e. 75%) were identified to the species level. A total of 106 species were detected, among which 11 corresponded to pelagic and bathypelagic species, while 95 corresponded to species observed at the adult stage on neighbouring reefs. This study highlights the benefits and pitfalls of using standardized molecular systems for species identification and illustrates the new possibilities enabled by DNA barcoding for future work on coral reef fish larval ecology. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Molecular species identification with rich floristic sampling: DNA barcoding the pteridophyte flora of Japan.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Atsushi Ebihara

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: DNA barcoding is expected to be an effective identification tool for organisms with heteromorphic generations such as pteridophytes, which possess a morphologically simple gametophyte generation. Although a reference data set including complete coverage of the target local flora/fauna is necessary for accurate identification, DNA barcode studies including such rich taxonomic sampling on a countrywide scale are lacking. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The Japanese pteridophyte flora (733 taxa including subspecies and varieties was used to test the utility of two plastid DNA barcode regions (rbcL and trnH-psbA with the intention of developing an identification system for native gametophytes. DNA sequences were obtained from each of 689 (94.0% taxa for rbcL and 617 (84.2% taxa for trnH-psbA. Mean interspecific divergence values across all taxon pairs (K2P genetic distances did not reveal a significant difference in rate between trnH-psbA and rbcL, but mean K2P distances of each genus showed significant heterogeneity according to systematic position. The minimum fail rate of taxon discrimination in an identification test using BLAST (12.52% was obtained when rbcL and trnH-psbA were combined, and became lower in datasets excluding infraspecific taxa or apogamous taxa, or including sexual diploids only. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study demonstrates the overall effectiveness of DNA barcodes for species identification in the Japanese pteridophyte flora. Although this flora is characterized by a high occurrence of apogamous taxa that pose a serious challenge to identification using DNA barcodes, such taxa are limited to a small number of genera, and only minimally detract from the overall success rate. In the case that a query sequence is matched to a known apogamous genus, routine species identification may not be possible. Otherwise, DNA barcoding is a practical tool for identification of most Japanese pteridophytes, and is especially

  17. The utility of rbcl and matk regions for dna barcoding analysis of the genus suaeda (amaranthaceae) species

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Munir, U.; Perveen, A.; Qamarunnisa, S.

    2015-01-01

    The genus Suaeda (Forssk.) belongs to the family Chenopodiaceae. Identification of Suaeda species based on morphological data is quite difficult due to high phenotypic plasticity, few distinguishable and many overlapping characters. In current research, the efficiency of rbcL and matK (plants core barcode regions) for species identification of the genus Suaeda was assessed. The determination of intraspecific and interspecific divergence, assessment of barcoding gap, reconstruction of phylogenetic trees and evaluation of barcode regions for species identification (based on best match and best close match) were carried out. The results revealed that rbcL showed comparatively less overlapping for the distribution of interspecific and intraspecific divergence. In addition, the highest discriminating ability for correct species identification was also observed in this region. Therefore, rbcL was found to be a significant barcode region for the identification of Suaeda species. (author)

  18. Building a Plant DNA Barcode Reference Library for a Diverse Tropical Flora: An Example from Queensland, Australia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Craig M. Costion

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available A foundation for a DNA barcode reference library for the tropical plants of Australia is presented here. A total of 1572 DNA barcode sequences are compiled from 848 tropical Queensland species. The dataset represents 35% of the total flora of Queensland’s Wet Tropics Bioregion, 57% of its tree species and 28% of the shrub species. For approximately half of the sampled species, we investigated the occurrence of infraspecific molecular variation in DNA barcode loci rbcLa, matK, and the trnH-psbA intergenic spacer region across previously recognized biogeographic barriers. We found preliminary support for the notion that DNA barcode reference libraries can be used as a tool for inferring biogeographic patterns at regional scales. It is expected that this dataset will find applications in taxonomic, ecological, and applied conservation research.

  19. Identification of species based on DNA barcode using k-mer feature vector and Random forest classifier.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meher, Prabina Kumar; Sahu, Tanmaya Kumar; Rao, A R

    2016-11-05

    DNA barcoding is a molecular diagnostic method that allows automated and accurate identification of species based on a short and standardized fragment of DNA. To this end, an attempt has been made in this study to develop a computational approach for identifying the species by comparing its barcode with the barcode sequence of known species present in the reference library. Each barcode sequence was first mapped onto a numeric feature vector based on k-mer frequencies and then Random forest methodology was employed on the transformed dataset for species identification. The proposed approach outperformed similarity-based, tree-based, diagnostic-based approaches and found comparable with existing supervised learning based approaches in terms of species identification success rate, while compared using real and simulated datasets. Based on the proposed approach, an online web interface SPIDBAR has also been developed and made freely available at http://cabgrid.res.in:8080/spidbar/ for species identification by the taxonomists. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. PCR-free quantitative detection of genetically modified organism from raw materials – A novel electrochemiluminescence-based bio-barcode method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Debin; Tang, Yabing; Xing, Da; Chen, Wei R.

    2018-01-01

    Bio-barcode assay based on oligonucleotide-modified gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) provides a PCR-free method for quantitative detection of nucleic acid targets. However, the current bio-barcode assay requires lengthy experimental procedures including the preparation and release of barcode DNA probes from the target-nanoparticle complex, and immobilization and hybridization of the probes for quantification. Herein, we report a novel PCR-free electrochemiluminescence (ECL)-based bio-barcode assay for the quantitative detection of genetically modified organism (GMO) from raw materials. It consists of tris-(2’2’-bipyridyl) ruthenium (TBR)-labele barcode DNA, nucleic acid hybridization using Au-NPs and biotin-labeled probes, and selective capture of the hybridization complex by streptavidin-coated paramagnetic beads. The detection of target DNA is realized by direct measurement of ECL emission of TBR. It can quantitatively detect target nucleic acids with high speed and sensitivity. This method can be used to quantitatively detect GMO fragments from real GMO products. PMID:18386909