Print“We are witnessing alarming rates of species extinction, but efforts to reverse that trend are hampered by huge gaps in our knowledge about the distribution and diversity of life.”
The largest biodiversity genomics initiative ever undertaken has just been launched in Toronto with a mandate to build a digital identification system for all life on the planet.
The International Barcode of Life Project aims to transform biodiversity science and its applications throughout society by enabling automated, rapid and inexpensive species identification.
“We are witnessing alarming rates of species extinction, but efforts to reverse that trend are hampered by huge gaps in our knowledge about the distribution and diversity of life,” says Paul Hebert, scientific director of the project. “DNA barcoding promises a future where everyone will have rapid access to the names and biological attributes of every species on Earth.”
DNA barcodes will be a vital tool not only for conservation but also for monitoring species that have adverse impacts on human health and economic wellbeing, says Hebert. “We are only beginning to scratch the surface of how DNA barcoding will impact the way we live, work and play,” he says.
DNA barcoding is a method for identifying species using a short DNA sequence from a standard location on the genome. The technique dramatically reduces the time and cost of species identification. Moreover, because DNA barcode libraries are in digital format, fully automated identification is now possible for a growing number of species.
Work over the past five years has produced one million barcode records representing almost 80,000 species and provided the impetus for the launch of the International Barcode of Life Project, which will not only massively expand the DNA barcode reference library but also develop the technologies to read it, including a table-top barcoder.
The project will be a not-for-profit corporation overseen by an international board of directors representing funding organizations. More than 25 countries are involved and major commitments have been made toward the Phase 1 (2010-2015) operating budget of $150 million. The Biodiversity Institute of Ontario at the University of Guelph will soon treble in size to accommodate the Barcode of Life secretariat and provide expanded facilities for barcode analysis and data storage.
By the end of the first phase in 2015, consortium members will have entered DNA barcode records from five million specimens representing half a million species into the interactive Barcode of Life Data System databank, creating the launchpad for a subsequent push towards a DNA barcode reference library for all of the planet’s animal, plant and fungal species.
September 29, 2010
http://www.burrillreport.com/article-barcoding_life.html
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