Bending to Bar Codes.

• Autores: Sara Beardsley
• Localización: Scientific American, ISSN 0036-8733, Vol. 292, Nº. 5, 2005, págs. 26-28
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This article focuses on a method of tagging species according to their DNA instead of lengthy taxonomy. By the close of the 20th century, taxonomy had reached a crossroads. Funds were declining and academic interest dwindling, even as biologists and conservationists raced to identify and quantify species. So, in 2003, evolutionary biologist Paul D. N. Hebert proposed a new ID system, sidestepping the cumbersome taxonomic legwork: "tag" species according to a segment of a mitochondrial gene. These so-called DNA bar codes instantly won public favor, heralding a day when researchers could run simple DNA tests in the field, perhaps even with a Star Trek-ian "tricorder" device. Hebert's scheme focuses on a sequence fragment from the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene, which he claims is unique to separate taxa. He and his colleagues demonstrated proof of principle last year, when DNA bar codes correctly predicted independent species in groups of previously undistinguished birds and butterflies. INSET: GOING BEYOND.