DNA Barcoding as a tool for identification of species and seafood

DÍAZ DE ASTARLOA, J. M.

Buenos Aires

Workshop; First Joint Bilateral Marine Science Workshop. Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation of the Argentine Republic and the State of Qatar Buenos Aires; 2011

Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Produtiva

DNA Barcoding applied as a novel taxonomical tool for identifying Argentinean fishes. Historically, the identification of species was largely based on morphological characters. In recent years an innovative molecular technique using a fragment of mitochondrial DNA has proved to be useful for this purpose in many taxa. The application of such technique is particularly important when a species diversity analysis over a wide geographic area is approached. Species occupying large geographic areas may display different genetic lineages and might mask isolated populations with a genetic divergence at the species level. Our project has been focused focus on the application of traditional diagnostic methods and DNA barcoding to aid resolution of important issues in natural resource management, aiming a biodiversity inventory of marine organisms in Argentina. The benefits of DNA Barcoding organisms include facilitating species identification for all potential users, including taxonomists; highlighting specimens that represent a range expansion of known species; flagging previously unrecognized species; and, perhaps most importantly, enabling identifications where traditional methods are not applicable. This ‘taxonomic impediment’ is most severe in developing nations because they lie in tropical regions where species diversity is particularly high. Moreover, most developing nations lack the natural history museums and the scientific workforce needed to carry out species identifications. This deficit has important deleterious impacts on human health, and on all natural resource sectors including agriculture, forestry and fisheries. The concept of DNA barcoding represents a paradigm shift for biodiversity science because it will, as sequencing technology advances, enable anyone to identify any organism at any time. This advance has particularly powerful implications for the developing world because it represents a ‘leap-frog’ technology that will allow these nations to monitor their biodiversity and protect their natural resource sectors without massive scientific facilities or large taxonomic workforces. DNA-based identification system will exert broad impacts on all areas in which society interacts with biodiversity - pest and disease control, food production and safety, resource management, conservation, research, education, and recreation. The economic benefits of improved bio-surveillance will be large. Increasing globalization of trade and climate change means that all nations face unprecedented exposure to invasive species that threaten human health, agriculture, forestry and fisheries. DNA barcoding will enable the prompt identification of invasive species, allowing quarantine and eradication efforts to begin far earlier, with massive reductions in cost and increased chances of success. It will further aid the selection of optimal control strategies for pest/disease agents impacting all natural resource sectors. Barcoding will, as well, play a critical role in regulating trade in endangered or protected species and products. As new sequencing technologies are developed, the barcode reference libraries assembled by iBOL will enable sophisticated environmental monitoring that will exploit living organisms as integrators of environmental change and as early warnings of damage. Large-scale, automated monitoring of species presence and abundance in the world’s oceans, inland waters, agro-ecosystems, and plantations will soon be routine.