In the news

The Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) announced at the International Barcode for Life conference in London that it will create a database containing the DNA sequence of every species on earth, according to the BBC (see BBC news report). The international consortium aims to catalogue our estimated 10-30 million species, at a cost of about £1 per genetic test, by storing a short stretch of mitochondrial DNA from each species. The information will supplement existing taxonomic data, enabling researchers to link into those resources. Zoos, botanic gardens, government agencies and private sector companies from around the world make up the CBOL. British members include the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; the Natural History Museum, London and the University of Bangor. The data gathered will be publicly available; the National Center for Biotechnology Information at the US National Institutes of Health is creating a barcodes section in its GenBank database.

Three specific initial projects were announced. First, all known fish types, approximately 15,000 marine and 8,000 freshwater species, will be coded in the ‘Fish-Bol’ project. The bird project, Birds of the World, will catalogue the 10,000 known avian species and 8,000 plants in Costa Rica will be catalogued in a plant project. It is hoped that accessing this data will help researchers identify species more easily and more reliably. As well, the knowledge collected may help in conservation efforts.

Doubters fear that this effort might further damage the already dwindling art of taxonomy, a discipline that is being pursued by fewer people, while the CBOL sees expanding interest in taxonomy as one of its goals. Others are concerned that the barcode system will not be reliable in distinguishing closely related species, for example when a new or hybrid species appears in the population. Those who believe in barcoding had difficulty getting initial support for their idea [Wade, N. NY Times 14/12/04]. However, enthusiasm for the project is growing and CBOL expects to see the 10,000 avian barcodes available by 2010.