Global Journal of Biology, Agriculture & Health Sciences

Abstract

CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE APPLICATION OF DNA BARCODING TO SOLVING BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION PROBLEMS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

CO Onyia; OP Jideofor; BO Ojiego; BO Solomon;O Ogundipe; LJ Ogbadu

A DNA barcode is a genetic signature that occurs naturally within the genome of every living species. One of the gene regions commonly used for all animal groups is a 648 base pair region in the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 gene (CO1), it has been effectively used in identifying birds, flies, butterflies, fishes and many other animal groups due primarily to the high polymorphisms among species. However, CO1 is not effective in identifying and distinguishing plants because it changes too slowly in plants. Currently, two gene regions in the chloroplast, MatK and rbcl are employed in bar-coding land plants. In 2003, Paul Herbert and research group published a paper entitled “Biological Identification through DNA barcodes, which created awareness among scientists (taxonomists in particular) on the usefulness of DNA Barcode as an effective technique for identification of species. In the one decade of research after this publication, DNA barcode has evolved rapidly into a tool that can be employed for solving many environmental, agricultural, health and conservation problems around the globe. It also has applications in disease and pest control, market fraud detection and protection of endangered species. Some developing countries like Nigeria are known for their rich biodiversity, but technology is very low in area of conservation and management of these biological resources. This paper reviews the current developments in the application of DNA Barcoding to solving biodiversity conservation problems and its adoption in developing countries.

Published Date: 2014-10-06;