A streamlined collecting and preparation protocol for DNA barcoding of Lepidoptera as part of large-scale rapid biodiversity assessment projects, exemplified by the Indonesian Biodiversity Discovery and Information System (IndoBioSys).

Olga Schmidt,Stefan Schmidt,Hari Sutrisno,Bruno Cancian De Araujo,Djunijanti Peggie,Axel Hausmann

doi:10.3897/bdj.5.e20006

Abstract

Here we present a general collecting and preparation protocol for DNA barcoding of Lepidoptera as part of large-scale rapid biodiversity assessment projects, and a comparison with alternative preserving and vouchering methods. About 98% of the sequenced specimens processed using the present collecting and preparation protocol yielded sequences with more than 500 base pairs. The study is based on the first outcomes of the Indonesian Biodiversity Discovery and Information System (IndoBioSys). IndoBioSys is a German-Indonesian research project that is conducted by the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin and the Zoologische Staatssammlung München, in close cooperation with the Research Center for Biology – Indonesian Institute of Sciences (RCB-LIPI, Bogor).

Highlights

Large-scale biodiversity inventory projects are becoming increasingly popular, after the method of DNA barcoding has been established as a fast and efficient species discovery and identification tool.The present paper introduces the ongoing large-scale biodiversity discovery project IndoBioSys (Indonesian Biodiversity Discovery and Information System)
The initiative aims at providing a comprehensive biodiversity inventory, including descriptions of new species with sequence data that are publicly available in the Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) and integrated in the Indonesian Biodiversity Information System (IBIS), aimed at providing access to existing and new information on Indonesia’s biological resources
The collection protocol presented in this article has been successfully employed for field- and pre-lab activities that were part of the IndoBioSys project in the years 2015 and 2016

Summary

Introduction

The present paper introduces the ongoing large-scale biodiversity discovery project IndoBioSys (Indonesian Biodiversity Discovery and Information System). The project is focusing on establishing a vertebrate and invertebrate diversity discovery pipeline and a biodiversity information system in Indonesia. A targeted, biodiversity knowledge-based screening approach for the identification of novel active biological compounds is a central aspect of the project. For this purpose, the initiative aims at providing a comprehensive biodiversity inventory, including descriptions of new species with sequence data that are publicly available in the Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) and integrated in the Indonesian Biodiversity Information System (IBIS), aimed at providing access to existing and new information on Indonesia’s biological resources. The present paper focuses on the insect order Lepidoptera that is among the largest and economically most important groups of insects

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