Abstract
DNA barcoding is a commonly used bio-technology in multiple disciplines including biology, environmental science, forensics and inspection, etc. Forest dynamic plots provide a unique opportunity to carry out large-scale, comparative, and multidisciplinary research for plant DNA barcoding. The paper concisely reviewed four previous progresses in China; specifically, species discrimination, community phylogenetic reconstruction, phylogenetic community structure exploration, and biodiversity index evaluation. Further, we demonstrated three major challenges; specifically, building the impetus to generate DNA barcodes using multiple plant DNA markers for all woody species at forest community levels, analyzing massive DNA barcoding sequence data, and promoting theoretical innovation. Lastly, we raised five possible directions; specifically, proposing a “purpose-driven barcode” fit for multi-level applications, developing new integrative sequencing strategies, pushing DNA barcoding beyond terrestrial ecosystem, constructing national-level DNA barcode sequence libraries for special plant groups, and establishing intelligent identification systems or online server platforms. These efforts will be potentially valuable to explore large-scale biodiversity patterns, the origin and evolution of life, and will also facilitate preservation and utilization of biodiversity resources.
Highlights
DNA barcoding, a bio-technology characterized by standardization, universality and efficiency (Hebert et al, 2003), is widely used in multiple disciplines including biology, environmental science, forensics and cross-boarder inspection, etc
Concerns of plant DNA barcoding may differ in biologists; taxonomists mainly focus on clades, systematists on phylogenies, while ecologists on communities
Community-Level Plant DNA Barcoding in China node nations in the world (Che et al, 2010)
Summary
DNA barcoding, a bio-technology characterized by standardization, universality and efficiency (Hebert et al, 2003), is widely used in multiple disciplines including biology, environmental science, forensics and cross-boarder inspection, etc. Based on Dinghushan FDP (a lower subtropical forest in south China), a Chinese research team cooperating with international scientists, initiated a plant DNA barcoding project (i.e., community-level) in 2008. Besides of contributions from Chinese forests, studies on plant DNA barcoding involving forest communities are published worldwide across tropics, subtropics and temperate zones (Gonzalez et al, 2009; Kress et al, 2009, 2010; Burgess et al, 2011; Parmentier et al, 2013; Saarela et al, 2013; de Boer et al, 2014). The single DNA barcoding marker trnH-psbA raised relatively high rates of species discrimination, followed by matK and rbcL. In view of costeffectiveness and the trade-off between sequence recovery and species resolution, we suggested the combination of markers rbcL+matK+trnH-psbA as a priority for DNA-based studies on forest communities (Pei et al, 2015a)
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