Abstract
Since their inception, DNA barcodes have become a powerful tool for understanding the biodiversity and biology of aquatic species, with multiple applications in diverse fields such as food security, fisheries, environmental DNA, conservation, and exotic species detection. Nevertheless, most aquatic ecosystems, from marine to freshwater, are understudied, with many species disappearing due to environmental stress, mostly caused by human activities. Here we highlight the progress that has been made in studying aquatic organisms with DNA barcodes, and encourage its further development in assisting sustainable use of aquatic resources and conservation.
Highlights
Since its inception as an ambitious global bioidentification system [1], DNA barcoding—the use of a standardized gene fragment as an internal tag for species identification—has established itself as an important method in biodiversity sciences, with more than12,000 papers published (Web of Science search “DNA” and “barcod*”, 10 June 2021)
DNA barcoding has been repeatedly demonstrated as a fit-for-purpose method of biodiversity surveying, showing high rates of congruence with traditional taxonomy in well-known groups such as fishes and birds [7,8,9,10], while its power as a predictive tool in biodiversity sciences quickly became apparent, spearheading new molecular frameworks for de novo species discovery [11,12,13]
Considering that more than 75% of our planet is represented by aquatic environments, this is a modest increment of DNA barcoding studies on aquatic organisms
Summary
Since its inception as an ambitious global bioidentification system [1], DNA barcoding—. The online workbench provides the Barcode Index Number (BIN) system, equivalent to a Molecular Operational Taxonomic Unit (MOTU) for all specimens that cover minimal data standards [12], creating a standardized referencing tool for unidentified organisms. In this overview, we will cover recent trends in the study of aquatic life with DNA barcodes and highlight examples illustrating its utility
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