bold: The Barcode of Life Data System (http://www.barcodinglife.org)

Area of Science:

• Bioinformatics
• Genomics
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• DNA barcoding is crucial for species identification and biodiversity assessment.
• Integrating diverse data types (molecular, morphological, distributional) presents a bioinformatics challenge.
• Existing platforms may not adequately support the comprehensive data assembly required for standardized DNA barcode records.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD) as a solution for DNA barcode data management.
• To describe the functional capabilities of BOLD in data acquisition, storage, analysis, and publication.
• To highlight BOLD's role in bridging traditional bioinformatics gaps and supporting research alliances.

Main Methods:

• The paper provides an overview of BOLD's informatics workbench.
• It details the system's capabilities for assembling molecular, morphological, and distributional data.
• Functional elements and data security models are discussed.

Main Results:

• BOLD serves as a comprehensive workbench for DNA barcode data.
• It facilitates the integration of diverse data types, addressing a bioinformatics chasm.
• The system supports the creation of standardized records for global sequence databases.

Conclusions:

• BOLD is a freely accessible, web-based platform essential for DNA barcoding research.
• Its flexible design supports broad research alliances and data publication.
• The system enhances the standardization and accessibility of biodiversity data.