The campaign to DNA barcode all fishes, FISH-BOL

Area of Science:

• * Marine biology and ichthyology
• * Molecular ecology and genomics
• * Biodiversity informatics

Background:

• * The Fish Barcode of Life (FISH-BOL) is an international initiative to build a comprehensive DNA reference library for all fish species.
• * DNA barcoding uses a standardized gene region (COI) to identify species.
• * Over 5000 fish species have been barcoded, with multiple specimens per species.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To establish a standardized DNA sequence library for fish identification.
• * To assess the utility of DNA barcoding for distinguishing fish species.
• * To address potential challenges and concerns regarding fish barcoding.

Main Methods:

• * Targeting a 648 base pair region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene for analysis.
• * DNA barcoding of over 5000 fish species with an average of five specimens per species.
• * Utilizing the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD) for sequence matching and analysis.

Main Results:

• * DNA barcodes successfully differentiate approximately 98% of marine and 93% of freshwater fish species.
• * Integrative taxonomic analysis confirmed several divergent barcodes as new species.
• * Issues like hybridization and regional variation have minimal impact on most identifications.

Conclusions:

• * DNA barcoding is a powerful tool for fish species identification, discovery, and monitoring.
• * FISH-BOL is creating a valuable resource for ichthyology and conservation.
• * The method is robust and applicable even when traditional identification methods fail.