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The Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) held their first international conference from 7 to 9 February where they launched an initiative to create a database that will enable identification of all plant and animal species based on a portion of their DNA. This process, dubbed ‘DNA Barcoding’, uses a DNA sequence from an agreed-upon location in the genome to characterise species of organisms. The database will not only facilitate the finding of new species, but also help to identify carriers of disease and monitor endangered species. However, some researchers expressed doubts about the reliability of the approach, particularly in classifying closely related species. The process is split into three classification projects based on the type of organism: species of birds; marine and fresh water fish; and plants in Costa Rica and Central America. The CBOL hope to collect barcodes for the 10,000 known species of birds by 2010.
“Consortium for the Barcode of Life,” SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE, 17 February 2005; “Genetic Barcodes Will Identify World’s Species,” REUTERS, 17 February 2005; “Science Intends to Tag All Life,” BBC NEWS, 17 February 2005.
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