Published in Scientific Papers. Series B, Horticulture, Vol. LXIII, Issue 1
Written by Roxana CICEOI, Adriana RADULOVICI
DNA barcoding is a diagnostic method proposed by Paul Hebert and his team in 2003, using a short standardized genetic marker in an organism’s DNA to facilitate identification at a certain taxonomic level. Identification consist in finding the closest matching reference record in different databases. For arthropods, the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene is used. The Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD) is the online facility created by Centre of Biodiversity Genomics as a freely available collaborative hub which supports the assembly and use of DNA barcode data. Currently ~6.650 k barcodes for specimens from 188 countries are available through the platform, of which 5.420 k represent arthropod specimens with barcodes. From Romania, 2817 arthropod records are available, for 408 species, mainly butterflies (biodiversity data). Our present research made available the first DNA barcodes of arthropods plant pests from Romania, with emphasis on the invasive species. 85 insect specimens belonging to eight orders, 30 families, lead to 79 barcode compliant sequences. None of the barcoded species from Romania was previously recorded in BOLD, with the exception of one Autographa gamma specimen collected in 1980, deposited in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
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