News & Updates Archive
[ 2008. ]
AURANGABAD, India - The Aquaculture Research Laboratory, Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University received Rs. 1.32 Crore ($330,000) from the Indian government to validate economically important fish species from India using DNA barcoding. This grant supports the purchase of equipment necessary for the creation of a comprehensive DNA barcoding facility, advancing India's participation in the international Barcode of Life Project. Dr. G.D.Khedkar, Principal Investigator of the project, said the facility will be made available to the researchers from all over Asia for barcoding work. This project work will be supported by Vikas Kalyankar and Samdeep Rathod.
[ 2008. ]
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The Florida Museum of Natural History received $186,000 from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Tuesday to identify and prepare 25,000 marine specimens as part of a new international DNA barcoding project .
For more information please click here
[ 2008. ]
Ms. Dove Helps Keep Planes Aloft in War Zones By Specializing in 'Snarge'. For more information on this article please follow the link here (Wall Street Journal Online).
[ 2007. ]
When David Jones, a fisheries oceanographer at the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) located at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School, set out to design a better light trap to collect young reef fishes, he never imagined his invention would contribute to the discovery of a new species. But, after finding a goby that didn’t quite fit any known description, his catch turned out to be the answer to another scientist’s twenty-five-year-old research conundrum. The larval stage captured in Jones’s new trap was matched to the adult form of a previously unknown species of reef fish by new DNA barcoding technology - which confirmed both were members of a new species.
For more on this article click here.(http://www.sciencedaily.com/)
[ 2007. ]
The number of formally described species that have been DNA barcoded and added to the BOLD database now comfortably exceeds 30,000. These species are collectively represented by more than 300,000 barcode records in the database. For more information, visit: http://www.boldsystems.org/
[ 2007. ]
A brief segment on barcoding mosquitoes aired on 10/11/2007 on The World, NPR.
[ 2007. ]
For further information, click here.
[ 2007. ]
To see further details, click here.
[ 2007. ]
FISH-BOL European Regional Working Group Leaflet Prepared for the XII European Congress of Ichthyology in Dubrovnik, 13 September 2007.
[ 2007. ]
The removal of excess dye terminators and other impurities from completed cycle sequencing reactions is critical for high quality sequence data. Although there are a number of methods available (e.g. Ethanol precipitation, Sephadex® filtration) many of them are laborious and time consuming, which is not ideal for a high throughput facility. Recently the Canadian Centre for DNA Barcoding (CCDB) switched to Agencourt® CleanSEQ®, a magnetic bead based solution which offers fast automated processing, while generating high quality sequence reads.
[ 2007. ]
FISH-BOL, an international effort to DNA barcode all of the fish species of the world, has passed the 4,000 species landmark. For real-time progress statistics and further information on this campaign, visit the FISH-BOL website.
[ 2007. ]
In 2006 CCDB directed its efforts towards the development of an automation-friendly inexpensive method yielding high-quality DNA extracts. This resulted in a major advance – the elaboration of a membrane-based protocol that matches the performance of the best commercial kits, but is 75% less expensive ($0.50 versus >$2.00 per sample).
[ 2007. ]
Brazilian Society of Ichthyology (SBI) Bulletin No. 87 features an invitation for South American ichthyologists to join FISH-BOL (see pg. 6).
[ 2007. ]
[ 2007. ]
An Ontario university on Wednesday launched the world's first large-scale centre for identifying species through a process known as DNA barcoding.
[ 2007. ]
The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (Wagga Wagga, NSW) has an opening for a research officer (MSc or PhD) to work on DNA barcoding of insect pests. Must be an Australian citizen or have Australian work permit to be eligible to apply. For further information contact Andrew.Mitchell@dpi.nsw.gov.au. Closing date 20 April 2007.
[ 2007. ]
FISH-BOL South American Regional Working Group Flyer for the XII Congreso LatinoAmericano De Ciencias Del Mar (COLACMAR) in Florianopolis, 15-19 April 2007
[ 2007. ]
The high-throughput analytical protocols employed at the CCDB require an effective system to track the analytical history of each batch of samples being processed, while reducing technician time and minimizing human error. Besides the traditional functions of a molecular lab book, the system should facilitate easy data interchange with BOLD, sequencer and liquid handling stations and be compatible with the standard 96 well format.
[ 2007. ]
Underwater light traps of various designs have been used for years to collect fishes and invertebrates (particularly their larvae and other zooplankton) at night. Most light traps designs were used in marine environments where target taxa include various planktonic crustaceans such as mysids, cumaceans, isopods, but have also been deployed to collect aquatic insect larvae.
Many planktonic organisms navigate by and are attracted to light, and this method takes advantage of that fact. Predatory organisms are caught secondarily simply because they follow their prey which is attracted by the light. Light traps can be deployed by tying them to any other structure that is going to be in the water at night or they can have their own bottom weight.
[ 2007. ]
An exciting new exhibit has opened at the U.S. Botanic Garden. Nature's Barcodes explores how DNA from plants can be used to develop a rapid and accurate method of species identification. Cosponsored by the Department of Botany at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, Nature's Barcodes is on display in the Plant Exploration room of the USBG Conservatory through June 10.
[ 2007. ]
Traditional methods of collecting and storing vertebrate tissue (e.g.,ethanol or cryogenic storage) are usually bulky and time consuming, thus requiring a dedicated effort when used in fi eld studies. This demands a simple and inexpensive alternative which could enable efficient collecting of large numbers of tissue samples as a by-product of ecological surveys and similar efforts employing DNA-based identification methods. An additional requirement imposed by the CCDB is the compliance for standard high-throughput analytical protocols.
[ 2007. ]
NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) - As 454's Genome Sequencer 20 enters more academic institutions and companies, pyrosequencing, the chemistry at its core, is becoming more widespread.
Now Mostafa Ronaghi, one of the inventors of this sequencing chemistry, wants to take pyrosequencing to the masses. His group at the Stanford Genome Technology Center at Stanford's Medical School is working on a miniaturized DNA sequencer that will use pyrosequencing but will cost a fraction of 454's instrument, which lists for $500,000.
"We envision that we could basically enable any laboratory to do genome sequencing," he told GenomeWeb News last month. The material cost for the instrument, which will use CMOS sensors instead of a CCD camera, would be a few thousand dollars. "It will basically [cost as little as] a PCR machine, which is used in any laboratory," he said.
By Julia Karow a GenomeWeb News reporter http://www.genomeweb.com/
[ 2006. ]
FISH-BOL, an international effort to DNA barcode all of the fish species of the world, has passed the 2,500 species landmark. For real-time progress statistics and further information on this campaign, visit the FISH-BOL website.
[ 2006. ]
One of the challenges faced in high throughput DNA laboratories is the organization of externally-provided tissue samples into a format compatible with the analytical workflow. Here we describe a solution that has been successfully adopted by the CCDB to complement the 96 well plate format used in laboratory protocols.
[ 2006. ]
PCR and sequencing reaction setups are time-consuming steps in DNA barcoding. This Methods Release describes an approach that saves time and aids quality assurance by allowing the production of large numbers of premixed and pre-dispensed PCR and sequencing plates. Theses methods are useful for adoption by facilities operating at any production level.
[ 2006. ]
Standard methods for photographing small and medium-sized fish usually involve confining live fishes in a restraining tank or photo-cell. Although these methods are also effective for preserved specimens, they are often time consuming, diffi cult for the novice photographer, and require costly equipment to ensure high-quality images. Here we discuss a fast, simple, and inexpensive method for imaging anesthetized or dead fish specimens using a flatbed scanner. Since scanners are far more robust and far less expensive than digital cameras offering similar performance, and because operating costs are low ($0.1 USD per specimen for transparency film and background paper), this technology is particularly suitable for organizations with a limited budget.
[ 2006. ]
DNA extraction is the first step in the DNA barcoding analytical chain. Although commercial silica-based kits provide high quality DNA for barcode analysis, they are expensive. The Canadian Centre for DNA Barcoding (CCDB) therefore directed its efforts toward the development of an automation-friendly and inexpensive method yielding high-quality DNA extracts. The resulting methodology can be adopted by any facility engaged in either manual or automated high-throughput DNA barcoding.
[ 2006. ]
High DNA barcoding production rates demand high success in amplification of the barcode region. One particularly critical element for PCR amplifi cation is the polymerase enzyme. Although there are many versions of Taq polymerase, the Canadian Centre for DNA Barcoding (CCDB) has traditionally employed standard Taq because of its low cost and satisfactory performance. However, in high throughput DNA barcoding, the benefits of higher performance may offset higher costs by reducing the necessity for re-amplification of challenging samples. Determining an optimal balance of reagent cost and performance is critical.
[ 2006. ]
Three PhD Positions Available
Three NSERC-funded PhD positions are currently available to carry out a joint DNA barcoding-genome size project in the low Arctic of Canada (specifically, Churchill, MB). One of these positions will be held in the Gregory Lab, and will examine patterns of genome size and ploidy variation in a wide range of animals from the low Arctic and temperate regions. A second position will be held in the Hebert Lab at the University of Guelph and will focus on DNA barcoding of animals in Churchill, while the third will be held in the Saunders Lab at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, NB and will involve both DNA barcoding and genome size analyses of algae. The first field work period will take place in August, 2006, so time is very much of the essence. Please note that due to the nature of the research project, these positions are open to Canadian students only. For more information about a particular position, please visit the relevant lab website and contact the potential advisor directly
[ 2006. ]
A researcher at the University of Washington and a tech incubator have received $1.6 million from a foundation to develop a portable electronic DNA Sequencer.
[ 2006. ]
The Sloan Foundation, an early supporter of the Barcode of Life Initiative, has recently announced plans to continue its support of the Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL). A total of $1.5M will be provided to fund CBOL for the next two years to continue in its role in developing DNA barcoding as a global standard in taxonomy.
[ 2006. ]
The All-Leps campaign to DNA barcode all species of the world's moths and butterflies has made significant gains over the past two months, knocking another 2,000 species off of the global checklist. Progress details may be found at www.lepbarcoding.org.
[ 2006. ]
A recent manuscript on DNA barcoding was rated fourth among the most-frequently-read PNAS articles from January 2006. This manuscript by Hajibabaei et al. describes the application of DNA barcoding to the resolution of species of tropical lepidoptera in Costa Rica. The PNAS ratings are recalculated every month and are subject to change.
[ 2006. ]
FISH-BOL, an international effort to DNA barcode all of the fish species of the world, has passed the 1,000 species milestone. This marks a significant early step in achieving the grand target of all 30,000 species worldwide. For real-time progress statistics and further information on this campaign, visit the FISH-BOL website.
[ 2006. ]
Assisted by its research and development partners, Darkhorse Technologies is building, and will market the first truly portable, self-contained, and versatile Rotary Thermalcyclers; affordable instruments for onsitegenetic detection using the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).
[ 2006. ]
The All-Leps campaign, an international collaborative effort to barcode the 25,000 species of moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera), hit a significant milestone today by surpassing the mark of 3,000 species barcodes.
[ 2006. ]
BOLD2 has now been released. This barcoding workbench and database replaces the previous version, adding new management and analytical tools. This rollout follows thorough beta-testing by members of the barcoding community in late 2005.
[ 2005. ]
You may have noticed that FISHBOL.org has had a facelift. This was primarily to incorporate the new logo and to give the site a more professional feel. Coming weeks will see FISHBOL gaining access to live data from BOLD, giving up-to-date statistics on how the barcoding initiative is progressing and where each of the regional working groups are at. Please stay tuned.
[ 2005. ]
The first paper discussing fish barcoding is published in the Philosphical Transactions of the Royal Society. Co-Chair of FISHBOL Bob Ward and others discuss in this article the barcoding process of 207 species of Australian fishes showing the cox1 sequence can be used for indentification. For the rest of this issue please follow this link.
[ 2005. ]
The report for the FISH-BOL workshop (June 2005) is now available online.
[ 2005. ]
FISHBOL.org, the online face of the Fish Barcode of Life Initiative, goes online late August, 2005. The site will be a constantly evolving resource for those involved in FISH-BOL and also for those interested in it. It will contain a large amount of information regarding the initiative, such as the presentations from the inaugural meeting, or background to the project. It will also act as a portal to the BoLD system and as a forum for discussing the initiative and as a project management tool.
[ 2005. ]
Following review of varied pilot studies on fishes, the leadership of the Consortium for the Barcode of Life adopted the 'All Fishes' project as one of its first global barcode campaigns in early 2005. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation subsequently provided the funding needed to host a workshop to discuss the prospects for its execution. More than 50 researchers assembled at the University of Guelph from June 5-8, 2005 to consider plans for efoort to barcode all marine fishes by 2010 (with freshwater species to follow shortly later). Participants in the workshop included experts in fish taxonomy, ecology and molecular genetics. The participants reached a key point of consesus - the construction of a comprehensive barcode library for marine fishes is feasible and the resultant database will be highly effective for fish indentification. Moreover, its assembly will aid both the discovery of new fish and clarify synonymies.
Please click here for a list of the participants in this meeting.
Please click here for a list of documents from this meeting. These include;
[ 2004. ]