Question

Q1: (2) What is the genetic definition of a species?.

Q2: (2) When you did species barcoding name one technical reason why you could not make a definitive identification ?

Q3: (2) Supposing that you make an identification using barcoding and the plant species in the database resembles your plant directly – give one reason why the DNA may not match exactly (do not give a technical reason) ?

Q4: (2) Given the technical and genetic reasons why one barcode may not be sufficient to give an exact species definition – what more PCR experimentation could you do to increase the chances of making a more definitive identification (1) ? and why would this be better (1) ?

Q5: (2) Provide two reasons why DNA barcoding is an important tool for environmental management.

Please answer all parts. Will rate!

Answer 1

1.) In genetics, species are a group of genetically compatible interbreeding natural populations that is genetically isolated from other such groups.

2.) Species barcoding are used in an effort to identify unknown species or parts of an organism. For example, identifying plant leaves even when flowers or fruit are not available, identifying pollen collected on the bodies of pollinating animals, identifying insect larvae, identifying the diet of an animal based on its stomach contents etc. One technical reason why we could not make a definitive identification is that there is no standard number of specific reactions that allows identification of a species.

3.) The quality of the DNA sequences, the primers used, and trace files are important factors here. Multiple individuals should be DNA barcoded for each species in order to check for errors and allow for intraspecific variation. DNA barcoding uses specific regions of DNA only in order to identify species.  This can be a reason of the DNA may not match exactly.

4.) The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a simple technique that amplifies a DNA template to produce specific DNA fragments. Traditional methods of most biochemical analyses require the input of larger amount of biological material, whereas PCR takes a very few hours. Thus, PCR can achieve more sensitive detection and higher levels of amplification of specific sequences in less time than others. These features make the technique highly useful.

Basic PCR, RT-PCR, Hot-start PCR, Long PCR, Quantitative Endpoint PCR, Quantitative Real-Time PCR etc. are various types of PCR.

5.)

• An important use of DNA barcoding is in wildlife forensics, where it has shown ability to discriminate CITES-species from similar non-threatened species .
• DNA barcoding can also be used in floristics. Constructing a DNA barcoding reference library of entire local floras can allow for fast and effective floristic analyses without expert knowledge or even be a method of estimating species richness in a taxonomically poorly known flora.