16
G.R. Carvalho et al.
Consortium for the Barcoding of Life (CBOL) (http://barcoding.si.edu/) – instigated
the worldwide implementation of DNA barcoding, thus launching a unique largescale horizontal genomics (one gene, many taxa) project. The first global DNA barcoding campaigns – the Fish Barcode of Life (FISH-BOL) (http://barcoding.si.edu/)
and the All Birds Barcoding Initiative (ABBI) (http://www.barcodingbirds.org/) –
were launched, with the intention of assembling a reference database of DNA barcodes for all fish and bird species respectively. FISH-BOL expects to complete most
of the inventory of all known fish species of the world by 2010. To date, out of an
estimated 29,112 fish species, approximately 5,600 have been barcoded using the
CO1 target gene, representing 19% of global fish taxa. CBOL coordinates and promotes DNA barcoding on a worldwide scale, and endorses public access to DNA
barcoding data. Both the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD) (Ratnasingham and
Hebert 2007) and existing public genomic repositories (namely the GenBank of the
National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), the European Molecular
Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ)) provide
free access to DNA barcoding data.
Fish provide a suitable model for testing the implementation of DNA barcoding
at a worldwide scale, in terms of their phyletic diversity, economic value and environmental threats (Costa and Carvalho 2007, see also Chapter 7). Fish and fisheries
resources comprise a key target group from which it is anticipated that DNA barcoding will bring larger and more immediate benefits (Lleonart et al. 2006). Such
a system will offer a simple – and increasingly rapid and inexpensive – means
of unambiguously identifying not only whole fish, but fish eggs and larvae, fish
fragments, fish fillets and processed fish. Such a capability will generate more rigorous and extensive data on recruitment, ecology and geographic ranges of fisheries
resources, improved knowledge of nursery areas and spawning grounds, as well as
elucidation of taxonomy (Rock et al. 2008), with evident impacts at the fisheries
management and conservation levels. For example, the possibility of rigorous identification of fish species from eggs and larvae could be particularly fruitful, since
phenotypic identification of early life stages can be especially difficult (Pegg et al.
2006). A study testing the utility of molecular markers in species identification of
fish eggs revealed that over 60% of the eggs were misidentified when phenotypic
characters were used (Fox et al. 2005). Eggs from haddock and whiting may have
been reported as cod eggs in previous surveys, possibly leading to an inflation of
stock assessments of cod in the Irish Sea. Moreover, early stage haddock eggs were
detected in the Irish Sea, indicating the presence of a spawning stock of this species
previously unknown to that region (Fox et al. 2005). In the context of environmental
change, induced, for instance, by global warming, the ability to rigorously identify fish species at all life history stages from egg to adult is particularly useful to
assess escalating shifts in range distribution, spawning grounds and nursery areas
(Fox et al. 2008).
Another valuable application of DNA barcoding is the identification of preyremains from predators’ stomach contents. Such studies could provide more detailed
information about aquatic trophic chains, revealing which fish species are preyed
upon by other fish species (Sigler et al. 2006) or seabirds (Phillips et al. 1999). This
G.R. Carvalho et al.
Consortium for the Barcoding of Life (CBOL) (http://barcoding.si.edu/) – instigated
the worldwide implementation of DNA barcoding, thus launching a unique largescale horizontal genomics (one gene, many taxa) project. The first global DNA barcoding campaigns – the Fish Barcode of Life (FISH-BOL) (http://barcoding.si.edu/)
and the All Birds Barcoding Initiative (ABBI) (http://www.barcodingbirds.org/) –
were launched, with the intention of assembling a reference database of DNA barcodes for all fish and bird species respectively. FISH-BOL expects to complete most
of the inventory of all known fish species of the world by 2010. To date, out of an
estimated 29,112 fish species, approximately 5,600 have been barcoded using the
CO1 target gene, representing 19% of global fish taxa. CBOL coordinates and promotes DNA barcoding on a worldwide scale, and endorses public access to DNA
barcoding data. Both the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD) (Ratnasingham and
Hebert 2007) and existing public genomic repositories (namely the GenBank of the
National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), the European Molecular
Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ)) provide
free access to DNA barcoding data.
Fish provide a suitable model for testing the implementation of DNA barcoding
at a worldwide scale, in terms of their phyletic diversity, economic value and environmental threats (Costa and Carvalho 2007, see also Chapter 7). Fish and fisheries
resources comprise a key target group from which it is anticipated that DNA barcoding will bring larger and more immediate benefits (Lleonart et al. 2006). Such
a system will offer a simple – and increasingly rapid and inexpensive – means
of unambiguously identifying not only whole fish, but fish eggs and larvae, fish
fragments, fish fillets and processed fish. Such a capability will generate more rigorous and extensive data on recruitment, ecology and geographic ranges of fisheries
resources, improved knowledge of nursery areas and spawning grounds, as well as
elucidation of taxonomy (Rock et al. 2008), with evident impacts at the fisheries
management and conservation levels. For example, the possibility of rigorous identification of fish species from eggs and larvae could be particularly fruitful, since
phenotypic identification of early life stages can be especially difficult (Pegg et al.
2006). A study testing the utility of molecular markers in species identification of
fish eggs revealed that over 60% of the eggs were misidentified when phenotypic
characters were used (Fox et al. 2005). Eggs from haddock and whiting may have
been reported as cod eggs in previous surveys, possibly leading to an inflation of
stock assessments of cod in the Irish Sea. Moreover, early stage haddock eggs were
detected in the Irish Sea, indicating the presence of a spawning stock of this species
previously unknown to that region (Fox et al. 2005). In the context of environmental
change, induced, for instance, by global warming, the ability to rigorously identify fish species at all life history stages from egg to adult is particularly useful to
assess escalating shifts in range distribution, spawning grounds and nursery areas
(Fox et al. 2008).
Another valuable application of DNA barcoding is the identification of preyremains from predators’ stomach contents. Such studies could provide more detailed
information about aquatic trophic chains, revealing which fish species are preyed
upon by other fish species (Sigler et al. 2006) or seabirds (Phillips et al. 1999). This