Cowan Robyn S, Fay Michael F
Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanic Gardens, Richmond, Surrey, UK.
Methods Mol Biol. 2012;862:23-33. doi: 10.1007/978-1-61779-609-8_3.
DNA barcoding, using a short gene sequence from a standardized region of the genome, is a species identification tool which would not only aid species discovery but would also have applications ranging from large-scale biodiversity surveys through to identification of a single fragment of material in forensic contexts. To fulfill this vision a universal, relatively cheap, scalable system needs to be in place. The mitochondrial locus being used for many animal groups and algae is not suitable for use in land plants, and an appropriate alternative is needed.Progress has been made in the selection of two alternative regions for plant DNA barcoding. There are however many challenges in finding a solution that fulfills all the requirements of a successful, universally applicable barcode, and in the short term a pragmatic solution that achieves as much as possible and has payoffs in most areas has been chosen. Research continues in areas ranging from the technicalities of sequencing the regions to data analysis and the potential improvements that may result from the developing technology and data analysis systems.The ultimate success of DNA barcoding as a plant identification tool for all occasions depends on the building of a reference database and it fulfilling the requirements of potential users such that they are able to achieve valid results through its use, that would be more time consuming and costly, and less reliable using other techniques.
DNA条形码技术利用来自基因组标准化区域的短基因序列，是一种物种识别工具，不仅有助于发现物种，还可应用于从大规模生物多样性调查到法医背景下单个材料片段识别等广泛领域。为实现这一愿景，需要建立一个通用、相对廉价且可扩展的系统。目前用于许多动物群体和藻类的线粒体基因座不适用于陆地植物，因此需要一个合适的替代方案。
在为植物DNA条形码选择两个替代区域方面已取得进展。然而，要找到一个满足成功通用条形码所有要求的解决方案面临诸多挑战，短期内选择了一个务实的方案，该方案尽可能多地满足要求，并在大多数领域产生效益。从区域测序技术到数据分析以及不断发展的技术和数据分析系统可能带来的潜在改进等方面的研究仍在继续。
DNA条形码作为适用于所有情况的植物识别工具的最终成功取决于建立一个参考数据库，并且该数据库要满足潜在用户的需求，使他们能够通过使用该数据库获得有效的结果，而使用其他技术则会更耗时、成本更高且可靠性更低。
