Numts: an impediment to DNA barcoding of Polyclinids, Tunicata.

The mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene, a widely accepted molecular marker for species identification and classification, has been questioned because of the presence of Numts. In this study we found the presence of Numts in the COI chromatogram of two tunicates, Polyclinum indicum and Polyclinum madrasensis belonging to the genus Polyclinum. Numts were also present in our sequence (Accession Number: KJ944391) and in other sequences belonging to genus Polyclinum in the GenBank record. The GeneBank database of genus Polyclinum contains COI-like sequences and COI pseudogenes, but no record of COI gene from Polyclinids. The prevalence of Numts in Polyclinids belonging to Tunicata, is an impediment to DNA barcoding studies of Polyclinum species.