🪲 A 2024 study in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution examined the geographic and phylogenetic structure of BOLD’s public DNA barcode database, focusing on the Chrysomelidae family (leaf beetles). Leaf beetles were used to assess database coverage because species are globally distributed, important in agricultural, conservation, and biocontrol contexts, and have been represented in previous global (meta)barcoding research efforts like the Global Malaise Trap Program.
Methods:
📍 73,342 DNA barcodes (COI) of Chrysomelidae grouped into 5,310 Barcode Index Numbers (BINs) from 101 countries.
🌍 Sample completeness was assessed two ways: using a barcode-to-BIN ratio and an approximation of true sample coverage.
🧬 A phylogenetic tree was constructed by integrating representative barcodes to an aligned dataset of 564 Chrysomelidae mitochondrial genomes.
Results:
📊 Almost half of all barcodes (N=31,541) originated from Costa Rica, followed by South Africa (N=4,934) and Canada (N=4,805).
🌎 Five countries—Costa Rica, Canada, South Africa, Germany, and Spain—had high sample completeness.
📈 Despite regional variation in sample completeness, the database coverage of Chrysomelidae at the species-level remained low overall, limiting the ability to assess global biodiversity patterns.
🌿 Integrating barcodes into a phylogenetic tree provided useful taxonomic and biogeographic insights, even for species lacking documentation.
A comprehensive DNA reference library is essential for accurate species identification and biodiversity monitoring. As the world’s largest repository of DNA barcodes, BOLD plays a crucial role in this effort and must continue expanding through user-contributed DNA sequences, metadata, and specimen images.
Authors and affiliations:
Ellie Lo, Natural History Museum, Imperial College London
Rui-E Nie, Anhui Normal University
Alfried P. Vogler, Natural History Museum, Imperial College London
Paper: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gzq-6Qgt
#BOLD #DNABarcoding #Biodiversity #Bioinformatics #Nature #Technology #Research
