<< back to list of all areas of research

DNA Barcoding

Ever since Carl Linnaeus began systematically classifying living things 250 years ago, biologists have looked at various features—color, shape, even behavior—to identify animals and plants. From insects and birds to trees and grasses, evidence now shows that short DNA sequences from a uniform locality on the genome can be a barcode of life for distinguishing species. First proposed by Paul Hebert, DNA barcoding offers a simple, standardized approach to species identification. DNA barcoding democratizes access to the storehouse of biological knowledge about organisms, helps solve identification mysteries that puzzle experts, and speeds writing the Encyclopedia of Life. Beginning with the early DNA barcode workshops in 2003, we are involved in helping apply this new tool to explore and understand biodiversity.

For more about DNA barcoding, go to our DNA barcode home page.

Publications about DNA Barcoding

1136 DA Lijtmaer, KCR Kerr, MY Stoeckle, and PL Tubaro. DNA Barcoding Birds: From Field Collection to Data Analysis (PDF). Chapter 7 in DNA Barcodes: Methods and Protocols 127-152, 2012 DNA Barcoding Birds: From Field Collection to Data Analysis,

1137 MY Stoeckle and KCR Kerr,. Frequency Matrix Approach Demonstrates High Sequence Quality in Avian BARCODEs and Highlights Cryptic Pseudogenes [external link]. PLoS ONE 7(8): e43992, 2012 Frequency Matrix Approach Demonstrates High Sequence Quality in Avian BARCODEs and Highlights Cryptic Pseudogenes,

1131 MY Stoeckle, CC Gamble, R Kirpekar, G Young, S Ahmed & Damon P. Little. Commercial Teas Highlight Plant DNA Barcode Identification Successes and Obstacles [external link]. Nature Scientific Reports 1:42 2011 Commercial Teas Highlight Plant DNA Barcode Identification Successes and Obstacles, BIOINFORMATICS EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES PLANT SCIENCES BIODIVERSITY

1132 DE Schindel, MY Stoeckle, CM Milensky, M Trizna, BK Schmidt, CA Gebhard, GR Graves. Project Description: DNA Barcodes of Bird Species in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, USA [external link]. ZooKeys 152: 87-91, 2011 Project Description: DNA Barcodes of Bird Species in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, USA, Barcode, Birds

1118 A Johnsen, E Rindal, PGP Ericson, D Zuccon , KCR Kerr, MY Stoeckle, JT Lifjeld. DNA barcoding of Scandanavian birds reveals divergent lineages in trans-Atlantic species [external link]. J Ornithol 151(3): 565-578, 2010 DNA barcoding of Scandanavian birds reveals divergent lineages in trans-Atlantic species, DNA Barcoding, Birds

1119 L Sirovich, MY Stoeckle, Y Zhang. Structural analysis of biodiversity [external link]. PLoS ONE 5(2): e9266, 2010 Structural analysis of biodiversity, DNA Barcoding

1120 MJ Raupach, JJ Astrin, K Hannig, MK Peters, MY Stoeckle, JW Wägele. Molecular species identification of Central European ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) using nuclear rDNA expansion segments and DNA barcodes [external link]. Front Zool 7(26): 2010 Molecular species identification of Central European ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) using nuclear rDNA expansion segments and DNA barcodes, DNA Barcoding

0111 JH Ausubel. A botanical macroscope [external link]. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 106(31): 12569-12570, 2009 A botanical macroscope, DNA Barcoding, taxonomy, biodiversity, Horizontal Genomics, species

0110 Stoeckle MY, Winker K. A global snapshot of avian tissue collections: state of the enterprise (PDF). Auk 126(3): 684-687, 2009 A global snapshot of avian tissue collections: state of the enterprise, DNA Barcoding, taxonomy, biodiversity

1117 L Sirovich, MY Stoeckle, Y Zhang. A scalable method for analysis and display of DNA sequences [external link]. PLoS ONE 4(10): e7051, 2009 A scalable method for analysis and display of DNA sequences, DNA Barcoding, Klee diagram

1116 MY Stoeckle, PDN Hebert. Barcode of life (PDF). Sci Am 299: 82-88, 2008 Barcode of life, DNA Barcoding

1121 K Stoeckle, L Strauss. High school students track down fish fraud (PDF). Pacific Fishing September: 34, 2008 High school students track down fish fraud,

0106 KCR Kerr, MY Stoeckle, CJ Dove, LA Weigt, CM Francis, PDN Hebert. Comprehensive DNA barcode coverage of North American birds [external link]. Mol Ecol Notes 7: 535-543, 2007 Comprehensive DNA barcode coverage of North American birds, DNA Barcoding, taxonomy, biodiversity, Aves, cryptic species, cytochrome c oxidase, intraspecific mitochondrial variation, selective sweeps

1115 NS Sodhi, D Astuti, AC Diesmos, P Ericson, N Fernandopulle, S Kotagama, E Kudavidanege, HC Lim, B Lee, SLH Lim, Y Lin, DJ Lohman, W Meckvichai, H Miranda, RG Moyle, P Ong, KA Pan, D Prawiradilaga, MA Rahman, A Rahmani, FH Sheldon, MY Stoeckle, S Sulandari. Barcoding Indo-Malayan birds (PDF) [external link]. Raffles Bull Zool 55: 397-398, 2007 Barcoding Indo-Malayan birds, DNA Barcoding, birds

1127 MY Stoeckle, PE Waggoner, JH Ausubel. Barcoding Life, Illustrated: Goals, rationale, results (PDF). Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) 2005 Barcoding Life, Illustrated: Goals, rationale, results, barcoding

0098 PDN Hebert, MY Stoeckle, T Zemlak, CM Francis. Identification of birds through DNA barcodes [external link]. PLoS Biology 2(10): 312, 2004 Identification of birds through DNA barcodes, DNA Barcoding, biodiversity, taxonomy, species

1126 MY Stoeckle, P Waggoner, JH Ausubel. Barcoding Life: Ten Reasons (PDF). Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) 2004 BrochureBarcoding Life: Ten Reasons, Barcoding

0094 MY Stoeckle. Taxonomy, DNA, and the bar code of life (PDF). BioScience 53(9): 2-3, 2003 Taxonomy, DNA, and the bar code of life, DNA Barcoding, biodiversity, taxonomy, species