Documenting decapod biodiversity in the Caribbean from DNA barcodes generated during field training in taxonomy.

ABSTRACT: DNA barcoding is a useful tool to identify the components of mixed or bulk samples, as well as to determine individuals that lack morphologically diagnostic features. However, the reference database of DNA barcode sequences is particularly sparsely populated for marine invertebrates and for tropical taxa. We used samples collected as part of two field courses, focused on graduate training in taxonomy and systematics, to generate DNA sequences of the barcode fragments of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and mitochondrial ribosomal 16S genes for 447 individuals, representing at least 129 morphospecies of decapod crustaceans. COI sequences for 36% (51/140) of the species and 16S sequences for 26% (37/140) of the species were new to GenBank. Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery identified 140 o

SUBMITTER: Venera-Ponton DE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6960234 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature