Tag Archive for: literature

Dear ABOL and DNA barcoding community,

maybe there it is now – more time to read. To make sure to provide enough reading stuff, we would like to draw your attention to two very exciting publications on the topic of DNA barcoding:
In plants, a reliable species identification with only one genetic marker is not yet possible. Therefore, the sequencing of entire chloroplast genomes becomes increasingly popular. However, this is a very cost intensive way to document regional and national floras. At the ABOL conference, Harald Meimberg (BOKU) presented a solution by means of a multi-marker approach. An alternative method is described in the first publication presented here:
Inger Alsos et. al promote Genome Skimming as a method that, in addition to freshly collected plant material, also makes the valuable treasures in the herbaria for DNA barcoding and other genomic analyzes accessible. The success rates for herbarium material were very high for most plant families – the three DNA barcoding markers (ITS2, matK and rbcL) could be obtained in more than 1000 genera from 160 families. The authors recommend Genome Skimming of herbarium material as an efficient and relatively inexpensive method for creating DNA barcodes and genomic studies.

Citation: Alsos, I.G., Lavergne, S., Merkel, M.K.F., Boleda, M., Lammers, Y., Alberti, A., Pouchon, C., Denoeud, F., Pitelkova, I., Pușcaș, M., Roquet, C., Hurdu, B.-I., Thuiller, W., Zimmermann, N.E., Hollingsworth, P.M., Coissac, E. The Treasure Vault Can be Opened: The Treasure Vault Can be Opened: Large-Scale Genome Skimming Works Well Using Herbarium and Silica Gel Dried MaterialPlants 2020, 9, 432.

The second publication emphasizes the need for standardized quantitative and qualitative insect monitoring in order to be able to recognize changes in the insect fauna in terms of abundance, species numbers and species composition. The authors around Axel Hausmann carried out comparative studies of the insect fauna in southern Germany in organic and conventional farmland using Malaise traps and light traps. Not only the species composition was recorded using DNA metabarcoding, but also the biomass and certain biological traits. Expectedly, for butterflies higher species numbers and biomass as well as higher numbers of red list species were detected in organic farmland compared with conventionally treated agricultural areas. The methodology presented here represents a time and cost efficient standardizable approach to insect monitoring.

Citation: Hausmann, A.Segerer, A.H.Greifenstein, T., Knubben, J., Moriniére, J., Bozicevic, V., Doczkal, D., Günter, A., Ulrich, W., Habel, J.C. Toward a standardized quantitative and qualitative insect monitoring schemeEcol Evol202000112.

Who does not know them from the own garden, the Spanish slug? A study at the BOKU Vienna showed that Citizen Scientists can contribute to investigate the abundance of slugs of the genus Arion in private gardens. The quality of determinations could be kept high in the study by using the DNA barcoding approach. The publication is freely available at https://bmcecol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12898-018-0179-7.

 

In keeping with the theme of a workshop held in the context of this year’s ABOL conference, a review will be devoted to the topic “Genetic methods in biological assessment of aquatic habitats”. The paper provides information on the benefits and pitfalls of (e)DNA metabarcoding approaches for calculating biotic indices, provides insights into potential future developments, and provides recommendations for the future integration of DNA metabarcoding to routine biomonitoring programs. The publication can be found at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969718316322.

 

Two publications on alpine moth species show benefits, firstly of integrative approaches, and secondly of international collaboration within the DNA barcoding community.

A comparison of representatives of the Agrotis fatidica species-group from the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Apennines and southern Norway led to the description of two new species. The publication can be found at https://nl.pensoft.net/article/23090/.

Among other things, a study on representatives of the genus Udea found evidence of hybridization between two species. The publication can be downloaded at https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/22020/.

A selection of scientific and popular publications on the topic of DNA barcoding in general and ABOL in particular can be accessed via the link
https://www.zotero.org/groups/abol_literatur.
The main page of the Zotero literature-database displays recent additions. By activating the link „Group Library“ the structure of the database (hierarchic folders) will be opened with the entire content.

Additional notes for the usage of the Zotero literature-database:
After selection of a literature item three icons will appear in the upper right corner:
zotero-icons

 

"Export" will export selected literature for further applications

“Export” will export selected literature for further applications.

"Cite" will display selected literature in various styles

“Cite” will display selected literature in various styles.

"Library Settings" allows to adjust viewing options

“Library Settings” allows to adjust viewing options.