Barcodes for trees: Study identifies genetic fingerprints of endangered conifers
Friday, November 29, 2013 - 09:00
in Biology & Nature
In the tropics and subtropics, many evergreen conifers are endangered. Biologists at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) have collected the world's largest Podocarpaceae collection. Together with colleagues from The New York Botanical Garden, they sequenced characteristic parts of the DNA of these conifers in order to generate a "DNA barcode" for each species. With the help of this genetic fingerprint, unknown individuals can be assigned to the respective Podocarpaceae species, which are often very similar in appearance. Thus, individuals of endangered populations can be identified more easily. The team reports in the journal PLOS ONE.