'Insect soup' holds DNA key for monitoring biodiversity
Monday, August 5, 2013 - 09:00
in Biology & Nature
Scientists have shown that sequencing the DNA of crushed up creepy crawlies can accelerate the monitoring and cataloguing of biodiversity around the world. New research shows that a process known as ‘metabarcoding’ is much faster than and just as reliable as standard biodiversity datasets assembled with traditional labor-intensive methods. The breakthrough means that changing environments and endangered species can be monitored more easily than ever before. It could help researchers find endangered tree kangaroos in Papua New Guinea, discover which moths will be wiped out by climate change, and restore nature to heathlands in the UK, rubber plantations in China, and oil-palm plantations in Sumatra.