Barcodes for trees: Researchers identify genetic fingerprints of endangered conifers
Thursday, November 28, 2013 - 15:20
in Biology & Nature
In the tropics and subtropics, many evergreen conifers are endangered. Biologists have collected the world’s largest Podocarpaceae collection. 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.