International Consortium Seeks New Partners to Create Organism Catalogue Based on DNA Barcodes

NEW YORK, Feb. 16 (GenomeWeb News) - An international consortium devoted to assigning DNA-based "bar codes" to all plant and animal species is making an appeal to developing countries to join the project.

The Consortium for the Barcode of Life, which includes more than 50 members from 22 countries, hopes to use DNA sequence-derived barcoding to create a "catalogue of life." However, the organization, which includes 16 European partners, said that it is looking to join forces with partners from countries that are especially rich in biodiversity.

CBOL said that although its ranks include Ghana, South Africa, Brazil and others, more developing countries may be dissuaded by the costs of joining the project.

CBOL said in a statement that it has already launched three projects involving the barcoding of birds, fish, and plants, and that it sees its efforts as a 21^st Century revival of taxonomy -- the discovery, description, and classification of different species.