iBOL
the International Barcode of Life Project (iBOL)
Current plans call for iBOL to launch as an alliance of researchers and biodiversity organizations in 25 nations. Six nations will participate as National Nodes. They will focus on the collection, identification, and curation of specimens. The 19 nations involved as Regional and Central Nodes will additionally participate in barcode acquisition with the Central Nodes maintaining large core sequencing facilities. Finally, the Central Nodes will support the bioinformatics facilities required to share barcode records to all nations.
The International Barcode of Life project (iBOL) has one overarching goal - to assemble the sequence library and the technology necessary to identify organisms rapidly and inexpensively. This goal is underpinned by the observation that sequence diversity in short, standardized gene regions (DNA barcodes) enables both the identification of known species and the discovery of new ones. By building an identification system based on digital DNA strings rather than on analogue traits, DNA barcoding promises a massive improvement in our capacity to monitor and manage biodiversity with profound societal and economic impacts.
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Australian Barcode of Life Network Newsletter #1 - Mar 12, 2009
Australian Barcode of Life Network has published their first newsletter. This network has recently been established by a group of Australian scientists involved in genetic and taxonomic research and is linked with the International Barcode of Life Project. The aim of the network is to provide a forum through which those interested in and undertaking DNA barcoding can share information about activities, resources and opportunities in Australia and internationally.