title: DNA barcoding Korean birds.
abstract: DNA barcoding, an inventory of DNA sequences from a standardized genomic region, provides a bio-barcode for identifying and discovering species. Several recent studies suggest that the sequence diversity in a 648 bp region of the mitochondrial gene for cytochrome c oxi- dase I (COI) might serve as a DNA barcode for identify- ing animal species such as North American birds, in- sects and fishes. The present study tested the effective- ness of a COI barcode in discriminating Korean bird species. We determined the 5' terminus of the COI bar- code for 92 species of Korean birds and found that spe- cies identification was unambiguous; the genetic differ- ences between closely related species were, on average, 25 times higher than the differences within species. We identified only one misidentified species out of 239 specimens in a genetic resource bank, so confirming the accuracy of species identification in the banking system. We also identified two potential composite species, calling for further investigation using more samples. The finding of large COI sequence differences between species confirms the effectiveness of COI barcodes for identifying Korean bird species. To bring greater reliability to the identification of species, increased in- tra- and interspecies sampling, as well as supplementa- tion of the mitochondrial barcodes with nuclear ones, is needed.
authors.affiliation: Biological Resource Center/Korean BioInformation Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Daejeon 305-333, Korea.
authors.forename: Hye Sook
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Jae-Yong
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Eah
authors.forename: Jong Soo
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Young-Jun
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Mi-Sook
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Min
authors.forename: Woon Kee
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Paek
authors.forename: Hang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Chang-Bae
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D030541:Databases, Genetic; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000235:genetics*; D007723:Korea; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV