title: A universal DNA mini-barcode for biodiversity analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The goal of DNA barcoding is to develop a species-specific sequence library for all eukaryotes. A 650 bp fragment of the cytochrome c oxidase 1 (CO1) gene has been used successfully for species-level identification in several animal groups. It may be difficult in practice, however, to retrieve a 650 bp fragment from archival specimens, (because of DNA degradation) or from environmental samples (where universal primers are needed).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We used a bioinformatics analysis using all CO1 barcode sequences from GenBank and calculated the probability of having species-specific barcodes for varied size fragments. This analysis established the potential of much smaller fragments, mini-barcodes, for identifying unknown specimens. We then developed a universal primer set for the amplification of mini-barcodes. We further successfully tested the utility of this primer set on a comprehensive set of taxa from all major eukaryotic groups as well as archival specimens.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study we address the important issue of minimum amount of sequence information required for identifying species in DNA barcoding. We establish a novel approach based on a much shorter barcode sequence and demonstrate its effectiveness in archival specimens. This approach will significantly broaden the application of DNA barcoding in biodiversity studies.
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada. imeus@uoguelph.ca
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Meusnier
authors.forename: Gregory A C
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Singer
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Landry
authors.forename: Donal A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Hickey
authors.forename: Paul D N
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Hebert
authors.forename: Mehrdad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hajibabaei
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D044822:Biodiversity; D019295:Computational Biology; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics*; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D030561:Databases, Nucleic Acid; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000235:genetics; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells; D015723:Gene Library; D023281:Genomics / Q000379:methods; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004247:DNA; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV