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DNA Barcodes in Taxonomic Descriptions

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DNA Barcoding

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2744))

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Abstract

This chapter discusses methods for incorporating DNA barcode information into formal taxonomic descriptions. We first review what a formal description entails and then discuss previous attempts to incorporate barcode information into taxonomic descriptions. Several computer programs are listed that extract diagnostics from DNA barcode data. Finally, we examine a test case (Astraptes taxonomy).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Traditionally, new species were described in journals or monographs, printed on paper with an unambiguous date of publication, and physically distributed to readers, libraries, and museums. In the age of digital media, the concept of “publication” has become somewhat blurred. Because the date of publication is critical to determining priority, the Codes of Nomenclature have adopted some changes to accommodate these developments, but species descriptions still need to be published in a permanent, unchanging format, and authors need to be aware that posting preprints into Bio RXiv and the like may cause nomenclatural headaches.

  2. 2.

    The irony of Brower’s barcode-based species descriptions was utterly lost on Zamani et al. [32]. They said, “Brower [26] hailed this method as a flagship example of DNA barcoding’s success in overcoming the ‘taxonomic impediment’.” That certainly was not the intention, and Brower believes the opposite.

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The opinions expressed in this chapter are those of the authors and should not be construed to reflect the policies or views of the US Government or the US Department of Agriculture.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. USDA APHIS PPQ Pest Exclusion and Import Programs, Riverdale, MD, USA

    Andrew V. Z. Brower

  2. Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA

    Robert DeSalle

Authors
  1. Andrew V. Z. Brower
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  2. Robert DeSalle
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert DeSalle .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA

    Robert DeSalle

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Brower, A.V.Z., DeSalle, R. (2024). DNA Barcodes in Taxonomic Descriptions. In: DeSalle, R. (eds) DNA Barcoding. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2744. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3581-0_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3581-0_5

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-3580-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-3581-0

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