Forwarding pl. for inf. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: jayadevan ek <jayadeva...@gmail.com> Date: Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 8:04 AM Subject: Project to barcode plants and animals
http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/31/stories/2009083157461800.htm Project to barcode plants and animals K.S. Sudhi KFRI scientists working on barcoding butterflies and Dalbergia plants — PHOTO: By Special Arrangement Nigger butterfly, which belongs to the species Satyrid, will be barcoded KOCHI: Scientists are working on projects for sequencing the DNA of a wide variety of trees, fishes, insects and animals as part of a project for barcoding life. Researchers of the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI), Peechi, Thrissur, are working on projects to barcode Oak Leaf butterflies (Satyrid butterflies) and plants belonging to the genus Dalbergia, which include Rosewood. Bar code readers can be used to identify species of which the DNA has been sequenced. When the sequence of a species is obtained, it can be compared with the available sequences to ascertain the species. Barcoding will be helpful in identifying the species from even a tiny bit of tissue. It will also serve as a quick, cheap and unambiguous means of distinguishing between species, according to researchers. The technique has a wide range of applications in forensic science, fighting bio-piracy, studying the feeding habits of animals and identification of spurious herbs used in Ayurvedic medicines, said K.V. Sankaran, Director, KFRI. The KFRI is planning to network with the Consortium for the Barcode of Life, U.S., for developing a global standard for species identification, he said. There are around 30 species of Satyrid butterflies in the Kerala region of the Western Ghats and most of them exhibit morphological variations in various geographical locations, rendering their correct identification difficult. The DNA bar coding of the species will make the correct identification possible, said George Mathew, who leads the research team. “We will look for genetic variations within the species at different geographical locations as well as the phylogenetic (the evolutionary development of organisms) relationships between various species. This will help us in obtaining a better understanding of the group and its ecological adaptations. ,” Dr. Mathew said. The Institute has partnered with the Indian Institute of Science , Bangalore, for the butterfly project. The Dalbergia family consists of three trees and nine climbers whose flowers and leaves look alike. Only Kariveeti and Veeti in the family are commercially important ones, said project leader M. Balasundaram. The National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi, and the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, are the other two agencies involved in the project. The Kochi regional centre of the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Research, Lucknow, had barcoded Whale Sharks and fish varieties like Yellow Catfish, Manjakoori, Thooli and Denisoni, an endemic ornamental fish known as Miss Kerala. ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/keralabirder/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/keralabirder/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:keralabirder-dig...@yahoogroups.com mailto:keralabirder-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: keralabirder-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ -- With regards, J.M.Garg (jmga...@gmail.com) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jmgarg1 'Creating awareness of Indian Flora & Fauna' Image Resource of thousands of my images of Birds, Butterflies, Flora etc. (arranged alphabetically & place-wise): http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:J.M.Garg For learning about Indian Flora, visit/ join Google e-group- Indiantreepix: http://groups.google.co.in/group/indiantreepix?hl=en --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "indiantreepix" group. To post to this group, send email to indiantreepix@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to indiantreepix+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.co.in/group/indiantreepix?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
