Boosting the Barcode

DNA barcoding has become a standard method for studying biodiversity and has led to the discovery of many new species. 

For the last seven years, the Hakai Institute has been a leader in DNA barcoding of marine life. DNA barcoding is the use of a short, standardized region of DNA to identify different species. By sequencing the DNA barcode region from as many species as they can get their hands on, scientists have created a massive reference database—the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD)—for identifying species by their genetic information.  

Through large-scale bioblitzes and collaborations with marine scientists and taxonomists, Hakai Institute researchers have contributed thousands of new DNA barcode sequences from historically understudied groups. 

“It’s no exaggeration to say that every survey we do uncovers something new,” says Hakai Institute scientist Matt Lemay. “The ocean contains an astonishing diversity of creatures that have received much less attention than terrestrial creatures. Many ocean species are small, cryptic, or live deep down, making them challenging to collect and identify.”  

BOLD has become an indispensable tool for scientists using environmental DNA (eDNA) to study biodiversity. This method works by sequencing all the DNA present in an environmental sample—for example, from a liter of seawater.  

However, scientists can’t use eDNA to fully identify what is present in an ecosystem if there isn’t a barcode sequence for each species in the reference database. Gaps in BOLD and other databases mean that species will go undetected in eDNA studies. 

This is where Hakai Institute researchers and partners are making a difference. So much of the ocean is understudied, Lemay notes, that on average “we find that 20 percent of the DNA barcodes we sequence for marine invertebrates are completely new and haven’t been sequenced before.” 

Biodiversity surveys combined with DNA sequencing mean that Hakai Institute researchers are filling many of the holes in BOLD that might otherwise go unnoticed, a significant contribution in the effort to catalog life on Earth. 

“Our ability to use eDNA to study biodiversity is only as good as the underlying reference database,” says Lemay.