DNA条形码技术(DNA barcoding)是用短的DNA片段对物种进行识别和鉴定的分子生物学技术。在动物研究中该技术已经成功应用于利用线粒体细胞色素c氧化酶亚基I(COI)进行物种鉴定和发现隐种或新物种。相对于动物, COI基因在高等植物中进化速率较慢, 因此植物条形码研究以叶绿体基因组作为重点, 但目前还处于寻找合适的基因片段阶段。许多学者对此进行了积极的探索, 报道了多种植物条形码的候选片段或组合, 但还没有获得满足所有标准的特征位点片段。该文介绍了DNA条形码的标准、优点、工作流程及数据分析方法, 总结了DNA条形码在植物中的研究现状。

DNA barcoding with a short DNA region is used to identify and characterize species of organisms. The mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI or cox1) sequence is used in DNA barcoding for diverse groups of animals, with success in species identification and revealing cryptic species or new species. However, the sequence is not appropriate for most plant species because of its slower rate of evolution in higher plants than in animals. Plant barcoding is still in the stage of searching for a suitable locus and kinds of candidates. Many researchers propose a single barcoding region or combinations of regions from the chloroplast genome. At present, a well-characterized plant locus that meets all necessary criteria is lacking. This paper briefly discusses the advantages, standards, workflow, and analysis of barcoding, as well as the status and problems of current studies in plants.