Abstract:

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.

Key words: COI, DNA barcoding, plants