DNA barcoding Facts for Kids

DNA barcoding is a special way to study DNA. It is part of molecular biology, which looks at the tiny parts inside living things. Scientists use DNA barcoding to tell different species (kinds of living things) apart. They also use it to see which species are related to each other or have changed from the same older species over a long time.

How DNA Barcoding Works
Benefits of DNA Barcoding
Uses of DNA Barcoding
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How DNA Barcoding Works

The first ways to read DNA's code started in the 1980s. DNA barcoding is one of these methods.

In DNA barcoding, scientists read a small part of a gene. Then, they compare this part to the same gene in other species. Often, they use a short piece of a gene called COI. This piece is usually 400 to 800 base pairs long. Base pairs are like the building blocks of DNA.

Different groups of scientists choose different genes for their projects. A good barcode gene needs to be short. It must also have the exact same DNA code at its beginning and end. But the middle part needs to be different enough to tell species apart.

Some scientists say DNA barcoding is different from genomics. DNA barcoding looks at just a few specific parts of an organism's DNA. Genomics, on the other hand, looks at all the DNA of an organism.

Benefits of DNA Barcoding

DNA barcoding costs less money than other ways to read DNA. This means smaller labs can use it, and all labs can do more of it. It is also much easier to learn than other ways of naming and grouping living things. This means more people can learn to use it.

One great thing about DNA barcoding is that it helps people avoid mistakes. For example, some animals look very similar even if they are not closely related. Also, some animals look different even though they are very close relatives. It is easy for a scientist to think two species are related just because they look or act alike.

For instance, cows are more closely related to whales and orcas than they are to horses. This is true even though cows walk on hooves, live on land, and eat grass like horses do. Looking at DNA makes it easier to see what really happened as species changed over time.

Another benefit is that scientists do not need to get close to the animal or plant they want to study. This is good for studying animals that are easily hurt, very shy, or dangerous to humans. Scientists do not even need to see the organism to use DNA barcoding.

In one study, scientists collected feces (poop) from an African savanna. They used DNA barcoding to find out which animal left the poop. They also learned which plants the animal had eaten, all from the undigested DNA in the poop.

DNA barcoding makes it much faster and easier to find out what a species eats. Before DNA barcoding, scientists had to follow an insect or other animal and watch it eat. This could take many years. With DNA barcoding, scientists can look at what is in an animal's stomach. This is fast enough for scientists to see how animals' eating habits change with climate change.

Scientists have also used DNA barcoding to study old museum collections. They looked at preserved animals collected many years ago. Using DNA barcoding, scientists found that one butterfly collected in the 1700s was actually ten different species, not just one. Scientists have made many new discoveries like this in old museum collections.

Uses of DNA Barcoding

Herpetologists (scientists who study amphibians and reptiles) used DNA barcoding in 2019. They used it to study the parachuting frog. They found this frog by climbing mountains in Papua New Guinea.