2024/10/01 by Rudolf Meier, Mara Lawniczak, Amrita Srivathsan · 3 voices · 31 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Environmental Science · #Biodiversity #Biology #Computational biology #Computer science #DNA #DNA sequencing #Data science #Ecology #Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies #Evolutionary biology #Gene #Genetics #Genome #Genomics #Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies #Identification (biology) #Identification and Quantification in Food #Metagenomics
paper · doi:10.1146/annurev-ento-040124-014001
published in Annual Review of Entomology 70(1), 185-204 (Annual Reviews)
openalex publication_date 2024/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
Most insects encountered in the field are initially entomological dark matter in that they cannot be identified to species while alive. This explains the enduring quest for efficient ways to identify collected specimens. Morphological tools came first but are now routinely replaced or complemented with DNA barcodes. Initially too expensive for widespread use, these barcodes have since evolved into powerful tools for specimen identification and sorting, given that the evolution of sequencing approaches has dramatically reduced the cost of barcodes, thus enabling decentralized deployment across the planet. In this article, we review how DNA barcodes have become a key tool for accelerating biodiversity discovery and analyzing insect communities through both megabarcoding and metabarcoding in an era of insect decline. We predict that DNA barcodes will be particularly important for assembling image training sets for deep learning algorithms, global biodiversity genomics, and functional analysis of insect communities.