The Department of Environmental Affairs, in partnership with the University of Johannesburg, will host the 7th International Barcode of Life (iBOL) Conference at Kruger National Park's Skukuza Camp from 20 to 24 November.
The International Barcode of Life project is the largest biodiversity genomics initiative undertaken to date.
Participants from more than 25 nations are building infrastructure for the iBOL DNA-based identification system for all multi-cellular life, to identify animals and plants for combating wildlife trafficking, as well as conservation, ecosystem monitoring, forensics and control of agricultural pests and invasive species.
Hosted for the first time on the African continent, the iBOL Conference will focus on African biodiversity, the increasing usage of DNA barcoding for wildlife forensics and product validation, and a significant rise in studies on environmental DNA, placing emphasis on the evolutionary origins, biogeography and conservation of African flora and fauna.
It is an opportunity for SA to showcase its involvement in barcoding initiatives across the continent.
The conference coincides with the launch of the Lab-in-a-Box, a portable lab that can be deployed to field sites with major applications to wildlife crime and the detection of invasive species.
The launch will take place today during the LifeScanner training course that forms part of the conference.
The LifeScanner application enables people to actively participate in the world's largest biodiversity initiative by contributing data and specimens, and then follow the analytical progress using a mobile app.
iBOL founder professor Paul Hebert, from the University of Guelph, Canada, will deliver a keynote address, while researchers will showcase the latest scientific achievements in DNA barcoding tackling socio-economic challenges such as agricultural pests, quarantine and invasive species, wildlife forensics, disease vectors and marketplace surveys.
iBOL says the African continent has a special place in the study of human genetic diversity, being the evolutionary cradle of humankind.
In addition to recently evolved species, iBOL says Africa harbours many deeply-unique lineages of the tree of life, owing to its diverse habitats and climates as well as its complex geological history of connection and isolation from other continents.
"As the first conference in this series to be held in Africa, the meeting prominently features studies of the evolutionary history, biodiversity and biogeography, and conservation concerns of the biota of Africa," says Hebert.
For most animals, iBOL uses an approximately 650 base pair region in the mitochondrial cytochrome coxidase 1 gene as its barcode. For plants, the barcode comes from two chloroplast genes, and fungi use yet another barcode sequence.
DNA barcodes are collected in the Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) database, along with other data and images of the specimens. Scientists can use BOLD as a reference library to molecularly identify samples they collect in the field.
The first phase of the iBOL project formally launched in late 2010 and completed its initial goal - to register about five million specimens from 500 000 species in BOLD - in the summer of 2015.
About 70% of the data was generated by the Canadian Centre for DNA Barcoding, the sequencing core facility of the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, and the remaining 30% by other facilities around the world.
During construction of the barcode library, iBOL participants will also build the infrastructure needed to use it in real-world situations such as conservation, ecosystem monitoring, forensics and control of agricultural pests and invasive species.
The economic benefits of improved bio-surveillance will be large, says iBOL. It notes that increasing globalisation of trade and climate change means all jurisdictions face unprecedented exposure to invasive species that threaten their agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
DNA barcoding will enable the rapid identification of invasive species, allowing quarantine and eradication efforts to begin far earlier, with massive reductions in cost and increased chances of success.
"It will further aid the selection of optimal control strategies for pest/disease agents impacting all natural resource sectors. Barcoding will play a critical role in regulating trade in endangered or protected species and products."
Share