| Abstract Detail
MSA - Systematics/Evolution Harrower, Emma [1], Moncalvo, Jean-Marc [2]. Barcode Identification Numbers for Environmental Sequences: A case study using Cortinarius. Rising interest in the ecology of mycorrhizal fungi has increased the number of unidentified mycorrhizal fungal species entered into GenBank. As of yet, there is no standard on how these sequences should be described. It has been proposed that sequences entered into GenBank be given a barcode identification number (BIN) based on their similarity to other sequences in GenBank. The genus Cortinarius is a good candidate for the use of a molecular based taxonomy because they are diverse, abundant both above and below ground and are difficult to identify. To create a molecular based taxonomy for the genus, 2463 Cortinarius ITS sequences were obtained from GenBank, the Duke Forest Mycological Observatory, and the Royal Ontario Museum. Thirty-three percent of these sequences are unidentified. Sequencher and DOTUR were used to cluster the sequences based on 96%, 97%, 98% and 99% similarity. We compared the efficacy of using these programs to identify monophyletic groups as well as the effect of changing the cut-off value. A public online database is under construction where users can retrieve ecological and geographic data associated with each BIN. This type of analysis will create a standard nomenclature for environmental sequences entered into GenBank and will enable an easy comparison between studies using environmental sampling. It will also serve as a tool for taxonomists and will improve ambiguous Genbank entries by facilitating recognition of unnamed and misidentified sequences and cryptic species.
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1 - University of Toronto, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3B2, Canada
2 - Royal Ontario Museum, Department of Natural History, 100 Queen\'s Park, Toronto, ON, M5S 2C6, Canada
Keywords:
barcoding
Cortinarius
Mycorrhizae.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Topics
Session: 26
Location: Cottonwood D/Snowbird Center
Date: Monday, July 27th, 2009
Time: 2:30 PM
Number: 26005
Abstract ID:508 |
