The second is a Canadian Food Inspection Agency publication called ‘Science Scan’ that discusses research articles concerning animal and plant health, particularly those that pertain to emerging pests and pathogens [pdf, pp. 4-5].

Abstract: The globalization of commerce carries with it significant biological risks concerning the spread of harmful organisms. International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) No. 27, ‘‘Diagnostic Protocols for Regulated Pests’’, sets out the standards governing protocols for the detection and identification of plant pest species. We argue that DNA barcoding—the use of short, standardized DNA sequences for species identification—is a methodology which should be incorporated into standard diagnostic protocols, as it holds great promise for the rapid identification of species of economic importance, notably arthropods. With a well-defined set of techniques and rigorous standards of data quality and transparency, DNA barcoding already meets or exceeds the minimum standards required for diagnostic protocols under ISPM No. 27. We illustrate the relevance of DNA barcoding to phytosanitary concerns and advocate the development of policy at the national and international levels to expand the scope of barcode coverage for arthropods globally.

Read it here:

New and unwanted aliens among Stanley Park’s diversity of moths

Or download the scanned version: front page blurb and article

Abstract: This study reports DNA barcodes for more than 1300 Lepidoptera species from the eastern half of North America, establishing that 99.5% of these species possess diagnostic barcode sequences. Intraspecific divergences averaged just 0.43% among this assemblage, but most values were lower. The mean was elevated by deep barcode divergences (>2%) in nearly 5% of the species, often involving the sympatric occurrence of two barcode clusters. A few of these cases have been analyzed in detail, revealing species overlooked by the current taxonomic system. This study also provided a large-scale test of the extent of regional divergence in barcode sequences, indicating that geographic differentiation is small, even when comparisons involve populations as much as 2800 km apart. The present results affirm that a highly effective system for the identification of Lepidoptera can be built with few records per species because of the limited intra-specific variation. As most terrestrial and marine taxa possess patterns of population structure similar to those in Lepidoptera, an effective DNA-based identification system can be developed with modest effort.

deWaard, J.R. and Humble, L.M. “Forest Biomonitoring, biosecurity and DNA barcoding”. 3rd International Conference for the Barcoding of Life. Mexico City, Mexico. Nov 12, 2009 (J.R.D. oral presentation) [pdf] [video]

Abstract: We tested the hypothesis that cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) sequences would successfully discriminate recognised species of New Zealand caddisflies. We further examined whether phylogenetic analyses, based on the COI locus, could recover currently recognised superfamilies and suborders. COI sequences were obtained from 105 individuals representing 61 species and all 16 families of Trichoptera known from New Zealand. No sequence sharing was seen between members of different species and congeneric species showed from 2.3 – 19.5% divergence. Sequence divergence among members of a species was typically low (mean = 0.7%; range 0-8.5%), but two species showed intraspecific divergences in excess of 2%. Phylogenetic reconstructions based on COI were largely congruent with prior conclusions based on morphology, although the sequence data did not support placement of the purse-cased caddisflies (Hydroptilidae) within the uncased caddisflies, and in particular, the Rhyacophiloidea. We conclude that sequence variation in the COI gene locus is not only a useful tool for the identification of New Zealand caddisfly species, but that it can provide preliminary phylogenetic inferences. Further work is needed to ascertain the significance of the few cases of high intra-specific divergence and to determine if any cases of sequence sharing will be detected with larger sample sizes.