Consider the following statements:
DNA Barcoding can be a tool to:
- assess the age of a plant or animal.
- distinguish among species that look alike.
- identify undesirable animal or plant materials in processed foods.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 1 and 2
(d) 2 and 3
Explanation
The correct answer is option (d) – 2 and 3.
The key points are:
- DNA barcoding is a method of species identification using a short section of DNA from a specific gene or genes.
- It can be used to:
- Distinguish among species that look alike. This supports statement 2.
- Identify undesirable animal or plant materials in processed foods. This supports statement 3.
- It cannot assess the age of a plant or animal. Hence statement 1 is incorrect.
So statements 2 and 3 are correct.
Learn more
Here are some additional details on DNA barcoding:
- Common DNA barcode markers:
- COI gene for animals
- rbcL and matK genes for plants
- ITS region for fungi
- Applications of DNA barcoding:
- Species identification
- Detecting fraud and adulteration in food
- Monitoring biodiversity
- Forensic investigations
- Understanding ecology and evolution
- Advantages:
- Fast, cheap, and accurate identification
- Can identify any life stage or processed material
- Useful for cryptic species that look alike
- Limitations:
- Overlap between intra- and interspecific variation
- Cannot reliably identify hybrids
- Incomplete reference databases
- Only identifies to species, not lower taxonomic levels
