EUPHRESCO DNA Barcoding - Optimizing and validating DNA barcoding protocols for plant pests

DNA barcoding is increasingly used as a diagnostic tool in phytosanitary laboratories. Standardisation of DNA barcoding protocols used in the plant health field and linking them to other barcoding initiatives is essential to benefit from publically available data. DNA barcoding is a generic diagnostic method that uses sequence data of a short standardised genetic marker in an organism's DNA to aid species identification. The chosen marker region should reflect the target species group taxonomy, provide high variability between species with low levels of differences within the species and, for application in the plant health field, should allow identification on the taxonomical level provided in national or regional regulation (e.g. the pathovar level for several quarantine bacteria).

Twenty-five partners collaborated under the EUPHRESCO DNA barcoding project to improve and validate protocols developed in the FP7 QBOL project resulting in version 1 of the EPPO standard on DNA barcoding of plant pest arthropods, bacteria, fungi, invasive plants, nematodes and phytoplasmas.