BARCELONA (Spain) New uses of genetic testing can help track how animal diets may change due to global warming and are helping crack down on wildlife smuggling, experts said on Saturday.
“There’s been an extraordinary growth in the use of the technology,” said David Schindel, executive secretary of the Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) at the US Smithsonian Institution of a system for identifying plants or animals by their genes.
The database had more than doubled since 2007, with over 700,000 records representing 65,000 species, he said in a telephone interview.
The system is inspired by “barcodes” like the black and white identification tags on products in supermarkets. A snippet of animal tissue or plant material can be used to reveal a unique DNA genetic code in a laboratory for a few dollars.
Scientists said they are using the techniques to understand the food web by studying the DNA genetic code of food in the guts of hunters. About 350 experts will meet in Mexico from November 7-13 to discuss advances, including in identifying plant DNA.
Reuters
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