"Can you bank on GenBank?"

[David Orlovich]

Actually there are also some good responses to the paper below in the
next volume (vol. 161(1)).  Cheers, David Orlovich.

On 3/09/2004, at 12:00 PM, David Orlovich wrote:

> Hi Nico et al.
>
> See also:
> On the unreliability of published DNA sequences
> Paul D. Bridge, Peter J. Roberts, Brian M. Spooner, Gita Panchal
> New Phytologist
> Volume 160, Issue 1, Page 43-48, Oct 2003
>
>
> The is a commentary in the same issue. Cheers, David.
>
> On 3/09/2004, at 11:38 AM, Nico Mario Franz wrote:
>
>> That's the title of an article by D.J. Harris (TREE 18: 317-319, 2003)
>> in
>> which he reviews the extent of "erroneous submissions" of sequences to
>> GenBank. I'm interested in finding out what Taxacomers' experiences
>> are
>> concerning the *taxonomy* adopted by GenBank in order to structure the
>> information.
>>
>> GenBank offers some insights here:
>> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/taxonomyhome.html/index.cgi?
>> chapter=CHANGETOCLASS
>>
>> but otherwise often states: "The NCBI taxonomy database is not an
>> authoritative source for nomenclature or classification - please
>> consult
>> the relevant scientific literature for the most reliable information."
>>
>> Is the somewhat rudimentary taxonomy of GenBank starting to become a
>> practical problem? What about outdated names, or relationships we now
>> "know" to be different? Is there a GenBank taxonomic advisory
>> committee
>> trying to address the issues? Are there any documents on this subject?
>> Anyone I could contact for an insight scoop?
>>
>> Anything from personal rants or laudatios to guides to other sources
>> would
>> be highly appreciated. FYI this ties into developments of unique
>> digital
>> identifiers for so-called "taxonomic concepts" (TDWG, etc.).
>>
>> Nico Franz
>>
> Dr David Orlovich,
> Department of Botany,
> University of Otago,
> P.O. Box 56,
> Dunedin, New Zealand.
>
> Phone: +643 479 9060
> Fax: +643 479 7583
> www: http://www.botany.otago.ac.nz/
>
Dr David Orlovich,
Department of Botany,
University of Otago,
P.O. Box 56,
Dunedin, New Zealand.

Phone: +643 479 9060
Fax: +643 479 7583
www: http://www.botany.otago.ac.nz/