[Taxacom] "Bar Code" can track Nature's Inventory

[Ken Kinman]

     I certainly agree that this particular "Bar Code" (for this particular 
gene) does have its limitations.  The COI gene evolves much too slowly to 
help distinguish many species of gulls (especially within genus Larus).  
However, it's going to be a great identification tool for the vast majority 
of species.  And for cases like genus Larus, the output could simply read 
"Larus sp."  And in controversial cases, the output could read two or three 
possibilities, e.g. "Tringa cinnamomea or Tringa solitaria cinnamomea".

    There is no need to say unique sequence "necessarily" equals unique 
species, although in a majority of cases it probably will.  I'd much rather 
have such a handy sequencer with its limitations, than no sequencer at all.  
For the more difficult cases (where COI evolves too slowly or too quickly), 
we will have to depend on other sequences or morphology.  Overall, I think 
we can live with this new baby sometimes sitting in a puddle of bathwater 
(as long as we recognize the difference and soak up the bathwater when we 
need to).  Later on, sequencers for multiple genes will do it for us 
automatically, so this is just a first step.  The real trick is not claiming 
too much too fast and admitting the present limitations.
     ----Ken Kinman
*********************************
Doug Yanega wrote:
 >What is not reasonable is claiming that because two
>sampled organisms have a different sequence, they must be different
>species (or the converse - that identical sequences indicate the same
>species).

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