Krajowy Bank DNA Roślin, Grzybów i Zwierząt

National Plant, Fungi and Animal DNA Bank in Poland is a new initiative of five Polish scientific institutions using DNA barcoding for researching as well as for many practical purposes. DNA Bank stores biological material as a source of DNA samples for the future research projects. The DNA Bank aims to enlarge our knowledge about species of plants, fungi and animals using the up-to-date standards and techniques.

DNA barcoding is a powerful tool which is used to precisely identify species even from small parts of tissue. The life stage of the organism is not important - it can be egg or larva. Precise species identification is essential for research and conservation of biodiversity. It is also fundamental for many other practical and commercial purposes.

This webpage has two aims. Firstly, it is a source of basic knowledge about DNA barcoding for anybody interested in the subject. Secondly, thanks to dedicated database the gathered barcodes of species are stored and presented on the webpage.

Vast numbers of species are still waiting to be discovered. Although nothing can replace the work of classical taxonomists, biologists now want to speed up and simplify the identification of species by creating catalogs of genetic barcodes

In the mid 18th century, Swedish naturalist Carol Linnaeus's work Systema Naturae introduced the binomial system (consisting of two parts) of biological nomenclature, set forth descriptions of some 7700 plant and 4000 animal species, and thereby laid the foundations of modern taxonomy. In the 230 years since them, researchers have cataloged a total of some 1.7 million species of eukaryotes, or organisms whose cells possess clear cellular nuclei (a group that includes plants, fungi, and animals). Still, that figure is not high when one considers that the number of living eukaryote species is estimated at least 10 million!

Taxonomists wanted
It might seem that the identification of millions more species is just a matter of time. But the pace is hampered by the fact that there are simply not enough taxonomist biologists in the world (and their numbers are growing fewer) and that not many researchers are capable of identifying more than 1,000 species. Moreover, species identification on the basis of morphological traits can be a time-consuming and arduous endeavor. Fortunately, the development of effective methods for extracting, purifying, and analyzing DNA, the ever-greater computing power offered by computers, and the emergence of the field of bioinformatics are nowadays making it possible to rapidly identify species on the basis of DNA sequences alone.