Life barcoded by DNA barcodes

The modern concept of DNA-based barcoding for cataloguing biodiversity was proposed in 2003 by first adopting an approximately 600 bp fragment of the mitochondrial <i>COI</i> gene to compare via nucleotide alignments with known sequences from specimens previously identified by taxonomists. Other standardized regions meeting barcoding criteria then are also evolving as DNA barcodes for fast, reliable and inexpensive assessment of species composition across all forms of life, including animals, pl