Biotechnology Tools in Ecology and Biodiversity

A collection of vocabulary flashcards covering the definitions and tools related to biotechnology applications in ecology and biodiversity research.

Ecology

The study of interactions between organisms and their environment.

Biodiversity

The variety of living organisms present on Earth, including plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms.

DNA barcoding

A method of species identification using a short section of DNA from a specific gene or genes, which is compared against a reference library of sequences.

Biosensors

Biotechnology tools that help detect pollutants and monitor environmental conditions.

Cytochrome c oxidase I (CO1, or COX1)

A portion of the gene found in mitochondrial DNA that is the most commonly used barcode region for animals and some protists.

Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rRNA

The specific gene region used as a barcode for the identification of fungi.

RuBisCO (rbcL and matK)

The barcode gene regions found in chloroplast DNA used for plants because their mitochondrial DNA evolves slowly.

16S rRNA

The gene region widely used in the identification of prokaryotes.

18S rRNA

The gene region mostly used for detecting microbial eukaryotes.

Barcoding Gap

A phenomenon where chosen gene regions show less intraspecific (within species) variation than interspecific (between species) variation.

BOLD (Barcode of Life Data System)

An international database used to compare DNA sequences obtained from organisms to confirm species identity.

GenBank

An international database containing DNA sequences used for sequence comparison in DNA barcoding.

Bulk sample

A type of environmental sample containing several organisms from a taxonomic group (e.g., from a Malaise trap) that usually provides a large quantity of good-quality DNA.

Environmental DNA (eDNA)

A non-invasive method for detecting species from cellular debris or extracellular DNA present in environmental samples like water or soil.

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)

A process used to amplify a target DNA sequence to produce millions of copies for easier analysis and sequencing.

DNA Sequencing

The process of determining the exact order of the nitrogenous bases ($adenine$, $thymine$, $cytosine$, and $guanine$) within a barcode fragment.

Markers

Also called barcodes; these are specific, informative DNA regions selected for low intra-specific and high inter-specific variability.

Primers

Short sequences used in a PCR reaction to target and produce millions of copies of the specific barcode region, such as COI-specific primers for fish.