Strength and Limitations of DNA Barcode under the Multidimensional Species Perspective

Abstract

DNA barcoding aims at providing an efficient method for specieslevel separation using a partial sequence of the mitochondrial COI gene. The efficiency of the barcode in separating species is based on the amount of genetic distance among samples. While in many taxa the species can be efficiently identified through the barcode, other situations cannot be treated by this approach. The causes for such discrepancy appear to be mostly related to the nature of speciation events and to the different roles of the genetic system, natural selection and evolutionary time. Thus, DNA barcode represent just one important descriptor in the framework of the multidimensional species approach.