Necessity of DNA barcoding to identify prospective marine organisms in Bangladesh

Author: Maksuda Akter, Firoza Rahman, Sheikh Shohag, Mohammad Nazir Hossain
DOI: doi.org/10.70279/bmj-v7-i1-1044
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Marine biodiversity is more critical than terrestrial. Marine species identification is difficult because of their variation. DNA barcoding is the scientific process where a short DNA fragment is used to identify species. The DNA sequence of unknown species is compared to the reference library of such DNA markers. Various gene regions are used in DNA barcoding. Cytochrome c oxidase I (COI or COX1) is most commonly used in species identification which is found in mitochondrial DNA.16S rRNA gene is widely used in prokaryotes. On the other hand, the 18S rRNA gene is used for microbial eukaryotes. Recently COI sequences were identified from 29 species of threatened fish in Bangladesh. Recently, 237 freshwater fish species DNA was sequenced, and 12 new species have been identified by DNA barcoding. Bangladesh has a maritime area of about 207000 square kilometers which is full of potential marine organisms. However, no systemic approach has been taken so far to identify these vast marine resources of commercial importance that may contribute to the blue economy. This article depicts the necessity of DNA barcoding for molecular identification and characterization of different potential marine organisms.