DNA BARCODING: A TOOL FOR RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY IN ECUADOR

Ecuador is considered a mega-biodiverse country by its high species richness in several biological groups, however even the total number of these species is unknown, in part because of the lack of budget for doing research, taxonomic complexity and the relative isolation of the country in relation to global scientific initiatives. We are convinced that only the creation of a species identification system that includes the specimen "voucher", tissue samples and barcodes sequences allow determine the true biological richness of Ecuador. This manuscript deals with some issues of the DNA barcode initiative, focusing on its potential applications to conservation of the biological diversity of Ecuador. This initiative proposes using information within the same gene region (Cytocrome c Oxidase I = COI mitochondrial gene), in all living species and under standard conditions of sequencing. DNA Barcoding does not attempt to replace alpha taxonomy or phylogeny, but this will allow accelerate the task of identification, particularly, in the fields of Biomedicine (identification of pathogens, parasites and vectors), Pest Control (in all ontogenetic stages), detection of invasive species, studies on Biodiversity Conservation, and for prosecution of environmental crimes. The integration of "DNA barcode", field work, collections of museums and scientific research are essential to make a fruitful impact on the bioknowledge generation in Ecuador.