BARKODING DNA – NOWOCZESNE PODEJŚCIE DO IDENTYFIKACJI ORGANIZMÓW

There exists a great many species in the world. Many of them are still undiscovered and undescribed. Traditional techniques of species identification based on their morphological peculriarity and specially designed keys have significant limitations. Therefore, there appear a need for a new approach to taxonomic identification of organisms that would be easy, fast and reliable. Barcoding DNA is the ideal candidate for species identification system based on one or several short DNA sequences characteristic for an organism. It can be used to determine the identity of known species or to describe undiscovered ones. In addition, it can be used in palaeoecology, biodiversity research and in studies on trophic networks. This paper presents the idea underlying DNA barcoding, standard markers used to organisms identification and possible applications of DNA barcodes in science and for practical and commercial purposes.