Pacific Science Congress: DNA Barcoding of Invasive Species

Kuala Lumpur

Date: June 14-18, 2011

Venue: Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre

This year’s Pacific Science Congress will include a one-day symposium/workshop devoted to DNA Barcoding of Pacific Invasive and Pest Species.

Click here for the Call for Abstracts

As global trade and tourism increase, invasive alien species (IAS) and agricultural pests represent an increasing threat to native Pacific biodiversity. They also threaten food security, ecosystem services, and trade relations involving agricultural commodities.

DNA barcoding is an emerging global standard for identifying species using a short standardized gene sequence. Several major research initiatives, including the International Barcode of Life project and the EU-funded QBOL project have already started to assemble reference libraries of DNA barcodes of pest species in quarantine.

The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) has expressed interest in exploring barcoding as a potential diagnostic protocol. Participants in Quads, a collaboration among Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the U.S. devoted to coordinating action on quarantine species, are also exploring barcoding as a regulatory tool.

This symposium/workshop will be devoted to:

• – Presentations on DNA barcoding and its application to invasive alien species and agricultural pests;
• – Presentations on DNA barcoding through QBOL and Quads;
• – Presentations by national quarantine and environmental agencies; and
• – Discussions of strategies, priorities, and opportunities for international collaboration

The conference session will include three segments:

• – Presentations on major initiatives involving DNA barcoding and the identification of invasive alien and pest species (10-20 minutes each)
• – Short ‘lightning presentations’ on national and other programs to identify invasive alien and pest species (5 minutes each)
• – Break-out and whole-group discussions of strategies and priorities for regional cooperation to develop a DNA barcode reference library of Pacific alien invasive and pest species and inspection capabilities to use the library to identify and prevent the spread of these species.