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Workshop: Barcode of Life - The British Flora, May 24, 2006

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh and the Natural History Museum have formed a consortium to apply DNA barcoding to the British flora, an ideal testing ground for the worldwide application of this new tool. On 24 May, 2006, the Natural History Museum hosted an introductory workshop to encourage input from a wider community of interested parties.

DNA Barcoding, or genetic identification of organisms, is proposed as a rapid and accessible way to identify specimens and monitor populations, a key task in the documentation and conservation of global biodiversity. While barcoding initiatives gather momentum around the globe, barcoding as an approach is also at the centre of much praise and controversy amongst scientists.

Three leading botanical research institutes in the UK, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and the Natural History Museum have joined together to apply this approach to the entire British flora, probably the best known flora in the world and thus an ideal testing ground, or model, for the eventual application of this new tool on a global scale.

At the workshop on 24th May, the consortium introduced the concepts and ideas behind barcoding and then opened the discussion to a variety of interested parties and potential stakeholders. In attendance were a wide range of over 60 stakeholders from academia, natural history societies, conservation organisations, forensic laboratories, horticulture, the press and other organisations.

We view this website as an extension of the workshop, and in the same spirit of community we invite those who could not attend in person to email us with questions and input on how such an approach might support your craft/area of expertise and work. For more information about the workshop, DNA barcoding and the British flora barcoding initiative, please see the links below.

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