GET INVOLVED: DNA barcoding all insect Families

[terzito]

DEAR ALL, I NEED DONATIONS OF RARE INSECT FAMILIES PRESERVED IN ALCOHOL (FRESH SPECIMENS) FOR DNA ISOLATION.
PLEASE CONTACT ME AT: russell_edwin_nash@hotmail.com

I am a postdoctoral fellow at the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario (BIO) where my major focus is to coordinate a large-scale DNA barcoding project for “All Insect Families of the World”. The project’s success will facilitate the rapid identification of all known insect families. It will make biodiversity monitoring an easy task for non-specialists. It will also provide molecular delineation of family-subfamily boundaries and linking mature stages to generally less-known premature stages.To facilitate various applications of family-level identification for all insects using DNA barcoding, I am working to obtain a reference collection of the selected members of all insect families of the world. My goal is to include 5 species per family (3-5 specimens per species), from various subfamilies (where applicable). These specimens will be barcoded at BIO and are likely to represent a collection analogous to type specimens in classical taxonomy. Due to its specific function, the reference collection must be permanently deposited and curated at BIO.
Since specimens from Museum collections are usually too old for high quality DNA isolation, they are not suitable for our project. Another problem is a heavy administration in museums which makes very difficult to donate whole specimens (even if there is willingness of curators) once they officially get in the cataloque of the particular institution. Because of that, I am going to need help of private collectors and various insect groups specialists all around the world.

The benefits for participants would be: direct involvement in high profile international scientific research through online system for DNA barcoding BOLD (every participant will be added (by me) as a collaborator and will be able to follow the progress of his/her subproject online, possible shared publications for particular taxonomic groups of insects if certain conditions are met, satisfaction in knowledge that you are donating specimens which are going to become "new type specimens" of a "new DNA barcode taxonomy".

This is a non profit scientific project with the potential to become an initiative to cataloguize (on molecular level as well as to provide online free accessible image database) of complete insect fauna of our planet during next 15-20 years!!! So we are going to start with all families representatives, but the project will not stop there. I am particularly interested to barcode and cataloguize all Phasmatodea, Orthoptera, Dermaptera, Blattaria, Isoptera, Mantodea, Zoraptera, Neuroptera and Membracidae of the World as well as many rare and Continent specific families of Diptera, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera.

Regards,
Tom

[hibiscusmile]

Hi Tom, can you give us some kind of reference on who you are and the such? I don't mind helping out science, but I really like to know who I am working with. thanks