Mega-Barcoding Projects: Delivering National DNA Barcoding Initiatives for Plants

Plant DNA barcoding has a multitude of applications ranging from species detection and biomonitoring to investigating ecological networks and checking food quality. The ability to accurately identify species, using DNA barcoding, depends on the quality and comprehensiveness of the reference library that is used. This chapter describes how to create plant reference libraries using the rbcL, matK, and ITS2 DNA barcode regions. It covers the creation of species lists, the collection of specimens from the field and herbarium, DNA extraction, PCR amplification, and DNA sequencing. This methodology gives special attention to using samples from herbaria, as they represent important collections of easily accessible, taxonomically verified plant material.