Improved COI barcoding primers for Southeast Asian perching birds (Aves: Passeriformes)

David J Lohman; Dewi M Prawiradilaga; Rudolf Meier

doi:10.1111/j.1755-0998.2008.02221.x

Improved COI barcoding primers for Southeast Asian perching birds (Aves: Passeriformes)

Mol Ecol Resour. 2009 Jan;9(1):37-40. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-0998.2008.02221.x. Epub 2008 Sep 15.

Authors

David J Lohman¹, Dewi M Prawiradilaga, Rudolf Meier

Affiliation

¹ Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Division of Zoology, Research Centre for Biology-LIPI, Jl. Raya Bogor Km 46, Cibinong-Bogor, 16911, Indonesia.

PMID: 21564563
DOI: 10.1111/j.1755-0998.2008.02221.x

Abstract

The All Birds Barcoding Initiative aims to assemble a DNA barcode database for all bird species, but the 648-bp 'barcoding' region of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) can be difficult to amplify in Southeast Asian perching birds (Aves: Passeriformes). Using COI sequences from complete mitochondrial genomes, we designed a primer pair that more reliably amplifies and sequences the COI barcoding region of Southeast Asian passerine birds. The 655-bp region amplified with these primers overlaps the COI region amplified with other barcoding primer pairs, enabling direct comparison of sequences with previously published DNA barcodes.