Laura von der Mark

Abstract In recent years, large‐scale DNA barcoding campaigns have generated an enormous amount of COI barcodes, which are usually stored in NCBI 's GenBank and the official Barcode of Life database ( BOLD ). BOLD data are generally associated with more detailed and better curated meta‐data, because a great proportion is based on expert‐verified and vouchered material, accessible in public collections. In the course of the initiative German Barcode of Life data were generated for the reference library of 2,846 species of Coleoptera from 13,516 individuals. Confronted with the high effort associated with the identification, verification and data validation, a bioinformatic pipeline, “Tax CI ” was developed that (1) identifies taxonomic inconsistencies in a given tree topology (optionally including a reference dataset), (2) discriminates between different cases of incongruence in order to identify contamination or misidentified specimens, (3) graphically marks those cases in the tree, which finally can be checked again and, if needed, corrected or removed from the dataset. For this, “Tax CI ” may use DNA ‐based species delimitations from other approaches (e.g. mPTP ) or may perform implemented threshold‐based clustering. The data‐processing pipeline was tested on a newly generated set of barcodes, using the available BOLD records as a reference. A data revision based on the first run of the Tax CI tool resulted in the second Tax CI analysis in a taxonomic match ratio very similar to the one recorded from the reference set (92% vs. 94%). The revised dataset improved by nearly 20% through this procedure compared to the original, uncorrected one. Overall, the new processing pipeline for DNA barcode data allows for the rapid and easy identification of inconsistencies in large datasets, which can be dealt with before submitting them to public data repositories like BOLD or GenBank. Ultimately, this will increase the quality of submitted data and the speed of data submission, while primarily avoiding the deterioration of the accuracy of the data repositories due to ambiguously identified or contaminated specimens.

Abstract DNA barcoding is particularly useful for identification and species delimitation in taxa with conserved morphology. Pseudoscorpions are arachnids with high prevalence of morphological crypsis. Here, we present the first comprehensive DNA barcode library for Central European Pseudoscorpiones, covering 70% of the German pseudoscorpion fauna (35 out of 50 species). For 21 species, we provide the first publicly available COI barcodes, including the rare Anthrenochernes stellae Lohmander, a species protected by the FFH Habitats Directive. The pattern of intraspecific COI variation and interspecific COI variation (i.e., presence of a barcode gap) generally allows application of the DNA barcoding approach, but revision of current taxonomic designations is indicated in several taxa. Sequences of 36 morphospecies were assigned to 74 BINs (barcode index numbers). This unusually high number of intraspecific BINs can be explained by the presence of overlooked cryptic species and by the accelerated substitution rate in the mitochondrial genome of pseudoscorpions, as known from previous studies. Therefore, BINs may not be an appropriate proxy for species numbers in pseudoscorpions, while partitions built with the ASAP algorithm (Assemble Species by Automatic Partitioning) correspond well with putative species. ASAP delineated 51 taxonomic units from our data, an increase of 42% compared with the present taxonomy. The Neobisium carcionoides complex, currently considered a polymorphic species, represents an outstanding example of cryptic diversity: 154 sequences from our dataset were allocated to 23 BINs and 12 ASAP units.

A checklist of the Syrphidae species of the Republic of Georgia is presented. New hover fly (Diptera: Syrphidae) records from Georgia are provided as a result of field work conducted in 2018. At the same time, published syrphid records for the country are here reviewed and updated. A total of 357 species of hoverflies are now documented from Georgia, 40 of which are reported for the first time. Moreover, DNA barcodes were sequenced for 238 specimens, representing 74 species from this country.

As a detailed and extended supplement to Astrin & Stüben, 2008; Astrin et al., 2016; Rulik et al., 2017; Jafari et al., 2023; Jaume-Schinkel et al., 2024.

Illegal wildlife trade is a growing problem internationally. Poaching of animals not only leads to the extinction of populations and species but also has serious consequences for ecosystems and economies. This study introduces a molecular marker system that authorities can use to detect and substantiate wildlife trafficking. SNPSTR markers combine short tandem repeats with single nucleotide polymorphisms within an amplicon to increase discriminatory power. Within the FOGS (Forensic Genetics for Species Protection) project, we have established SNPSTR marker sets for 74 vertebrate species. On average, each set consists of 19 SNPSTR markers with 82 SNPs per set. More than 1300 SNPSTR markers and over 300 STR markers were identified. Also, through its biobanking pipeline, the FOGS project enabled the cryopreservation of somatic cells from 91 vertebrate species as well as viable tissues for later cell initiation from a further 109 species, providing future strategies for ex situ conservation. In addition, many more fixed tissues and DNA samples of endangered species were biobanked. Therefore, FOGS was an interdisciplinary study, combining molecular wildlife forensics and conservation tools. The SNPSTR sets and cell culture information are accessible through the FOGS database (https://fogs-portal.de/data) that is open to scientists, researchers, breeders and authorities worldwide to protect wildlife from illegal trade.