International science conference, April 28 - 29, 2008
(Toronto, Ontario – April 24, 2008) On April 28 and 29, 2008, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) hosts the 2nd annual Canadian Barcode of Life Network Science Symposium, organized by the Museum and the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario’s Canadian Centre for DNA Barcoding at the University of Guelph. This two-day conference will address the key issues involved with a DNA barcode-based approach to biodiversity recognition, including recent bioinformatics developments, and discuss the impacts of this knowledge on technology development and on scientific and public policy. This international symposium culminates with the Barcode Policy Workshop during the afternoon of April 29, 2008.
“Canada was the first country to establish a national research network dedicated to the assembly of DNA barcodes on a large scale,” said Allan Baker, Senior Curator and Head of the ROM’s Department of Natural History. “The ROM is one of the world’s leaders in barcoding its collections and we’re pleased to welcome our international and national colleagues to discuss the current issues facing our area of research.”
Over 160 delegates from 10 countries will be attending the plenary and poster sessions on specific research themes. Keynote speakers include: Dan Janzen, Kyoto Prize recipient, MacArthur Fellow and DiMaura Professor of Conservation Biology at the University of Pennsylvania, and Scott E. Miller, Office of the Under Secretary for Science and Curator of Entomology at the Smithsonian Institution
About the Symposium:
On Monday, April 28, conference delegates will report on progress made toward barcoding Canadian and international biodiversity. On Tuesday, April 29, delegates will focus on the potential impact of this knowledge by considering emerging technological developments and the ensuing implications for public policy. On Tuesday afternoon, the Honourable David Anderson, former federal environment minister and Director of the Guelph Institute for the Environment, will host the Barcode Policy Workshop.
This symposium is not open to the public. For more information on the Symposium, its participants and the Canadian Barcode of Life Network, please visit: www.bolnet.ca
DNA Barcoding and the Canadian Barcode of Life Network:
Only a small minority (approximately 10-15%) of the planet’s estimated 100 million species have been identified and described. With the rate of species extinction at an unprecedented level, it is now more important that ever to discover and document the incredible diversity of life on this planet. The traditional system of species classification compares morphological, or physical, characteristics when classifying new species, a process that would likely take thousands of years to complete if used to inventory the Earth’s biota. However, DNA is providing scientists with a means of assigning a unique marker to each species – a genetic “barcode” that has revolutionized the way we classify species, and in a fraction of the time it takes using traditional methods.
The Canadian Barcode of Life Network is made up of over 50 researchers from across the country. The ultimate goal of this Network, and the larger international consortium to which it belongs, is to assemble a library of DNA sequences or “barcodes” that are unique to each of the world’s species. This library will provide a means to identify organisms rapidly and inexpensively, and promises to massively advance our capacity to monitor, know and manage biodiversity with profound societal and economic impacts. Once fully implemented, this system will revolutionize access to biological information and will exert broad impacts on research policy, pest and disease control, food safety, conservation, and many other areas. More information on the Canadian Barcode of Life Network: www.bolnet.ca. For information about the International Barcode of Life initiative, visit: www.dnabarcoding.org.
This Symposium is organized by: the Royal Ontario Museum, University of Guelph, Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, Canadian Centre for DNA Barcoding, Department of Integrative Biology and Guelph Institute for the Environment.
With support from: Genome Canada,
MRI, NSERC and others listed at www.bolnet.ca
Sponsored by: Royal Ontario Museum
Ontario Genomics Institute
Blackwell Scientific, Molecular Ecology Resources (MER)