Author
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Rossman, Amy |
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Farr, David |
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Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 5/16/2006 Publication Date: 7/26/2006 Citation: Rossman, A.Y., Farr, D.F. 2006. The value of herbaria in the DNA age. [Abstract]. 8th International Mycological Congress, Cairns, Australia, Abstracts Book 2, p. 415. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Biological specimens maintained in today’s herbaria contain the wealth of the ages representing life through time and space. If one could release and synthesize the knowledge locked in the millions of specimens collected over the past two centuries, the history of life on planet Earth would be revealed. Some progress has been made toward this end. For example, data associated with the one million specimens in the U.S. National Fungus Collections are all available on-line. Thus, if plant quarantine officials need to know the fungi that have been found on conifers in Siberia and thus may be a threat to the U.S. if raw logs are imported from that region, they can easily search on Abies, Picea and Pinus from that part of the world to determine potential pathogens. For those who want to know where to collect morels and when they will be fruiting, just check for these data on the deposited specimens of Morchella. Need to identify a rust fungus on Gladiolus? Search out the rust specimens on Gladiolus to narrow down the possible taxa. Herbarium specimens are increasingly useful as a source of DNA for studies that reveal the origin and distribution of pathogens. For example, DNA from herbarium specimens was also used to determine the spread of Phytophthora infestans, cause of potato late blight, from the Andes to Europe and finally North America. Past scientists have conscientiously documented their research with specimens that are extremely useful to modern science in ways they could not have imagined. We can never go back in time to determine what population of soybean rust first attacked wild plants in China. But we can document today’s science for future investigators who may use these specimens in ways we could never imagine. Just as scientists who never heard of an electron microscope or a DNA sequencer placed specimens in herbaria for future generations, today’s scientists have the responsibility to document their research with voucher specimens deposited in institutional collections. Every sequence in GenBank should be backed by a specimen so that workers in the future can verify the source of that sequence. Ideally DNA barcodes will be linked to descriptions, illustrations, records of accurate plant host and geographic distribution, all backed by voucher specimens. Documented data are required for sound, repeatable science and to provide a legacy for future scientists with their instant genome machines. |
