Molecular Biodiversity Research
Molecular biodiversity research describes a research approach in which biodiversity research is expanded to include the methods of molecular biology .
Research subject and methods
According to the classic definition, biodiversity comprises three levels: the top level is biotope diversity , the middle level is classic species diversity , and the lowest level is genetic variation , including within species. Molecular biodiversity research primarily comprises research into genetic diversity. However, molecular methods are also becoming increasingly important at the species level. In the past, this was largely based on morphological investigation methods. Today the method of DNA barcoding is an important tool for the determination of species, and thus also the diversity of species.
Molecular biodiversity research is based on methods that only became possible with the invention of the polymerase chain reaction in the 1980s. It has only gained greater practical importance since around 2005 with innovative methods based on it, such as " Next Generation Sequencing ". Today, these make it possible to sequence and evaluate bulk samples obtained directly from the environment . In parallel to the development in genetics and molecular biology, the research subject of molecular biodiversity research was expanded with the development of new methods. In addition to the study of the genome , which is still by far the most important, the study of proteins ( transcriptome , proteome ) and the metabolic pathways based on them, the so-called metabolome , have come into play.
In addition to this importance for basic research and nature conservation, applied research also plays a role. The screening for (especially prokaryote) species with an unusual way of life, for unusual natural substances and metabolic pathways, which is possible with molecular methods , forms an important basis for biotechnology and pharmacology.
Research in German-speaking countries
Molecular biodiversity research is carried out today at numerous universities and research institutions, often as a method extension and addition to the "classic" biodiversity research at institutes for ecology, evolutionary biology or systematics. Examples are the ZFMK Center for Molecular Biodiversity Research at the Museum Koenig and the University of Bonn or the Grunelius Möllgaard Laboratory for molecular evolution research at the Senckenberg Research Institute and the University of Frankfurt am Main.
Individual evidence
- ↑ an overview: A. Karp, DS Ingram, Peter G. Isaac: Molecular Tools for Screening Biodiversity: Plants and Animals. Springer Verlag, 2012. ISBN 978-94-009-0019-6
- ↑ Shadi Shokralla, Jennifer L. Spall, Joel F. Gibson, Mehrdad Hajibabaei (2012): Next-generation sequencing technologies for environmental DNA research. Molecular Ecology 21: 1794-1805. doi: 10.1111 / j.1365-294X.2012.05538.x
- ↑ idw Informationsdienst Wissenschaft: Technology revolution in biodiversity research: Decoded according to genome and proteome metabolome. Press release of the University of Vienna, November 16, 2010