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generation life barcoder, ‘Tricorder’ edition. 2 After a short walk to your own secret mushroom place, you spot a patch of nice-looking specimens. Caps are 5–10 cm across, with slightly depressed centres. Slightly sticky. Colour brownish to dark brickred. Gills close together. It could be the delicious ‘Flirt’ (Russula vesca). Or is it the poisonous ‘Sickener’ (Russula emetica)? You quickly scan it with the barcoder. There is a barely-audible hum as the device goes online. A few seconds later, the display shows Russula vesca. Great! Scrolling down the tiny screen, you’re informed that its mild flavour goes well with lamb stew. Serve with a light red Italian. You fill the basket, and head to the supermarket for the rest of the ingredients you need to prepare a fine meal. Linnaeus in the sky This sort of scene becomes possible to envisage from Costa and Carvalho’s synopsis on the Barcode of life initiative. 3 At first glance, it has a Star Trek feel to it: a landing party is beamed from the safety of the starship onto some planet ‘where no one has gone before’, equipped with tricorders serving as lifelines and generalised information gadgets. Whereas a real-life version of this scenario might have been dismissed as pure fiction a few years ago, the rapid rise of GSP and mobile ‘phones have made it more realistic. The Barcode of Life Initiative extends just slightly what is now a familiar scene. Instead of dispensing with a map, compass and navigation skills, as the GPS did, the life barcoder promises easy access to the identity of the wildlife along your track. When one is equipped with such a hand-held device, it is as if the mushroom comes fixed with a label. Instead of the cumbersome task of teaching yourself how to be a taxonomist, or bringing one along from the local museum, you simply consult the virtual Linneaus in the sky. From Costa and Carvalho’s fine review, we already know how the Barcode of Life pulls off this feat. The barcoder analyses DNA from a tissue sample taken from the target specimen and links it to a barcode. With this barcode, the identity of your specimen is fixed as a specific location in a DNA-based species classification system, which also provides easy access to other relevant information, be it, in the mushroom case, the appropriate antidote or the wine that best brings out its flavour. |
