Meeting Abstract
DNA sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene and other mitochondrial markers has long been a preferred method for molecular species identification (“DNA barcoding”), detection of cryptic speciation, phylogenetic analysis of closely related species, phylogeography and population genetics in a variety of taxa, including annelids. The recent trend for utilizing genome or transcriptome-wide data in many of these fields makes COI sequencing appear obsolete. However, while the costs of high-throughput sequencing are continuously decreasing, the techniques are still out of reach for many researchers due to processing costs, lack of access to instrumentation and significant analytical and bioinformatic challenges. Cases from marine annelids are presented that demonstrate that the comparatively straightforward sequencing of individual mitochondrial genes can still yield meaningful results, especially when used in combination with nuclear markers or with morphological or developmental data. The current and future potential and the limitations of the approach are discussed in the context of annelids.
