Species identification threshold
Definition
The minimum sequence similarity percentage at which a database match is accepted as a species-level assignment. Forensic laboratories typically require 98 to 99 percent similarity to the closest reference sequence for a definitive species call. Below this threshold, the result is reported at genus or family level only.
Related terms
- BOLD (Barcode of Life Data System)
- A curated online reference database of barcode sequences maintained by the University of Guelph, Canada. Each entry includes a voucher specimen, taxonomic...
- CITES
- The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, a multilateral treaty signed in 1973 now with over...
- COI (cytochrome oxidase subunit I)
- The primary barcode gene for the animal kingdom under the Barcode of Life initiative. A 648-bp region within the COI gene is...
- Cytochrome b (cytb)
- A protein-coding gene in the mitochondrial genome used widely for vertebrate species identification. Its moderate mutation rate resolves most closely related species...
- DNA barcoding
- Species identification using a short, standardised region of the mitochondrial genome. For animals, the primary barcode marker is a 648-base-pair segment of...
Explained in
- Non-Human DNA and Species IdentificationThe minimum sequence similarity percentage at which a database match is accepted as a species-level assignment. Forensic laboratories typically require 98 to 9...