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WHAT is Finbol?

The Finnish Barcode of Life (FinBOL) is a national project with the goal of creating DNA barcodes for all organisms in Finland. FinBOL is part of the International Barcode of Life (iBOL) consortium, which has the long-term aim of producing DNA barcodes for all species worldwide. FinBOL participated on the first program of iBOL consortium, the BARCODE 500K, and is now an active member on its second program BIOSCAN. BIOSCAN program has 32 member nations and 8 associate member nations. More information on iBOL consortium and BIOSCAN is available here. FinBOL has been funded by Kone foundation (2011-2014), The Finnish Cultural Foundation (2012-2015), Ministry of the Environment (2012), Univeristy of Oulu (2010-2012) and Academy of Finland as a part of national FinBIF- infrastructure project (2014-2017, 2018-2022).

DNA Barcodes for all organisims

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© Vlad Dinca

FinBOL coordinates the barcoding of species found in Finland

FinBOL coordinates DNA barcoding efforts conducted in Finland, most notably the establishment of a barcode library for species found in the country. A comprehensive DNA barcode library enables the automatic and unambiguous identification of species using a standard, short fragments of genomic sequence. DNA barcodes also allow identification from a small sample from an individual, independent of life stage or gender. FinBOL creates a unique national resource for biological research, allowing DNA barcodes to be applied in many fields, for instance, in the monitoring of alien species, pest control, food control, and the surveillance of trafficking and importation of endangered species. After the completion of the project and further technological development, it will eventually be possible for anyone to use DNA barcodes to identify any Finnish species. The information produced by FinBOL will be stored in the BOLD database. The barcode data will be made public immediately for species identification, and other related data made available soon afterward.    

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