AllGenetics, as an active member of technical committee 190/SC 4, has led the preparation of ISO 21286:2019 Soil quality – Identification of ecotoxicological test species by DNA barcoding.
AllGenetics is proud to announce the publication of the international standard «ISO 21286:2019 Soil quality – Identification of ecotoxicological test species by DNA barcoding». Since 2015, our company has led the preparation of this document, which describes the use of DNA barcoding to identify to the species level the test specimens used in ecotoxicology.
The new ISO standard details all the steps involved in a DNA barcoding pipeline, from specimen preservation and DNA extraction to the analysis of electropherograms and taxonomic assignment.
The document proposes DNA barcoding «as a complementary identification tool where morphology is inconclusive, or to diagnose cryptic species, in order to ensure that the results obtained from different ecotoxicological laboratories, refer to the same species or strain». AllGenetics’ project specialist Dr. Verónica Rojo, points out that «the routine identification of test species will greatly improve ecotoxicology quality standards, which, in turn, will improve risk assessment outcomes and environmental protection policies».