The methods of species identification have progressed over the last two decades. The latest methods of DNA barcoding have proved to be a major advancement in comparison to the conventional way of identifying species. Research concludes that the new method is cost effective yet very efficient. It is considered to be a more accurate and reliable method. The conventional process displayed several issues such as limited flexibly on phenotypic characteristics as well as genetic variability among components that assist with different species identification. Another prominent issue is the complex identification of cryptic species as well as the use of morphological keys for routine species identification. The keys have a large diverse scale that varies in life cycles or gender to gender. These problems lead to fallacious identifications. The modern method requires less human labor due to the advancement of technology and computer science, thus making the task automated within the programming system, which is less time consuming. By implementing the newly designed method, we are able to increase the accuracy of species identification as well as increase the yield of species being identified in comparison to the conventional method. .
The latest barcoding technique has given rise to a new emerging project that consists of DNA barcoding for microbial communities. The diversity among microbial species consists of microbes such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and protozoa. Each community has a unique combination of marker genes that assist with proper identification. The 16S rRNA gene is used for a variety of life forms and species. It is known for its effective use as a marker for soil, marine ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, rice paddy soil microbes, and human clinical samples. According to the article, DNA Barcoding to Map the Microbial Communities: Current Advances and Future Directions, the "16rRNA gene is highly conserved for each and every species of bacteria".
