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Abstract
The Fish barcode of life (FISH-BOL) initiative seeks to establish a reference sequence library of short, standardized mitochondrial gene sequences derived from the 5′ end of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (DNA barcodes) to facilitate the rapid, accurate, and cost-effective DNA-based identification of all fishes, regardless of life-stage, sex, or specimen condition. This task requires the participation of scientists from around the world and its success is predicated on the development and acceptance of standard protocols for the collection of specimens associated provenance data. Here, we provide guidelines for specimen collection, imaging, preservation, and archival, as well as meta-data collection and submission protocols developed for the FISH-BOL campaign in order to promote efficient participation in FISH-BOL by a broadening array of international participants.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the founding members of FISH-BOL for their efforts to push the campaign forward. They would also like to acknowledge the many students who have aided development of these protocols at the University of Guelph, including Natalia Ivanova, Christa Maitland, Rachel Breese, and particularly Heather Braid. The FISH-BOL campaign has benefited from organizational support provided by the Consortium for the Barcode of Life as well as operating support provided by the Canadian Barcode of Life Network (with funding from Genome Canada and NSERC) and the International Barcode of Life project. D.S. was supported by funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to MarBOL.
Declarations of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.