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Published online 27 February 2006 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news060227-1
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Butterflies poke holes in DNA barcodes
Mixing subspecies cause problems for genetic fingerprinting scheme.
A study of butterflies has highlighted a hotly debated glitch in DNA barcoding, a scheme by which some researchers hope to quickly catalogue vast numbers of species. Biologists sampling Karner blue butterflies have found that genetic scans failed to identify the endangered animals.
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