Get Involved!

More than 100 institutions from more than 40 countries are now CBOL Member Organizations. Join CBOL so that your organization can be a part of the Barcode Initiative

Join a Barcoding Campaign;

  • Fish Barcode of Life (FishBOL) initiative, launched in June 2005, aims to barcode all 28,000 species of marine and freshwater fish species in five years.
  • All Birds Barcoding Initiative (ABBI) took flight at its inagural workshop at Harvard University in September 2005. ABBI's goal is to barcode all 10,000 species of birds by 2010.
  • CBOL’s International Network for Barcoding Invasive and Pest Species (INBIPS) is made up of researchers and representatives of government agencies. They’re exchanging information and developing plans for global barcoding projects.

Join a Barcoding Project;

Review our case studies to connect with research partners like you!

Starting your own barcoding project

Attract research partners by submitting a case study that CBOL will put on this website.

Use established Barcoding protocols & standards

You can participate in the global Barcode Initiative by using the following standard protocols developed by CBOL:

Working Groups

  • Database WG has developed standards for barcode records and is implementing them through GenBank, EMBL and DDBJ.
  • DNA WG develops lab protocols and equipment recommendations for participants in barcoding projects.  Their highest priority is obtaining DNA barcodes from museum specimens.
  • Data Analysis WG has launched a competition to develop software and protocols for sampling, analyzing, interpreting and visualizing barcode data.
  • Plant WG is conducting a two year research project leading to selection of the optimal barcode region(s) for plants.