Sometimes, we are not able to identify a species just by judging their appearance. Molecular biology can help!
Every species have their own DNA sequence. If two organisms have the same DNA sequence, they are the same species. Thus, as long as we construct a database with all the organisms’ DNA, we can identify an organism by referring their DNA sequence to the database. Once their DNA sequence match, we can identify a species.
The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is one of the DNA databases. When the samples are sent back to the university laboratory, the DNA sequence is identified. Comparison between sample DNA sequence and the NCBI website database is made for species identification.
Basic Knowledge(1): DNA Structure and Nucleotide
Basic Knowledge(2): DNA Replication
Biotechnology(1): DNA Extraction
Biotechnology(2): Gel Electrophoresis
Biotechnology (3): Polymerase Chain Reaction