DNA BARCODING: ITS IMPACT ON PLANT TAXONOMY AND BEYOND.

DNA-based analytical techniques have been in use since sometime while DNA barcoding is in vogue from 2003. DNA technology and the research on analytics, applications and paradigms have evolved and diversified it. At the beginning, the application of the technique was limited to animal kingdom; then, it was adapted by plant science researchers. The paper presents the domains where the technique is widely used in plant science. The general ability to use DNA-based markers for identification and discrimination between different ranks of taxa enabled the spread of its applicability in a variety of subject areas like taxonomy, phylogeny, analytical uses like biodiversity, biosafety, biosecurity, forensic and ecological studies at both population and community levels, etc. A brief account of DNA barcoding tools and techniques used are presented along with advances in the strategies for DNA barcoding and the limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]