Hey you,

Unfortunately I do not have experience in plant biology but I think that may work the same way as in animals. DNA barcoding can be use to track individual cells to monitor its proliferation, because not all cells (even derived from the same progenitors) does behave similarly.

Take a look at these papers:

1. One naive T cell, multiple fates in CD8+ T cell differentiation. JEM

2. Heterogeneous Differentiation Patterns of Individual CD8+ T Cells. Science

Best regards,

Paulo

Barcoding not only help you speed identification but also phylogenetic conclusions. But for this you must have prior identification and Barcode submissions, i.e., barcode library. If it exists next time you can identify without morphological or biochemical comparisons. further percentage of similarity and %age divergence is also important for conclusions. Also follow this website - www.boldsystems.org/‎ and also www.barcodeoflife.org. You will find everything.....protocols etc.

DNA Barcoding in plants is a very interesting subject in that use of rbcL and MatK chloroplast genes sequences (as the best candidates from which to generate barcode data.), we can identify plant species just like UPC barcodes on products in shopping. Theoretically, any DNA barcoding standard would have to accommodate over 400,000 species of plants, and would be a key step toward establishing a central barcode database for taxonomy, agriculture and conservation.

So, for more detailed and information about DNA-Barcoding you can follow this website: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090727191735.htm

DNA Barcoding is a major initiative on the study of biodiversity. I do not have experience working with plants but once you have a great database, as the one growing in BOLDDatasystems, you may compare your specimens with the photographs, morphological characters, DNA sequences and previous identifications that were made worldwide. The main goal is to raise attention to taxonomy and join the effort of both morphology and genetics in an integrative approach that, if well used, will get major achievements. Of course you need to have a good database and a critical eye when using Bold. As anyone can use it, you may have bad identifications and sequences as occurs already in Genebank. However you can also see the photos of the specimens that may help taking good conclusions.

DNA barcoding is used for clear cut identification of a species which is not generally possible by classical taxonomy . It is also helpful in differentiating plant morphotypes. It is helpful in identification of plant based drugs, products, woods and their authentication

Besides use of DNA bar-coding for taxonomic purposes,it also helps in IPR and patent related disputes.DNA barcoding helps in understanding evolution by facilitating easy track of ancestors and their geographical migration precisely.Unlike DNA fingerprinting which is individual specific, DNA barcoding is species specific.