BiotechMashup

(University of Minnesota) University of Minnesota researcher George Weiblen and colleagues have found a faster way to study the spread and diet of insect pests. Using a technique called DNA barcoding, which involves the identification of species from a short DNA sequence, Weiblen and an international team of researchers studied populations of numerous moth and butterfly species across Papua New Guinea. DNA barcodes showed that migratory patterns and caterpillar diets are very dynamic.