Unlocking the Hidden Biodiversity Trove: Gaps, Insights and Perspectives from DNA Barcoding in Nigeria

Abstract

<jats:p>Global biodiversity is declining, while tropical regions remain disproportionately understudied despite their richness. Nigeria exemplifies one of Africa’s complex and rich ecological zones, yet it remains poorly represented by molecular data, despite the availability of advanced techniques such as DNA barcoding. Here, we assess the current state of DNA barcoding in Nigeria and how well these efforts capture the national biological diversity. Nigeria currently has 7424 specimens and 7581 sequences in the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD), representing 1433 species—figures that fall short of the country’s expected biodiversity and remain lower than those reported for several other African nations. Five standard DNA barcodes were associated with samples collected in Nigeria, including plastid matK, rbcL, and trnL; mitochondrial COI; and nuclear ITS. Our bibliographic appraisal identified only 47 publications employing DNA barcoding on samples from Nigeria, showing distinct taxonomic biases: 31 studies on Animalia (primarily fishes), followed by 7 on Plantae, 3 on Fungi, and 3 on Protista. Major drawbacks include inadequate sequencing infrastructure, limited expertise, low-quality data, insufficient funding, poor policy integration, incomplete documentation of sample provenance, publication outside globally indexed journals and unresolved issues under the Nagoya Protocol. We conclude that advancing DNA barcoding efforts requires addressing these gaps and establishing a national barcode database supported by regional molecular biodiversity centers that curate the repository to improve biodiversity discoverability in global analyses.</jats:p>