Improved COI barcoding primers for Southeast Asian perching birds (Aves: Passeriformes).

The All Birds Barcoding Initiative aims to assemble a DNA barcode database for all bird species, but the 648-bp 'barcoding' region of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) can be difficult to amplify in Southeast Asian perching birds (Aves: Passeriformes). Using COI sequences from complete mitochondrial genomes, we designed a primer pair that more reliably amplifies and sequences the COI barcoding region of Southeast Asian passerine birds. The 655-bp region amplified with these primers overlaps the COI region amplified with other barcoding primer pairs, enabling direct comparison of sequences with previously published DNA barcodes.