Free access of published DNA sequences facilitates regular control of (meta-) data quality – an example from shorebird mitogenomes (Aves,Charadriiformes: Charadrius)

Online repositories of DNA sequences are a rich and indispensable source of comparative data for biodiversity research and taxonomic studies. Despite increasingly high data quality of published sequences and associated metadata, particular attention should be paid to taxonomic assignment of DNA sequences, in particular if voucher specimens are not available or cannot be examined. In this study, two nearly identical mitogenomes of two distinctive plover species (Charadrius alexandrinus and Charadrius placidus) were re-analysed and compared with a comprehensive dataset of DNA-barcode sequences (cytochrome-oxidase subunit 1, COI) for 55 shorebird species. Phylogenetic analysis separated the two plover species into two reciprocally monophyletic clades that differed by mean p-distances of 11.5–14.7%; however, the COI sequence from the C. placidus mitogenome was nested in the Kentish Plover clade (C. alexandrinus). A similar mismatch was found for another DNA-barcode sequence from a Charadrius mongolus mitogenome that clustered with one of two clades of Charadrius leschenaultii in the COI tree. These results strongly suggest that, to date, two of seven mitogenomes published for Charadriidae are not representative of the taxon names to which the respective GenBank entries were assigned. Only a few DNA-barcode sequences were associated with outdated taxonomy, while others were suspected to be chimeric sequences. Thus, free access to digital sequence information is a key factor for steady improvement of data quality in online repositories via swarm intelligence of the scientific community.