>        WHEN do you think it will be possible financially for people interested in mollusks to use DNA to determine relationships?<
>      Such findings would go a long way in determining synonyms, sub-species, and a whole lot of etc.<

It depends on the finances of the interested person and how much of the work he wants to do himself.  Setting up an entire lab yourself would probably cost over $100,000, plus maintenance and expendable supplies.  A few years ago, someone in the lab I was in estimated that they cost about $50 per sequence.  At least two sequences per sample (sequencing each strand as a check for errors) are advisable.  However, there is always the possibility that your result will be that the sequence does not address the question you want it to answer, and further sequencing will be necessary.

On the other hand, you could with little expense contribute specimens to an existing project, or encourage someone with access to a lab to develop a project on a particular taxon.  There's always contributions to student scholarship funds.  My DNA research was helped greatly by COA funding, for example.

    Dr. David Campbell
    Old Seashells
    University of Alabama
    Biodiversity & Systematics
    Dept. Biological Sciences
    Box 870345
    Tuscaloosa, AL  35487 USA
    [log in to unmask]

That is Uncle Joe, taken in the masonic regalia of a Grand Exalted Periwinkle of the Mystic Order of Whelks-P.G. Wodehouse, Romance at Droigate Spa