The grand plan to sequence the genomes of 66,000 UK and Irish species – New Scientist News

By Michael Le Page

Beverley Thain / EyeEm/Getty Images

A project to sequence the genomes of 60,000 species of animals, plants, fungi and complex cells such as amoeba found in the British Isles is about to get under way. The Darwin Tree of Life project has raised the 9 million needed to collect and barcode the first 8000 species, and to sequence 2000 of them.

Barcoding involves finding distinctive DNA features so species can be identified by simple, quick tests. The Wellcome charity, which aims to improve health, is providing the funding because it thinks the work could have many benefits for people as well as wildlife, from finding new treatments for diseases to helping to feed a growing population.

To start with, the project aims to sequence one organism from each of the 4000 families of plants, animals, fungi and protists complex single cells in the British Isles, says Mark Blaxter, who is leading the Tree of Life programme at the UKs Wellcome Sanger. Species will also be chosen on the basis of how important, interesting and iconic they are, he says.

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The first set will include badgers, red squirrels, all 59 British butterflies, 40 moths and a set of beach animals and seaweeds used in climate studies.

The project is part of a larger international push to sequence the genomes of the 1.5 million species of complex life on the planet, the Earth BioGenome project, formally launched last year. The organisers say it can be done for around $5 billion or around $3000 per species. Critics say simply getting samples of rare species could cost this much.

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The grand plan to sequence the genomes of 66,000 UK and Irish species - New Scientist News