Journal: npj Biodiversity

Abbreviation

Publisher

Nature

Journal Volumes

ISSN

2731-4243

Description

Filters

2023 - 20242
Reset filters

Search Results

Publications 1 - 2 of 2
  • The European Reference Genome Atlas: piloting a decentralised approach to equitable biodiversity genomics
    Item type: Journal Article
    Mc Cartney, Ann M.; Formenti, Giulio; Mouton, Alice; et al. (2024)
    npj Biodiversity
    A genomic database of all Earth’s eukaryotic species could contribute to many scientific discoveries; however, only a tiny fraction of species have genomic information available. In 2018, scientists across the world united under the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP), aiming to produce a database of high-quality reference genomes containing all ~1.5 million recognized eukaryotic species. As the European node of the EBP, the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) sought to implement a new decentralised, equitable and inclusive model for producing reference genomes. For this, ERGA launched a Pilot Project establishing the first distributed reference genome production infrastructure and testing it on 98 eukaryotic species from 33 European countries. Here we outline the infrastructure and explore its effectiveness for scaling high-quality reference genome production, whilst considering equity and inclusion. The outcomes and lessons learned provide a solid foundation for ERGA while offering key learnings to other transnational, national genomic resource projects and the EBP.
  • Disparate genetic divergence patterns in three corals across a pan-Pacific environmental gradient highlight species-specific adaptation
    Item type: Journal Article
    Voolstra, Christian R.; Hume, Benjamin C.C.; Armstrong, Eric J.; et al. (2023)
    npj Biodiversity
    Tropical coral reefs are among the most affected ecosystems by climate change and face increasing loss in the coming decades. Effective conservation strategies that maximize ecosystem resilience must be informed by the accurate characterization of extant genetic diversity and population structure together with an understanding of the adaptive potential of keystone species. Here we analyzed samples from the Tara Pacific Expedition (2016–2018) that completed an 18,000 km longitudinal transect of the Pacific Ocean sampling three widespread corals—Pocillopora meandrina, Porites lobata, and Millepora cf. platyphylla—across 33 sites from 11 islands. Using deep metagenomic sequencing of 269 colonies in conjunction with morphological analyses and climate variability data, we can show that despite a targeted sampling the transect encompasses multiple cryptic species. These species exhibit disparate biogeographic patterns and, most importantly, distinct evolutionary patterns in identical environmental regimes. Our findings demonstrate on a basin scale that evolutionary trajectories are species-specific and can only in part be predicted from the environment. This highlights that conservation strategies must integrate multi-species investigations to discern the distinct genomic footprints shaped by selection as well as the genetic potential for adaptive change.
Publications 1 - 2 of 2