Trending Science: Global project to unlock the genetic codes of every living thing
Officially launched on 1 November in London, the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP)(opens in new window) will sequence the genomes of 1.5 million species of animals, plants, protozoa and fungi over the next 10 years. To date, 99.8 % of all species remain unsequenced. Speaking to the ‘BBC’(opens in new window), EBP chair Prof. Harris Lewin noted that “only about 3,300 of the 1.5 million known species have had their genomes sequenced.” He added: “The gaps in our knowledge are a lot bigger than what we know.” Earlier in the year, a group of 24 experts known collectively as the EBP Working Group published a paper in the journal ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences’(opens in new window) outlining their plan to map out the biological blueprint of every known species of living thing with a nucleus. “The outcomes of the EBP will inform a broad range of major issues facing humanity, such as the impact of climate change on biodiversity, the conservation of endangered species and ecosystems, and the preservation and enhancement of ecosystem services.” World’s most ambitious DNA project The team also explained why their effort deserves universal support. “The far-reaching potential benefits of creating an open digital repository of genomic information for life on Earth can be realized only by a coordinated international effort.” The EBP depends on scientists to contribute data from around the world. So far, 17 institutions have committed. The largest such commitment has come from the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge, a recognised leader in the field of genomics. It’s planning to map 66 000 species. Dr Jim Smith, director of science at the Institute, told the ‘BBC’ that the EBP was “incumbent upon human beings to raise awareness of biodiversity.” According to the paper, the “EBP is arguably the most ambitious proposal in the history of biology.” Quoted in the same ‘BBC’ article, the Institute’s Dr Julia Wilson agreed that the grand-scale project’s significance to society would be huge, laying “a foundation for all strands of biology and biotechnology.” She continued: “We’re talking about new medicines, new fuels for the future.” The cost – over EUR 4.1 billion – is as massive as the project itself. Global charities and governments will come up with the funding. “If successful, the EBP will completely transform our scientific understanding of life on earth and provide new resources to cope with the rapid loss of biodiversity and habitat changes that are primarily due to human activities and climate change,” the team wrote in their paper. “Fundamental knowledge of Earth’s biodiversity may also lead to new food sources, revolutionary bio-inspired materials, and innovations to treat human, animal, and plant diseases.” They concluded: “The greatest legacy of the EBP will be the gift of knowledge—a complete Digital Library of Life that contains the collective biological intelligence of 3.5 billion years of evolutionary history. This knowledge will guide future discoveries for generations and may ultimately determine the survival of life on our planet.” Completed in 2003, the Human Genome Project took 13 years to map the human genetic code. The two dozen scientists spearheading this decade-long sequencing mission know it won’t be easy. Part of the fascination is not fully knowing what the results will lead to.
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