From Genomes to Impact: the Genomics for Biodiversity Conference 2025

The last few days of October marked the realization of a much-anticipated event: the Genomics for Biodiversity Conference, organized by BGE and ERGA. Hosted by the BIOPOLIS/CIBIO Association near Porto, Portugal, the conference was streamed live to a global audience, bringing together around 70 in-person participants and a similar number of remote attendees.

In-person attendees, including most of the BGE case studies representatives.

The conference marked the conclusion of BGE’s “Genome Applications” work package and had the goal to demonstrate the many different ways genomic science is being used to help address real-world issues, such as biodiversity conservation and the development of the bioeconomy. Importantly, the goal was to showcase genomic-informed actions that are already having an impact, rather than the potential applications of the data.

The main highlight of the conference was the series of talks presenting projects (case studies) that have received support from BGE. In total, 27 case study leaders presented their results, outlined the methods used to achieve these results, discussed the relevance of their genomics insights in the policy context and described their efforts to share the newly generated knowledge with relevant stakeholders. The presentations sparked many interesting conversations that went beyond the scientific approach used by each project, addressing other important matters such as genomic outreach and how to best convert the results into actionable knowledge. 

The programme also included an exciting line-up of four Keynote talks addressing the links between biodiversity genomics, policy, and society. You can (re)watch the keynote talks here.

On the final day of the conference, parallel sessions and open discussions focused on the engagement of stakeholders in biodiversity genomics research and how the BGE case studies are influencing European conservation and bioeconomy policies. The closing session brought together speakers from the wider biodiversity genomics community, who presented their work in engaging 5-minute flash talks — an opportunity to explore the landscape of research beyond the BGE project and Europe.

Overall, the conference was a lively event and offered a great opportunity for networking and strengthening connections between members of the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) Community. As the BGE Case Studies come to a close, stay tuned — many exciting publications and other outputs are on the way!

Photo gallery