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We are happy to announce that the Earth BioGenome Project ( EBP ) has formally recognised the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) as its first regional node representing the European continent. This marks a significant milestone in the long-standing collaboration between the two initiatives and strengthens the biodiversity genomics community in Europe and beyond. The first EBP Regional Node Since the early establishment of ERGA in 2020, we have been connected to the EBP as part of the Network of Affiliated Projects . More recently, the EBP has defined a procedure for the establishment of Regional Nodes  - initiatives responsible for “coordinating EBP-related activities across broad geographical areas, including continents and political unions”. In the last years, ERGA has grown into a community of over 1000 members, taking a leading role as a hub for connecting hundreds of people and institutions, producing reference genomes for European biodiversity, and promoting valuable knowledge dissemination and exchange. The broad scope and inclusive nature of our community meant ERGA was well positioned to become the very first regional node of the Earth BioGenome Project. We are delighted to take on this role and excited about the opportunity of contributing to the EBP at a new level. ERGA as of May, 2025 - a growing community committed to the development of biodiversity genomics in Europe. *Genome assemblies linked to the ERGA umbrella bioproject at the European Nucleotide Archive produced by ERGA Affiliate Initiatives such as the Darwin Tree of Life, the Catalan BioGenome Project, the ATLASea Marine Genomes Project, the Biodiversity Genomics Project, and others. “The EBP is excited to designate ERGA as its first Regional Node, which encompasses biodiversity genomics research across the European continent. ERGA’s outstanding organization and state-of-the-art infrastructure will significantly contribute to the EBP’s goal of sequencing all 1.8 million named eukaryotic species in 10 years, providing solutions for species conservation and mitigating the effects of climate change on economically important plant and animal species.” Harris Lewin, EBP's Executive Council Chair. “As the EBP regional node, ERGA plays an important role in connecting and coordinating efforts in the region, from large-scale projects to individual researchers all contributing to assembling the atlas of reference genomes for biodiversity in Europe.” Robert Waterhouse , ERGA chair. “The official recognition of the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) as the European node of the Earth BioGenome Project marks the culmination of years of dedication by a passionate and engaged community. From the initial brainstorming sessions during the pandemic—with over 100 participants—to the progress made through Biodiversity Genomics Europe and other initiatives, ERGA has grown into a well-known, inclusive community. Together with the growing number of projects under its umbrella, ERGA is now playing a pivotal role in democratising access to high-quality genomics for biodiversity research across Europe.” Camila Mazzoni , ERGA founding chair. Alignment of goals  The recognition of ERGA as an EBP Regional Node reinforces our community’s commitment to build and foster a global EBP network, aligning our goals and contributing to sequence the genomes of all living eukaryotic species on Earth. Following the requirements for EBP regional nodes, ERGA is committed to:  Coordinate activities with the EBP and EBP-affiliated projects as described in our governance document   Adhere to and promote recommendations and guidelines issued by EBP Committees, Councils, or the Secretariat. Click here  for a view of a model of the organisational structure of the EBP as a global network of interconnected communities. Click here  to learn more about the ERGA community and structure. Other Relevant Links EBP Regional Node Application The European Reference Genome Atlas: piloting a decentralised approach to equitable biodiversity genomics

This month's ERGA BioGenome Analysis & Applications Seminar will feature three short talks on the topic of genomic erosion and biodiversity conservation. Learn more below about the featured talks and speakers: Hernán E. Morales, Samuel Speak, and Xuejing Wang. 🕚 Tuesday, April 29th 2025 - 11:00 AM CEST 📅 Add the seminar to your calendar Watch the recorded seminar: Genomic erosion and biodiversity conservation The seminar will be divided in three parts (around 15 minutes each): Using genomes through time to study diversity loss - Hernán E. Morales The biodiversity crisis is driving the loss of critical genomic diversity essential for species survival and adaptation. Even after population recovery, genetic diversity may continue to decline—a phenomenon known as "genetic drift debt." To investigate this, we compare whole genomes from pre-decline (100+ year-old museum specimens) and post-decline (modern) populations of endangered bird species with varied decline trajectories. We assess how population declines affect deleterious, functional, and neutral variation, and use simulations to evaluate how demographic history and conservation actions influence extinction risk and recovery. Our aim is to uncover the evolutionary dynamics of genomic erosion. Scoring deleterious alleles in endangered species – Samuel Speak Captive breeding programmes can act as insurance populations against extinction and to preserve genetic diversity of endangered species. However, due to their small size, the survival of these populations is threatened by inbreeding depression resulting from high genetic load. We developed the LoadLift pipeline which utilises Combined Annotation-Dependent Depletion (CADD) scores from model species to estimate the genetic load within ultraconserved elements (UCEs) of individuals. Six pink pigeons (Nesoenas mayeri) were analysed with LoadLift and in silico crossings, to identify optimal mate pairings expected to show the least inbreeding depression. LoadLift was further used to assess the genetic load of the whooping crane (Grus americana), to compare the methods of LoadLift and SNPeff, showing good correspondence in their classifications of deleterious mutations. LoadLift aims to maximise the potential of ex situ populations for species conservation and restoration by enabling captive-breeding managers to reduce inbreeding depression and maintain long-term viable populations. Genomic erosion through the lens of comparative genomics – Xuejing Wang The loss of genetic diversity and the species’ response can vary widely depending on their evolutionary histories, life-history traits and demographic trajectories. Comparative genomics offers a powerful framework to explore the dynamics of genomic erosion across species. We compared the genomes of three Mauritius birds with additional 36 birds spanning the avian phylogeny, to investigate the genomic consequences of their demographic collapses. We found that historical population sizes influenced current genetic health, with higher heterozygosity linked to greater heterozygous load and the ratio of effective to census population size predicted a species' conservation status. We also found significant differences in genetic load and genome structure between taxonomic groups, showing the value of multispecies comparisons. Speakers Hernán Morales studied Biology at UNAM, Mexico, and completed an MSc at the University of Groningen, Netherlands. He earned his PhD from Monash University, Australia, and joined the Globe Institute at the University of Copenhagen in 2019. In 2023, he established the Evolutionary and Conservation Genomics Group that utilizes (paleo)genomics, quantitative genomics, and evolutionary modelling methods to explore the mechanisms behind the generation, preservation, and loss of biodiversity. Samuel Speak is a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Haerty Group at the Earlham Institute, working to identify loci associated with aquaculture relevant traits related to environmental stress within Tilapia species. Prior to this position, he was a NERC ARIES DTP PhD student at the University of East Anglia, the Natural History Museum London and Chester Zoo working on the conservation genomics of endangered bird species in zoos. During which he focused on quantifying the genetic load of individuals in captive breeding programs using CADD scores within the ultraconserved elements of the genomes. Applying this to threatened species including the pink pigeon ( Nesoenas mayeri ) and the whooping crane ( Grus americana ). Xuejing Wang is a postdoc working in Evolutionary and Conservation Genomics Group in Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen. She currently works on the conservation genomics of Mauritius kestrel and other endangered birds, focusing on demographic history, temporal genetic dynamics and genetic load. During her PhD in University of Bern, she worked on the population genomics and evolution of an insular mammal, the Orkney vole.

Executive Board Council of Countries Committees Our Partners Pilot Project Former Contributors top OUR COMMUNITY ERGA is an bottom-up initiative based on people, consisting of hundreds of scientists across the entire European continent and beyond. Research institutions, infrastructure facilities as well as partner genome projects will play an important role within ERGA. Finally, ERGA will have a focus on societal needs particularly related to Biodiversity conservation. For that purpose, ERGA will work engaging governmental and non-governmental entities and will closely involve citizens in different actions. Executive Board Executive Board executive-board@erga-biodiversity.eu Robert Waterhouse Chair Ann Mc Cartney Vice Chair Olga Vinnere Pettersson Vice Chair Rosa Fernández Scientific Officer Elena Bužan Partnership Officer Chiara Bortoluzzi Dissemination Officer Lada Lukić Bilela Social Integration Officer Camila Mazzoni Funding Opportunities Officer Jaakko Pohjoismäki Genomic Outreach Officer List of Former Executive Board Members > Council of Country Representatives Contact the national representatives for more information on the ERGA community in your country! Andorra Andorra@erga-biodiversity.eu Manel Niell List of Former Council Members > Council of Countries Committees SSP - Sampling & Sample Processing samples@erga-biodiversity.eu More > DAC - Data Analysis Committee analysis@erga-biodiversity.eu More > Media & Communications media@erga-biodiversity.eu More > Social Justice Committee socialjustice@erga-biodiversity.eu More > SAC - Sequencing and Assembly Committee assembly@erga-biodiversity.eu More > ITIC - IT & Infrastructure Committee itinfra@erga-biodiversity.eu More > CS - Citizen Science citizenscience@erga-biodiversity.eu More > Annotation Committee annotation@erga-biodiversity.eu More > ELSI - Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues elsi@erga-biodiversity.eu More > TKT - Training and Knowledge Transfer training@erga-biodiversity.eu More > Committees Our Partners Our Partners ERGA is the pan-European partner of the Earth Biogenome Project (EBP) Affiliated Initiatives Associated Partners Pilot Project Pilot Project Committee Coordinators pilot@erga-biodiversity.eu Giulio Formenti Alice Mouton Ann Mc Cartney Learn more about the Pilot Project Former Contributors SSP - Sampling & Sample Processing Committee Filter by Type Astrid Böhne (Former Committee Chair) Former Contributors

analysis@erga-biodiversity.eu < Back DAC - Data Analysis Committee analysis@erga-biodiversity.eu The Data Analysis Committee (DAC) aims at fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing in genomic data analysis among ERGA members, and enhancing the development of applications in genomics. DAC has the goal to develop and implement standard protocols for downstream data analysis, providing high standard frameworks and pipelines to tackle research questions with different groups of organisms. Additionally, together with the Training and Transfer of Knowledge committee (TKT), DAC is responsible for providing training opportunities to the ERGA and general scientific communities through the organization of workshops and conferences. Finally, DAC aspires to improve translational communication with stakeholders and citizen scientists by actively engaging with the Citizen Science committee (CS committee) activities, to influence species management and protect earth’s biodiversity (V.1.0 02.05.2023) Chair Tereza Manousaki Coordinator João Pimenta Leader of the Population Genomics Subcommittee Mari Jose Ruiz Leader of the Phylogenomics Subcommittee Pascalia Kapli Iker Irisarri Leader of the Comparative Genomics Subcommittee Toni Gabaldón Leader of the Functional Genomics Subcommittee Steven Van Belleghem Steering Committee José Melo-Ferreira Elena Buzan (CS committee representative) Alice Mouton (TKT committee representative) Joan Pons Committee Resources 💡ERGA Knowledge Hub ERGA BioGenome Analysis and Applications seminars DAC Playlist: Genomic erosion and biodiversity conservation Events Introducing Genomic Connections - a brand new podcast! Press Releases Conservation genomics of the sand-dune shrub Armeria pungens at the latitudinal edges of its distribution Press Releases ERGA News #28 - April 2025 ERGA Newsletter

Committees SSP - Sampling & Sample Processing samples@erga-biodiversity.eu More > DAC - Data Analysis Committee analysis@erga-biodiversity.eu More > Media & Communications media@erga-biodiversity.eu More > Social Justice Committee socialjustice@erga-biodiversity.eu More > SAC - Sequencing and Assembly Committee assembly@erga-biodiversity.eu More > ITIC - IT & Infrastructure Committee itinfra@erga-biodiversity.eu More > CS - Citizen Science citizenscience@erga-biodiversity.eu More > Annotation Committee annotation@erga-biodiversity.eu More > ELSI - Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues elsi@erga-biodiversity.eu More > TKT - Training and Knowledge Transfer training@erga-biodiversity.eu More >