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The European Reference Genome Atlas ( ERGA ) and the European node of the International Barcode of Life ( iBOL Europe ), two international communities of scientists brought together under the Biodiversity Genomics Europe  Project, are joining forces for “Connections,” a series of blog posts that explore the fascinating world of Biodiversity Genomics  and the intersection of their communities. In our previous posts, we compared DNA to a book: barcodes help us identify which book we are holding, while reference genomes enable us to read every page. But here is the twist: by the time DNA leaves the wet lab, the book is broken as if we have run the pages through a “paper–shredder”. DNA extraction, library preparation, and DNA sequencing all turn the long DNA sequence into millions of pieces (Check the Connections blog #3  for an overview of these different steps of the genomic workflow). Bioinformatics is the art of turning that pile of shreds back into something we can read, search, and compare. It is the art that turns barcodes and reference genomes into usable knowledge. Figure 1: Informatics and advanced computing are necessary to analyse the huge amount of data generated for genomic research. Bioinformatics is the product of molecular biology meeting computing. Bioinformatics facilitated the development of the first sequence alignments and substitution matrices, dynamic programming, the creation of searchable databases, and the first “find-it-fast” tools that supercharged homology searches. As sequencing scaled, assembly algorithms emerged, followed by hybrid approaches for long-read platforms. Alongside the algorithms came various file formats (FASTA/FASTQ/BAM/CRAM/GFF/GTF), workflow engines, and the hard-won lesson that reproducibility matters more than quick fixes. For barcoding, the task is targeted: extract a standard marker (or “abstract”), check its quality, align it against a trusted database, and report the most accurate match with confidence. Think of well-indexed catalogues and fast look-ups, ideal for monitoring and quick assessments. For reference genomes, the task is editorial. Correct sequencing errors, assemble the million pieces into chromosomes, phase haplotypes, polish with multiple evidence tracks (long reads, linked reads, Hi-C, RNA-seq), and annotate genes and repeats. That finished “book” enables population genomics, local adaptation, and conservation genomics studies. Figure 2: Examples of some common bioinformatics tasks when working with genomic data from across the tree of life. Bioinformatics is the art that turns raw data into knowledge with useful applications for biodiversity. Modern analyses involve dozens of steps, quality checks, trimming, deduplication, mapping, variant calling, assembly, scaffolding, annotation, all wrapped in containers and workflows to make sure a colleague can re-run them on Tuesday and get an answer on the same day. Good metadata is the structure that holds all the pages: sample, permit, locality, preservation, instrument, kit, and version numbers (Check this episode of the Genomic Connections Podcast  to learn more about the importance of metadata). Without that structure, even the finest assembly becomes a vague curiosity. A few field notes from the trenches Everyone has a story of a 2 a.m. run that failed because a file was called final_FINAL_reallyFinal.fastq.gz. We have all been rescued by checksums, saved by containerised toolchains, and learned never to delete intermediate files before the multi-QC report is green. We name scripts after pets, we comment our code (eventually), and we celebrate the day a 500 GB BAM shrinks elegantly into a reproducible VCF. Why does this matter to BGE? For iBOL Europe, robust bioinformatics means clean barcode libraries, sound assignments, and credible trend analyses. For ERGA, it means reference genomes that stand up to re-analysis and can power subsequent population, functional, and comparative genomics, the applications stakeholders care about (from conservation planning to bioeconomy uses). Bioinformatics is not an afterthought: it is a research field itself! It is the bridge from sequencer output to decisions. Treat pipelines as publishable methods, treat metadata as data, and treat your future self as a collaborator who deserves clarity. In the next post, we will demonstrate how these computational foundations are applied in practical settings, including monitoring, policy, and management, without losing sight of the overall context (or the pages).

Last week, ERGA was present at the Vertebrate Genomes Project 2025 Conference , held at The Rockefeller University in New York City from September 30 and October 1. ERGA and VGP share a long-standing collaboration, working together on shared workflows for genome assembly and evaluation  and collaborating under the Biodiversity Genomics Project ( BGE ). So far, dozens of vertebrate genomes from species found across Europe have been sequenced under the ERGA umbrella, directly contributing to the VGP’s goal of sequencing all ~70,000 living vertebrate species. Discussing vertebrate genomes in the heart of New York City. Tom Brown, coordinator of the ERGA IT & Infrastructure Committee , presented the work within the BGE project on FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) genome assembly publishing and establishing distributed models of genome generation across Europe. As the VGP and the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP) begin their journey into the Phase II expansions of each project, attention must be given to fully FAIR reporting and publishing of all outputs from sample to reference genome, and coordinated across all nodes of the EBP.  In New York, Tom presented ERGA’s solutions for  generating reports  for all genomes produced as part of the BGE project and sharing all bioinformatic workflows within WorkflowHub . Photos by Chul Lee . Relevant links VGP Website: https://vertebrategenomesproject.org/ Larivière, D., Abueg, L., Brajuka, N. et al. Scalable, accessible and reproducible reference genome assembly and evaluation in Galaxy. Nat Biotechnol 42 , 367–370 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-023-02100-3

29–31 October 2025 Summary 🗓️ Dates:  29 - 31 October 2025 ( click to add to your agenda! ) 🔗 Online venue: ERGA YouTube Channel We are excited to announce the Genomics for Biodiversity Conference  organised by ERGA-BGE, which will be held on October 29 - 31 and transmitted live through the ERGA YouTube channel . Participation is free of charge. ✉️ Click to sign up & receive event updates in your inbox! The event aims to bring together researchers and other stakeholders interested in applied biodiversity genomics and will showcase how it can have an impact on real-world issues, focusing primarily on biodiversity conservation and the bioeconomy.   Programme Through two and a half days, the conference will include: Keynote talks  - addressing the links between biodiversity genomics, policy, and society. 29 Genomic for biodiversity projects presentations  - they will showcase the applied use of biodiversity genomics across Europe and a diverse set of eukaryotic species.  Click here to learn more about the projects. 3 sessions focusing on genomics applied to biodiversity conservation and standardisation. ERGA-BGE Case Studies The Biodiversity Genomics Europe Project and ERGA have supported 29 research projects that demonstrate the applications of genomic data to improve our understanding of biodiversity. In this conference, research project participants will have a chance to come together, share scientific results, and exchange experiences. Learn more about the projects in the interactive map below: Parallel sessions On Friday, 31 October 2025 (11:30–13:00 CET), three parallel breakout sessions, Conservation Genomics, Bioeconomy Genomics, and Genomic Data Standardisation , will run concurrently. Each session will include selected flash talks on genomics‑driven study that fits one of the three themes and can be communicated clearly within a timed and visually engaging five‑minute presentation: Genomics for species monitoring and management Genomics techniques for conservation Standardization in genomics The abstract submission deadline is September 15th. Selected speakers will be notified by October 7th.  The Biodiversity Genomics Europe ( BGE ) Project is funded by the European Union's Horizon Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Framework Programme Additional support:

This September, the heart of Tuscany beat to the rhythm of genomics!  From the 8th to 12th September 2025, Florence, Italy, welcomed researchers from around the globe for the third edition  of the EMBO Practical Course on Genome Sequencing, Assembly, Curation, and Downstream Analyses . This week-long event explored the entire workflow of reference genome projects - from sample preparation to sequencing, assembly and annotation and provided a key opportunity to showcase ERGA and how its collaborative infrastructures and shared standards support the generation of high-quality reference genomes across Europe. EMBO course instructors and participants enjoying a moment together in front of Florence’s Basilica di Santa Croc The course was designed for action. Participants worked hands-on with real datasets - PacBio HiFi, Oxford Nanopore, Illumina Hi-C and RNA-seq - to perform de novo assembly, scaffolding, haplotig purging, and genome annotation within the Galaxy platform , using the Training Infrastructure as a Service ( TIaaS ). Beyond technical exercises, the course offered insights into reproducible workflows, pangenome development, and AI-assisted functional annotation. ERGA workflows  and tools drew particular interest, showing how standardized approaches can streamline genome projects and make high-quality genomic data widely accessible. Participants at all career stages left with new knowledge and skills to apply these cutting-edge practices in their own research. This edition of the EMBO course was organized by Claudio Ciofi (University of Florence, IT) and Giulio Formenti (The Rockefeller University, US; ERGA Council member for Italy). The co-organizers and invited speakers included Aureliano Bombarely (IBMCP/CSIC, ES; ERGA Council member for Spain), Silvia Manrique (CSIC, ES), Jean-François Flot (Université libre de Bruxelles, BE), Nadège Guiglielmoni (University of Cologne, DE), Astrid Böhne (Museum Koenig Bonn, DE), Tom Brown (Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, DE; Chair of the ERGA IT Committee), Kirsty McCaffrey (The Rockefeller University, US), Marco Sollitto (University of Florence, IT), Alice Mouton and Björn Grüning (University of Freiburg, DE), with assistance from Camilla Reginatto De Pierri (University of Florence, IT; Chair of the ERGA TKT Committee). Text by Camilla Reginatto De Pierri, from the ERGA Training & Knowledge Transfer Committee

This month's ERGA BioGenome Analysis & Applications Seminar will feature a talk by speaker Aleksey V. Zimin about EviAnn (Evidence-based Annotator), a novel evidence-based eukaryotic gene annotation system. Tuesday, September 23rd 2025 - 15:00 CEST Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/live/n1usz4-mCXo 📅  Add the seminar to your calendar Abstracts Efficient evidence-based genome annotation with EviAnn For many years, machine learning-based ab initio gene finding approaches have been central components of eukaryotic genome annotation pipelines, and they remain so today.  The reliance on these approaches was originally sustained by the high cost and low availability of gene expression data, a primary source of evidence for gene annotation along with protein homology. However, innovations in modern sequencing technologies have revolutionized the acquisition of gene expression data, allowing scientists to rely more heavily on this class of evidence. In addition, proteins found in a multitude of well-annotated genomes represent another invaluable resource for gene annotation. Existing annotation packages often underutilize these data sources, which prompted us to develop EviAnn (Evidence-based Annotator), a novel evidence-based eukaryotic gene annotation system.  EviAnn takes a strongly data-driven approach, building the exon-intron structure of genes from transcript alignments or protein-sequence homology rather than from purely ab initio gene finding techniques. We show that when provided with the same input data, EviAnn consistently outperforms current state-of-the-art packages including BRAKER3, MAKER2, and FINDER, while utilizing considerably less computer time. Annotation of a mammalian genome can be completed in less than an hour on a single multi-core server. EviAnn is freely available under an open-source license from  https://github.com/alekseyzimin/EviAnn_release  and from Bioconda as “eviann”. Practical introduction to genome annotation with EviAnn In the second part of the presentation I will explain how to use EviAnn, to annotate genomes of small and large eukaryotes.  I will show how to find and download protein evidence from NCBI and describe inputs and outputs of EviAnn.  For demonstration purposes, I will run an annotation of a small fungal genome. Speaker Dr. Aleksey V. Zimin Research Scientist, Department of Biomedical Engineering Johns Hopkins University, USA I have been working in the field of Bioinformatics since 2002, beginning with my collaborations with The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) and Celera Genomics. The main goals of my research are (i) developing algorithms and software for de novo genome assembly and annotation for the latest generation sequencing data and (ii) applying the software to produce high quality annotated assemblies for the most challenging genomes. I lead the development of the open-source MaSuRCA genome assembly package, which is currently able to produce accurate high-quality assemblies from sequencing data produced by Illumina, PacBio, and Oxford Nanopore instruments. As of today, MaSuRCA was used to assemble over 2600 eukaryotic genomes submitted to NCBI GenBank. I played a leading role in producing assemblies for many challenging genome projects, including the 22 Gbp genome of Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), the 17 Gbp genome of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum), the 3Gbp Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), and many other plants and animals. In recent years, I was the leading author of several widely used bioinformatic software titles such as MUMmer4 sequence aligner, POLCA and JASPER assembly polishers, and SAMBA scaffolder. Most recently the focus of my research has encompassed transcriptome assembly, protein alignment and genome annotation algorithms. My most recent work includes a novel automated genome annotation package called EviAnn, which sets new standard for automated genome annotation software. The software titles that I develop and/or maintain are available under an open-source license from my github repository https://github.com/alekseyzimin and several titles are also available from Bioconda.

At this month's ERGA Plenary meeting , on Monday, September 15 at 15:00 CEST , Robyn Shaw will present on " Global genetic diversity loss and the power of conservation to restore species resilience ". Check more information below. Abstract Global genetic diversity loss and the power of conservation to restore species resilience Genetic diversity provides the foundation for species resilience and adaptive capacity. Yet, unlike species and ecosystem diversity, the global status of within-population genetic diversity has received less attention and has not been assessed comprehensively across the tree of life. In addition, the effectiveness of conservation actions in maintaining or restoring genetic diversity remains poorly understood. With 57 collaborators, we conducted a global meta-analysis of more than three decades of research, screening over 80,000 studies and extracting thousands of estimates from 628 species across 141 countries. Using meta-analytic methods, we compared genetic change across taxa, metrics, and study designs. We found widespread genetic diversity loss, particularly in birds and mammals, linked to threats such as habitat modification, disease, and exploitation. Importantly, some conservation actions were associated with positive outcomes. In particular, population supplementation (e.g. restoring connectivity or translocation) led to increases in genetic diversity over time. Our findings indicate that while genetic diversity is being lost globally, targeted conservation can restore it, providing an evidence base to guide genetic monitoring, inform biodiversity reporting, and support species resilience. Speaker's Bio Robyn Shaw is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Canberra, in the Centre for Conservation Ecology and Genomics. She uses genetics and field studies to explore the effects of fire, invasive species, land use and climate on animal populations; integrating this information into decision-making tools for conservation practitioners. 🔔 To receive the Zoom link and join this and our upcoming plenary meetings, register as an ERGA member . ▶️ You can watch all previous ERGA Plenary talks here . If you would like to suggest a speaker or topic for a future plenary session, please contact us at training@erga-biodiversity.eu . We welcome your input!

Are you interested in bioinformatics and eager to connect with peers worldwide while working on projects with direct applications for the life sciences? Join this year’s BioHackathon Europe between 3–7 November 2025 . Online participation is free and registrations are still open! Face-to-face registration is currently full, but you can join the waiting list. “BioHackathon Europe is an annual event that brings together bioinformaticians and computational biologists from around the world. It’s organised by ELIXIR Europe , and offers an intense week of hacking, with participants working on diverse and exciting projects. BioHackathon is a community-driven event, which provides an opportunity for members of the life sciences community to meet and work together on topics of common interest. The goal is to create code that addresses challenges in bioinformatics research.”  This year, members of the ERGA community will lead two projects at the BioHackathon and are looking for more contributors to join their teams! The first project, proposed by the Data Analysis Committee , focuses on developing workflows for phylogenomics. The second project, developed by the Annotation Committee in collaboration with the Research Data Alliance, addresses FAIR metadata associated with genome annotations. Check out the project abstracts below and join the one that interests you most! Project 3: Automatic workflow for benchmarking BUSCO genes for phylogenomics Abstract Phylogenomics is a central aspect of biodiversity genomics, as it reveals the relationships among organisms and key evolutionary processes such as introgression and gene flow. Genome-scale datasets are increasingly a reality in phylogenomics due to the availability of genomes for an ever-growing number of species. BUSCO datasets (universal single-copy orthologs) have become standard in assessing genome assembly completeness and are fully integrated into the pipelines of large genome consortia such as ERGA. Due to their low-copy nature, BUSCO genes are also increasingly used in phylogenomics, from genome skimming data to high-quality chromosome-scale genomes. Yet, their phylogenetic performance has not been thoroughly explored. Preliminary analyses show that BUSCO genes can recover robust phylogenetic relationships, but their single-copy nature is challenged: most BUSCO genes display varying levels of paralogy when using biodiverse species sets, and failure to account for this can negatively affect phylogenetic reconstruction. This BioHackathon aims to build an automatic phylogenomics pipeline using the output of the BUSCO software. Contrary to existing pipelines, we aim to explicitly resolve paralogy events, thereby resulting in larger and more informative datasets. This pipeline will be used to benchmark the phylogenetic performance of the newly defined BUSCO lineage datasets, identifying not only the prevalence and evolutionary depth of the various paralogs but also resolving them for improved phylogenetic utility of BUSCO genes. This project will result in a fully-fledged FAIR-compliant phylogenomics pipeline based on BUSCO and an assessment of the phylogenetic performance of new BUSCO gene sets (version odb12). Leads: Tereza Manousaki, Iker Irisarri, Tom Brown Project 23: Streamlining FAIR Metadata for Biodiversity Genome Annotations Abstract Initiatives like the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) and Australian Tree of Life (ATOL) comprise a scientific response to the current severe threats to biodiversity, generating thousands of reference genomes for species across the tree of life. Unfortunately, few solutions exist for structured reporting, quality assessment and persistent deployment of metadata pertaining to the annotation of functional and structural features along the assembled genomes. ERGA is developing a format and repository for annotation reports to support collection of metadata for genome annotations in line with the existing ERGA Assembly Reports (EAR). ATOL is currently building a ""Genome Engine"" capable of producing automated genome notes and INSDC submissions for genomic data. Similar initiatives exist in the context of other biodiversity projects. In parallel, the FAIRification of Genomic Annotations Working Group (FGA-WG) in the Research Data Alliance (RDA) has been developing a secondary, harmonised FAIR metadata model and infrastructure to improve discovery and reuse of publicly available genomic annotations/tracks, across biomedical and biodiversity fields. This project brings together – for the first time – participants from two disjoint BioHackathon projects, BH2024 project #31 and BH2023 project #20, across ERGA, ATOL, FGA-WG, Ensembl, EBP-Nor and other initiatives, to form a ""supergroup"" to tackle the metadata challenges pertaining to biodiversity genome annotations! For the 2025 BioHackathon, we will develop automated processing, validation and transformation of collected metadata consistently deployed across repositories for ERGA Annotation Reports and ATOL Genome Notes (primary metadata), and metadata harmonised according to the recommendations from the FGA-WG group (secondary metadata). Leads: Sveinung Gundersen, Alice Dennis, Tiffanie Nelson   Read about ERGA's participation in the BioHackathon Europe 2023 . #BioHackEU25

After a short summer break, Genomics Connections  is back! In this episode, Kasia and Christian chat with Ela Sari and Luísa Marins about science communication and the importance of disseminating information about biodiversity genomics to a variety of audiences. Ela is based at Naturalis Biodiversity Centre , and Luísa at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research , and both work as part of the communication team of BGE. 🎧 You can listen to Genomic Connections on Spotify and PocketCast . 🔔 Click here  to follow Genomic Connections on Spotify to make sure you never miss an episode! Do you have any suggestions about how we can improve the podcast or biodiversity genomic-related topics you would like us to cover? Send us a message! media@erga-biodiversity.eu

From the mighty blue whale to the humble baker’s yeast, scientists have barely begun to understand the vast genetic diversity among lifeforms. Of the 1.67m known species of animal, plant, fungi and protists, just 1% have been genetically sequenced.  In 2035, this figure could reach 100%.  Published in Frontiers in Science , this is the new ambition of the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP)—a global network of scientists sequencing the genomes of Earth’s eukaryotes. Its goal? To create a digital library of DNA sequences that will help us preserve and protect life on Earth and tackle rapid environmental change.  With a growing network of more than 2,200 scientists in 88 countries—including flourishing local and Indigenous research communities in the Global South—EBP is making discoveries that could help assure food security, advance medicine and agriculture, and drive a deeper global understanding of biodiversity to support conservation and pandemic prevention.  Biological ‘moonshot’  EBP began global DNA sequencing in 2020 and is now sequencing genomes 10 times faster.   New innovations to meet this ambitious ‘moonshot’ include portable ‘pop-up’ labs to expand sequencing capacity, as well as boosting engagement and inclusion in the world’s biodiversity-rich yet remote regions.   “As biodiversity loss gathers pace, so must our work,’ said senior author Prof Harris Lewin at Arizona State University , in the US. “Our growing digital ‘genome ark’ is shifting what’s possible in genomics from isolated, expensive sequencing efforts to a global, scalable, and inclusive enterprise.”    Strong roots By the end of 2024, EBP-affiliated projects had published 1,667 genomes covering more than 500 eukaryotic families. Network researchers also deposited a further 1,798 genomes meeting EBP standards, bringing the total number of genomes to 3,465.   These data have illuminated the origins and evolution of life on Earth, and the role of genetic diversity in species’ ability to adapt to change. For example, they have helped reveal how Svalbard reindeer adapted to Arctic conditions, and how chromosomes evolved in butterflies and moths. The project’s research methods are also helping to improve tools such as environmental DNA (eDNA), which uncovers new lifeforms through the genetic footprints they leave behind.   “We have laid the roots to build our digital ‘tree of life’—and our early outputs are already reshaping what we know about evolution, ecosystem function, and biodiversity,” said lead author Prof Mark Blaxter at the UK’s Wellcome Sanger Institute .  Ambitious goals  As EBP enters the second of its three phases, Phase II brings ambitious new goals that will rapidly accelerate the project’s work.   Building on Phase I, Phase II aims to sequence 150,000 species—half of all known genera—within four years. It will prioritize species that are important to ecosystem health, food security, pandemic control, conservation, Indigenous peoples and local communities.  It also aims to collect 300,000 samples, around half of which will form the basis of Phase III.  Achieving this will require sequencing 3,000 new genomes per month—more than 10 times faster than current rates. The authors say that advances in technology are on their side: genome sequencing is now eight times cheaper than just a few years ago, which means budgets stretch further and work can accelerate.  “It’s a biological moonshot in terms of the scale of ambition. As species vanish and ecosystems degrade, we aim to capture and preserve the biological blueprint of life on Earth for future generations,” said Prof Blaxter. "Understanding the origins and evolution of life on Earth is a human pursuit equivalent to understanding the origins and evolution of the universe."  Genome lab in a box The EBP’s authors highlight key challenges, including coordinating the global collection of 300,000 species and ensuring open, low-carbon data infrastructure.   Much of the Earth’s biodiversity is found in the Global South. Therefore, vast amounts of the species collection, sample management, sequencing, assembly, annotation, and analysis will be delivered by local EBP partners. This will also help to ensure equitable access and culturally appropriate practices, while reducing societal and environmental impact.   To accelerate sequencing in remote regions, the authors propose using self-contained ‘pop-up’ sequencing labs housed in shipping containers. Known as a ‘genome lab in a box’ (gBox), the labs could enable local and indigenous scientists, particularly in the Global South, to generate high-quality genomic data locally.  "Chile is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots with many endemic species, but these are under threat," said co-author and local EBP community member Prof Juliana Vianna from The Chilean 1000 Genomes Project at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile . "In addition, our species are often studied only after samples are exported. With gBoxes, we can change that. Local teams can generate the data here, in context, and immediately connect it to the conservation and sustainable management challenges we face on the ground."  "Biodiversity scientists in low and lower middle-income countries confront daily the great irony of our species and our planet: that the lion’s share of funding and infrastructure for genomics is located at higher latitudes while the great bulk of biodiversity is found in the tropics,” said co-author and local EBP community member Dr Andrew J Crawford from Universidad de los Andes in Colombia . “The gBox would allow any nation on the globe to make its own choices, empower the next generation of researchers in biotech and computational biology, and impact national economies by asking novel questions and developing creative solutions."  “The gBox isn’t just a lab—it’s a symbol of equity in science. By equipping local and Indigenous researchers with advanced genomic tools, we’re empowering the Global South to contribute on equal footing to the Earth BioGenome Project. This shift ensures biodiversity science is inclusive, locally driven, and culturally informed,” said co-author and local EBP community member Prof Montserrat Corominas at Universitat de Barcelona .  Value for money  Since launching, EBP has created international standards, built a network of affiliated projects, and completed many of its Phase I targets.  The projected cost of Phase II is $1.1 billion. This includes a $0.5 billion Foundational Impact Fund to support local training, infrastructure, and applied research in the Global South.   The full cost of sequencing all 1.67 million named eukaryotic species in 10 years is estimated at $4.42 billion—less than the cost of the Human Genome Project or the Webb Telescope in today’s dollars.  The authors say this investment is “very reasonable for a global effort with such a lasting impact.”  Upcoming Event: Frontiers in Science Deep Dive Join the article authors—Prof Harris Lewin, Prof Mark Blaxter, and Dr Dr Federica Di Palma—to hear how EBP’s next phase will accelerate biodiversity research, support global conservation, and extend genomic benefits to underserved regions using mobile sequencing labs.   Alongside a panel of fellow experts, they will explore the importance of open data sharing, training local scientists, and sequencing at the source—ensuring inclusivity, capacity-building, and benefit-sharing, especially in the Global South.    This free webinar takes place on 18 September 2025, 16:00-17:30 CEST.  The Earth BioGenome Project Phase II: illuminating the eukaryotic tree of life | Register   -- The article is part of the Frontiers in Science multimedia article hub ‘ The Earth BioGenome Project: scaling up .'

For one week in August 2025, Barcelona became the European capital of evolution: the city hosted this year’s ESEB 2025 Congress , the biennial conference of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology. The event was a huge success, bringing together almost 2,000 attendees from around the globe to discuss topics spanning diverse aspects of evolutionary biology: from palaeontology to molecular evolution. The rapidly increasing quality and availability of reference genomes from species across the tree of life offers powerful new tools to evolutionary biologists. This was reflected in a programme full of talks and symposia related to biodiversity genomics. ERGA at ESEB 2025 Given the growing importance of reference genomes in evolutionary studies, it made sense for ERGA to have a strong presence at ESEB 2025. The conference offered a valuable opportunity to raise visibility, showcase our efforts, and share available resources with the evolutionary biology community. ERGA participated as an exhibitor with our own booth. The participation was made possible thanks to Biodiversity Genomics Europe ( BGE ) , funded by the European Union under Horizon Europe and co-funded by the Swiss and UK governments. Welcoming new members Throughout the five conference days, the ERGA booth was a lively space for discussion. Attendees stopped by during breaks to learn about our initiative, ask questions, and pick up ERGA stickers and other goodies. Over 20 people signed up on the spot, and we warmly welcome them to the ERGA community! The meeting was also a special opportunity for ERGA members who regularly meet and collaborate online but rarely meet face-to-face to connect in person, exchange ideas, and strengthen our community. During two lunch breaks, we gathered for group photos to capture the moment. ERGA members from many different countries, committees and projects gathered in the ERGA booth. Evolution takes to the streets In addition to our presence at ESEB, we also had the chance to take ERGA and BGE to the streets of Barcelona, engaging directly with the public. Thanks to a collaboration between ESEB 2025 and the science communication association La Ciència Al Teu Món (LCATM) , a series of outreach activities were organised during Les Festes de Gràcia , a traditional Barcelona street festival. On the colourfully decorated Carrer Perill  in the Gràcia neighbourhood, we interacted with festival visitors and invited them to play a science-themed board game. The activity, titled “DNA rules! Explore the building blocks and the future of biodiversity,”  introduced participants to European plants, animals, and fungi being sequenced as part of the BGE project. Players learned about threats to these species’ survival and how genomic knowledge can support their conservation. Click here to read more about the activity. Outreach activity during Les Festes de Gràcia. Photos by Arantxa Ajuria, Roberto Torres and Luísa Marins Thank you! We would like to thank everyone who visited the ERGA booth and joined the outreach activity. We look forward to many more opportunities to connect, both within our scientific community and beyond!

🗓️ 17 - 22 August 2025 📍 Barcelona, Spain This August, ERGA will be in Barcelona to participate in the Congress of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology ( ESEB 2025 ). This large and exciting conference is a great opportunity for many ERGA members to gather in person, exchange ideas, and connect! During the conference, visit the ERGA booth to learn more about our community, discover our many initiatives, and meet fellow members. We’ll be at stand #10 in the exhibitors’ area, near the food bars and posters. Feel free to stop by anytime and use the booth as a meeting point. We hope it becomes a friendly space where you can chat about genomics and connect with colleagues in the field. Are you presenting a poster, giving a talk, or hosting a symposium at ESEB? Send us an email at media@erga-biodiversity.eu , we’d be happy to help promote your work! We look forward to seeing you in sunny Barcelona! ☀️ #ESEB2025