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News New Publication! From Permits to Samples: Addressing Key Challenges for High-Quality Reference Genome Generation in Europe Led by the Sampling & Sample Processing Comittee , the article titled “From Permits to Samples: Addressing Key Challenges for High-Quality Reference Genome Generation in Europe " was published last week in Molecular Ecology Resources. This publication draws on the practical experiences of the ERGA community. Congratulations to all the authors! Help choose the new ERGA Logo! ERGA is working with a communications company ( https://www.musicanti.eu/en/ ) to develop a new visual identity and website. A key part of this process is selecting a new logo. Because this is such an important decision, members of the ERGA community have been invited to express their preferences on the design of the new logo . All registered ERGA members received an email with a survey link to vote on Tuesday, January 27th (please check your spam folder and contact media@erga-biodiversity.eu if you did not receive the link). The form will remain open until February 3rd, so don’t forget to cast your vote before the deadline! BG Connects policy roundtable: Report now available Photo: BGE The final act of the BG Connects event, last October, convened a group of key policymakers, researchers, and civil society actors to explore how biodiversity genomics can support Europe’s response to biodiversity loss, drive innovation and contribute to the goals of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and the European Green Deal. The roundtable, titled “Biodiversity innovation: Enabling technology for nature and green growth” , counted on the presence of Costas Kadis, European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans. Become an ATLASea Species Ambassador! The ATLASea project is actively seeking input from the community for species to sequence. These have to be sampled in a marine/brackish/estuary environment, and be documented in the French EEZ (but can be sampled outside the French EEZ). If you have one or several such a species in mind for a scientific or applied project, or even would like to discuss a larger project encompassing a taxonomic group or specific geographic location, you can get in touch via the ATLASea Ambassador scheme:  https://www.atlasea.fr/en/species-ambassadors/ 🐐 GoaT Update Check below some useful tips to transform the way you work with the Genomes on a Tree ( GoaT ) Portal: Images by Anna Bramucci 🔔 Save the date! The next ERGA Plenary (Monday, February 16th at 15:00 CET) will feature a presentation by Dr Cibele Sotero-Caio, genomic data curator for the Genomes on a Tree (GoaT) databasing tool. Cibele will present the solutions found to address the feedback provided by the ERGA community and their strategies to increase transparancy and access to information. Events 2025 i5k Annual Meeting 4 February | Online Genome Annotation Workshop 2026 28 - 30 April, 2026 | Online MCEB 2026 Mathematical and Computational Evolutionary Biology 4-8 May - Heraklion, Crete European Congress of Conservation Biology (ECCB) 2026 6-10 July - Leiden, The Netherlands European Conference on Computational Biology (ECCB 2026) 31 August - 3 September 2026 | Geneva, Switzerland Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) Conference 2026 21-25 September | Oslo, Norway / Hybrid Featured conferences with sessions organized by ERGA members: Are you attending events or organizing sessions/workshops not listed here? Let us know—we can help you reach more attendees from the biodiversity genomics community! World Biodiversity Forum 14-19 June | Davos, Switzerland Workshop: Genome(ics)‑enabled indicators for biodiversity targets Website says Invitation Only - but please just reach out for an invitation! Early Bird: 24.3.2026 Annual Meeting of the Society for Molecular Biology & Evolution  SMBE 2026  28 June - 2 July | Copenhagen, Denmark Evolutionary-informed management of vulnerable populations in a rapidly changing world Molecular Evolution in the Era of Genetic Diversity Decline New frontiers in sex evolution: evolutionary patterns and innovations The evolution of recombination landscapes From genomic graphs to evolutionary insights: standardising pangenomes for population inference Early Bird: 31.3.2026 European Congress of Conservation Biology (ECCB) 2026 6-10 July | Leiden, The Netherlands Workshop: Genomics-based Essential Biodiversity Variables for European biodiversity monitoring Round table: Stakeholders' voices on biodiversity genomics: Round Table: Local voices on genomics Symposium: Conservation genomics-based decisions in a changing Europe Early Bird: 30.4.2026 From the #ERGABlog ATLASea: progress on sequencing marine biodiversity ERGA 2025: Community Highlights 🎧 Genomic Connections # 7 - Bringing data to life: Biodiversity genomics applications Useful links HAVE ANYTHING TO SHARE? Click and Submit to ERGANews! Click her e to become an ERGA Member Public EVENTS calendar here  - add this to your Calendar or iCalendar! 💬 Follow us on social media! BlueSky LinkedIn YouTube

Join us for the first ERGA Plenary meeting of 2026! On Monday, January 19, at 15:00 CET , Hugues Roest Crollius will present an update on the progress of the ATLASea program , which aims to unlock the potential of marine biodiversity genomes for fundamental research and applications. Abstract The ATLASea program (https://www.atlasea.fr) aims to unlock the potential of marine biodiversity genomes for fundamental research and applications. Funded by the French government for eight years, ATLASea conducts large-scale sampling across the French Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to collect eukaryotic marine specimens and produce 4,500 high-quality reference genomes. All data and resources are made publicly available to the scientific community. In its first two years, ATLASea has established standardized sampling and sequencing protocols, developed a dedicated informatics infrastructure, and built international partnerships within the Ocean Decade, the Earth BioGenome Project, and the European Reference Genome Atlas. Sampling campaigns along the French metropolitan coasts and in overseas territories (Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea) have yielded over 2,300 species, with more than 200 genomes already sequenced from diverse marine taxa. Preliminary results will be presented, revealing remarkable variations of genome properties and highlighting novel co-biontic associations when multiple organismal genomes are recovered from shared DNA extracts. Speaker Hugues Roest Crollius is a CNRS researcher leading a group at the IBENS in Paris on comparative genomics, particularly in vertebrates. He also co-leads the ATLASea programme, to sequence the genomes of several thousands marine species in the French EEZ. 🔔 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!

29–31 October 2025 Summary 🗓️ Dates:  29 - 31 October 2025 ( click to add to your agenda! ) 🔗 Online venue: ERGA YouTube Channel Conference programme 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. All sessions were recorded and are available in our Channel : 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. Check the list of keynote speakers below: Christina Hvilsom: Genomes in action for conservation Since 2008, I have build and led the genetic research profile and lab of Copenhagen Zoo managing a highly skilled and dedicated team focused on conservation genetics and population genomics. Over the years, I’ve built robust in-house expertise and international collaborations that advance science-based solutions for managing endangered species—both in the wild and in human care. My work combines genomic analyses with strategic conservation planning, supporting efforts from species recovery programs to global biodiversity policy. I’m proud to supervise students and researchers, foster interdisciplinary research, and contribute to high-impact networks and initiatives worldwide. As founder and chair of the EAZA Biobank, I help develop genetic resource infrastructures for over 450 zoos and aquaria. I also advise on population management through the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), support and build resources for global biodiversity efforts and strategies via the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and coordinate the EU Biodiversa+ GINAMO project—working to integrate genetic indicators into EU and global biodiversity frameworks of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Passionate about uniting science, management, and policy, I actively contribute to initiatives like the EU COST Action Networks GENOA and G-BiKE, Coalition for Conservation Genetics and the IUCN SSC Conservation Genetics Specialist Group, ensuring genetic diversity has a voice in global conservation efforts. Alessio Iannucci: Integrating reference genomes and cytogenomics to support the design of wildlife management and conservation programs Dr. Alessio Iannucci, currently a research fellow at the University of Florence, studies the evolution and population dynamics of terrestrial vertebrate species using advanced genomic technologies. His PhD research focused on the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), for which he produced the first reference genome. His research includes the combination of classical cytogenetic methods with next-generation sequencing technologies. Pier Luigi Buttigieg: Omics in global data ecosystems: Forming a digital niche to scale the impact and use of reference genomes I'm a senior data scientist, digital architect, and strategist. My thematic foci are in ocean and biodiversity data (especially microbiome and biomolecular data), as well as their societal links. I contribute to the steering, strategy, and operations of multiple regional and international research data infrastructures and Actions within and related to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, including those addressing globally federated digital exchange and digital twinning. I also chair the Ocean Data and Information System Project of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO. My additional focal areas include digital strategy and architecture development, interoperability approaches, semantic harmonisation, knowledge representation, and high-dimensional data analysis. Alexandra A.-T. Weber : Genomics of sex determination in invasive quagga and zebra mussels: progress towards potential genetic biocontrol I am an evolutionary ecologist interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms generating and maintaining biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems. I use a wide range of -omics data (e.g. genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics) from the field and experiments to uncover how organisms adapt to different environmental conditions, and ultimately infer their vulnerability and resilience in the face of rapid environmental changes. I mainly focus on native (e.g. Unionids) and invasive (e.g. quagga and zebra mussels; Asian clam) freshwater bivalve species in Switzerland to conduct my current research, but I also have collaborative projects on other aquatic invertebrates from various habitats (e.g. marine limpets; freshwater crustaceans). 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 at 12:30 CET three parallel breakout sessions on Conservation 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. 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:

The ERGA Plenary Meetings are the main monthly gatherings of our community, when announcements are made and discussions and debates are conducted on topic-oriented presentations. The plenaries happen on the third Monday of each month at 15:00 CET. To receive our regular emails with the links to join the meetings you simply need to register as an ERGA member . The meetings always include updates by the ERGA committees and at least one presentation on various topics related to the genome generation workflow. Check the playlist to watch previous plenary talks: 📅 Check the #ERGACalendar to stay up-to-date with all events and meetings

News ERGA 2025: Community Highlights The last ERGA Plenary  of 2025 was an opportunity to look back on a year of progress across our committees, reflecting the strength, diversity, and collaborative spirit of Europe’s biodiversity genomics community. From technical advances to community building, policy development, and social justice, each committee contributed key pieces to ERGA’s shared mission. Click here for an overview of main achievements and ongoing priorities from each of ERGA’s committees. Welcome to the new members of the ERGA Executive Board Tyler Alioto, Kay Lucek, and Stefaniya Kamenova have been elected as ERGA’s new Scientific, Partnership, and Dissemination Officers. We warmly thank outgoing officers Rosa Fernández, Elena Bužan, and Chiara Bortoluzzi for their invaluable contributions! 🐐 GoaT Update Need assistance using the Genomes on a Tree (GoaT) Portal? Here are some useful links! Where can users find Help ? GoaT page help  tabs  Github goat-data wiki Youtube goat channel Where can users ask for help? GoaT page help/contact   Github issues Where to follow progress? Github projects Github issues Events Genome Annotation Workshop 2026 28 - 30 April, 2026 | Online MCEB 2026 Mathematical and Computational Evolutionary Biology 4-8 May - Heraklion, Crete Annual Meeting of the Society for Molecular Biology & Evolution  SMBE 2026  28 June - 2 July | Copenhagen, Denmark World Biodiversity Forum 14-19 June - Davos, Switzerland European Congress of Conservation Biology (ECCB) 2026 6-10 July - Leiden, The Netherlands European Conference on Computational Biology (ECCB 2026) 31 August - 3 September 2026 | Geneva, Switzerland From the #ERGABlog Sampling for genomics studies across the tree of life 🎧 Genomic Connections # 7 - Bringing data to life: Biodiversity genomics applications Uncovering the evolution of Mediterranean soft corals with genomics Useful links HAVE ANYTHING TO SHARE? Click and Submit to ERGANews! Click her e to become an ERGA Member Public EVENTS calendar here  - add this to your Calendar or iCalendar! 💬 Follow us on social media! BlueSky LinkedIn YouTube

To celebrate the many great achievements of our community this year, we present a showcase of 2025 highlights from across ERGA. The last ERGA Plenary of 2025 was an opportunity to look back on a year of progress across our committees, reflecting the strength, diversity, and collaborative spirit of Europe’s biodiversity genomics community. From technical advances to community building, policy development, and social justice, each committee contributed key pieces to ERGA’s shared mission. Below, we highlight some of the main achievements and ongoing priorities from each of ERGA’s committees . Missed it? Watch the recording of the December Plenary Meeting. Executive Board 2025 marked a milestone year for the ERGA Executive Board : ERGA was formally recognized as the European Regional Node of the Earth BioGenome Project ( EBP ). The first two ERGA national nodes, ERGA Slovenia and ERGA Switzerland, received official recognition. 2025 was the first year in which ERGA operated with a complete Executive Board of nine members as set out in the Governance Document   Sampling & Sample Processing (SSP) Committee The SSP Committee  continued to lead ERGA’s efforts on best practices for sampling. Organized the first very successful Taxon Sampling SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) “Hackathon” , bringing together experts across the tree of life. Advanced several manuscripts, with one currently under revision and others in preparation. Prepared the first set of taxon-specific sampling SOPs, scheduled for publication in early 2026. Sequencing & Assembly Committee (SAC) The lively SAC  focused on coordination of sequencing efforts, troubleshooting, and future-facing sequencing strategies. Facilitated community discussions on long-read sequencing approaches and assembly best practices. Contributed feedback to the EBP on assembly recommendations  and engaged with the Tree of Life Genome Forum. Began planning a BioHackathon Europe proposal for 2026 to support hands-on community problem-solving. Annotation Committee Supporting high-quality, standardized genome annotations remained a core focus of the Annotation Committee. Ongoing development of an annotation reporting tool aligned with ERGA reporting standards, initiated during the BioHackathon Europe 2025. Began preparations for a the Annotation Training School next year (if you are interested in this initiative, please reach out: annotation@erga-biodiversity.eu ) Data Analysis Committee The Data Analysis Committee ( DAC ) supported harmonized downstream use of ERGA genomes. Continued of the successful ERGA BioGenome Analysis & Application Seminar  Series with 5 interesting talks and thousands of views.  Participated in this year’s BioHackathon Europe  working on a Snakemake workflow to build phylogenomic trees from BUSCO genes. Established the Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) - Working Group  which has been meeting and progressing regularly. IT & Infrastructure Committee Ensuring robust data management and provenance tracking is the central mission of the ITIC . Developed several data provenance and management guidelines, covering the full lifecycle from sampling to publication. (Check the guidelines in our Zenodo community page ) Strengthened collaboration with external portals and repositories such as ENA  and GoaT  to align standards and metadata. Ethics, Legal & Social Issues (ELSI) Committee The ELSI  Committee focuses on critical policy and governance work. Released an information brief and the ERGA position on Digital Sequence Information . Progressed a manuscript on non-monetary benefit sharing in biodiversity genomics. Initiated revisions to ERGA’s privacy policy to reflect evolving data practices. Media & Communications Committee The Media & Communications Committee  strengthened ERGA’s visibility and outreach. Expanded ERGA’s website , newsletter , and social media presence , reaching new audiences. Supported outreach activities around major events and conferences, such as ESEB2025  and the Genomics for Biodiversity Conference . Began work with a design company on a new ERGA visual identity, planned for release in 2026. Citizen Science Committee The Citizen Science Committee 's main focus is stakeholder engagement: Published the review article “ Biodiversity Genomics Research Practices Require Harmonising to Meet Stakeholder Needs in Conservation ” as part of a Molecular Ecology Special Issue. Conducted a stakeholder engagement survey, with a manuscript planned for publication in 2026. Started working on a “biodiversity genomics alphabet” to support public-facing communication. Training & Knowledge Transfer Committee The Training & Knowledge Transfer ( TKT ) Committee committee focused on capacity building and resource sharing. Expanded the ERGA Knowledge Hub  with more training materials and a new section for events. Played a key role in the organization of the EMBO course in genome sequencing, assembly, curation, and downstream analyses. knowledge.erga-biodiversity.eu Social Justice Committee Embedding equity and ethics into ERGA’s structures is the central goal of the Social Justice Committee . Advanced a social justice positioning statement for ERGA. Started work on a social justice teaching module, to be integrated into the Knowledge Hub  in 2026. Looking Ahead Together, these updates reflect a community that is not only producing genomes, but also building the infrastructure, standards, policies, and inclusive culture needed to sustain biodiversity genomics in Europe for the long term. As ERGA moves into 2026, the continued collaboration across committees will remain key to turning shared vision into lasting impact. We thank each and every ERGA member for their commitment and contributions. A special thanks to our dedicated committee members who generously gave their time to support the community. It is inspiring to see ERGA continue to grow, and we look forward to fostering even more exciting interactions and collaborations in the future. See you in 2026!

About the hotspot  Georgia is situated in the heart of the Caucasus, where wetlands, lakes, forests, and rocky slopes support numerous endemic and threatened species. Climate change is already reshaping these ecosystems, making locally grounded monitoring and conservation urgent. Yet Georgia remains a genomic blind spot: many species on the national IUCN Red List still lack DNA barcodes and reference genomes, limiting evidence-based management and adaptation planning. Did you know? Georgia lies within the Greater Black Sea ecoregion (a WWF “priority place”) and overlaps two global biodiversity hotspots recognised by Conservation International: the Caucasus and Iran–Anatolian hotspots. About the activity In June 2024, the GEORBLITZ team ran two citizen-science BioBlitzes to kick-start biodiversity recording and genomics awareness: Lisi Lake (Tbilisi, 8 June) and the Kutaisi Botanical Garden (14 June). Local community members teamed up with experts and students from Ilia State University (ISU) for hands-on sessions. Participants practiced standard field methods, net sweeping, foliage beating, hand collection, and worked in three taxon-focused groups (Diptera, Coleoptera, and Amphibia/Reptilia). Specimens were labelled in ethanol for observation, with material set aside for future genetic analyses. They were examined under microscopes under guidance from specialists. On-site educational stands with preserved and live specimens sparked conversations about how DNA barcodes and reference genomes inform species assessment, conservation, and restoration. Photo Gallery: Some of the species spotted during the GEORBLITZ activities. Field observations spanned reptiles (e.g., dice snake, spur-thighed tortoise), amphibians (marsh frog, green toad), arthropods (house centipede, Alpiscorpius  scorpions), birds (from reed warblers and swifts to orioles and jays), and even mammals (Caucasian squirrel), underscoring the conservation value of urban-adjacent green spaces. The initiative also reached a wider audience through Georgian national TV, which reported live from the Lisi Lake event. Explore observations / contribute: Lisi Lake iNaturalist project:   https://inaturalist.ca/projects/bioblitz-lisi-lake-2024 Kutaisi Botanical Garden iNaturalist project:  https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/bioblitz-kutaisi-botanic-garden-2024 Media: Live TV report (Lisi Lake):   https://www.facebook.com/share/v/TVwW31FwVNcjS71R/?mibextid=SphRi8 Photo credits:  School of Natural Sciences and Medicine, Ilia State University; Giorgi Iankoshvili. This initiative was funded through Biodiversity Genomics Europe ( BGE ), a project funded by the European Union's Horizon Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Framework Programme:

In this month’s episode of Genomic Connections , Kasia and Christian chat with Brent Emerson and José Melo-Ferreira about the many applications of genomic data and how their work brings genomic data into action to solve real-world problems.  Brent Emerson  leads the Research Group on Ecology and Evolution on Islands, an initiative within the Institute of Natural Products and Agrobiology and the Spanish National Research Council in Tenerife ( IPNA CSIC ). His team uses genetic and genomic tools to understand what structures diversity. The community led by Brent focuses on the use of DNA barcodes to characterise species assemblages at scale and the genetic connectivity among species across different ecosystems. José Melo-Ferreira  is the Leader of the Genomics of Evolutionary Change research group at CIBIO-BIOPOLIS , based at CIBIO-InBIO, the Research Centre on Biodiversity and Genetic Resources of Portugal, where he is also an Assistant Professor at the University of Porto. His team uses genomic tools to understand fundamental evolutionary processes in different species. José is particularly interested in using genomics for the conservation and management of biodiversity and to understand the impact of anthropogenic change on the adaptive potential of species. 🎧 You can listen to Genomic Connections on Spotify and PocketCast . You can listen to Genomic Connections on Spotify  and PocketCast . Check out this recent Connections post in which we further discuss the applications of biodiversity genomics. 🔔 Follow the Genomic Connections Podcast on Spotify to make sure you never miss an episode! https://open.spotify.com/show/01aF7AUVF0PvydbxZADTvN?si=PFC5G62gRtCE2D14esbWnQ 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

Last Friday, December 5th, the ERGA Sampling & Sample Processing Committee  hosted its very first Taxon Sampling SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) “Hackathon”. Following an open invitation to the entire ERGA community, more than 80 people registered to join the event. Participants split into subgroups according to their taxonomic expertise and worked together to advance taxon-specific instructions to sample biological material for genome sequencing. ERGA’s Sampling SOPs include guidelines for the collection, documentation, vouchering, preservation, and shipping of samples for genomic research. SOPs for 17 different taxa across the tree of life are currently being developed, many of which were initiated during the Hackathon: Fungi Bryophytes Woody plants Herbaceous plants Aquatic plants  Microalgae from cultures Salmonids Freshwater fish Amphibians Carnivorous mammals Lepidoptera Coleoptera Diptera Terrestrial arthropods Ectoparasites — mites, fleas, lice Porifera Terrestrial invertebrates Would you like to join one of the SOP working groups or start a new group for a taxonomic group not yet covered? Get in touch with the SSP Committee via samples@erga-biodiversity.eu ! The development of these SOPs is greatly facilitated by the ERGA SSP Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Template, which has been carefully developed by the committee over the past months. This template offers a standardized structure for the SOPs, provides important background information, and outlines the key sections each document should include. The groups will continue their collaborative work, and all new SOPs will be made available early next year in an open-access repository. We would like to thank everyone who joined the Hackathon, and especially the SSP team, for organizing this very productive event!

Text by Didier Aurelle, Université de Toulon, CNRS The yellow gorgonian ( Eunicella cavolini ) is one of the most widespread octocoral species found in the Mediterranean sea. As with other Anthozoans (the groups of cnidarians including hard corals, black corals, sea anemons and gorgonians), it is an ecosystem engineer, contributing to the habitats of various species. Eunicella cavolini is listed as Near Threatened in the the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and is impacted among others by climate change and fishing activities. In the area of Marseille this species is present at different depths and near pollution sources.  Eunicella cavolini  is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List . Photo by  F. Zuberer. Research has shown that there is a possibility of hybridisation between E. cavolini  and E. singularis.  As E. singularis  hosts symbiotic algae (Symbiodiniaceae), this hybridisation questions the evolution of symbiosis. This makes the yellow gorgonian a fascinating model species to study genomic evolution at the interplay between speciation, adaptation to anthropic pressures and symbiotic interactions .  Underwater sampling in action:  A researcher collects the specimen used to generate the reference genome. Photos by F. Zuberer. Thanks to the ERGA community and the Biodiversity Genomics Europe Project, a high-quality reference genome of E. cavolini is now available, with a length around 500 Mb (1/6 of human genome) and 17 chromosomes (click here  to read the genome report). We will work on understanding how this species can thrive near sewage outfalls or ancient industrial remnants, in the vicinity of Marseille. The results will also be useful to question the past and future evolution of Mediterranean octocorals facing climate change. Read the peer-reviewed genome report of Eunicella cavolini (Aurelle et al., 2025): https://open-research-europe.ec.europa.eu/articles/5-323 . Click here  to learn more about ERGA’s standardized genome reports. This project involves collaborations with CIIMAR (Jean-Baptiste Ledoux), MNHN-ISYEB (Sarah Samadi), IFREMER (Stéphane Sartoretto), OSU-Pythéas (Dorian Guillemain & Frédéric Zuberer) and IMBE (Alex Baumel & Vinciane Mossion). Learn more about the species and genome applications in this short flash talk by Didier Aurelle: Yellow gorgonian (Eunicella cavolini) - Didier Aurelle References: Aurelle, D., Guillemain, D., Zuberer, F., Malengros, D., Böhne, A., Monteiro, R., ... & Bortoluzzi, C. (2025). ERGA-BGE reference genome of Eunicella cavolini, an IUCN Near Threatened Gorgonian of the Mediterranean Sea. Open Research Europe, 5, 323. Kipson, S., Cerrano, C., Terrón-Sigler, A., Linares, C.L. & Ozalp, B. 2015. Eunicella cavolini (Mediterranean assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T50012182A50606230. Accessed on 05 December 2025.

We are thrilled to announce the election of three new officers to the ERGA Executive Board ! Tyler Alioto, Kay Lucek, and Stefaniya Kamenova have been appointed as Scientific, Partnership, and Dissemination Officers, respectively. Tyler, Kay and Stefaniya have been active members of our community, demonstrating commitment and strong engagement across various ERGA committees. Their participation on the Executive Board will bring valuable new perspectives — we wish them great success in their new roles! This marks the fourth iteration of ERGA Executive Board elections, now a well-established process. The procedure was followed closely by the ERGA Council, in accordance with the guidelines established by the ERGA Governance Document .  The process also received crucial oversight from the Nominations Working Group and support from the Elections Supporting Team (Christian de Guttry, Diego de Panis and João Pimenta). The ERGA Executive Board includes a total of nine representatives with different roles. We thank the outgoing officers Rosa Fernández, Elena Bužan, and Chiara Bortoluzzi for their outstanding work and contributions during their time on the Executive Board! Learn more about these three officer roles: Partnership Officer Builds and steers collaborations with infrastructures, initiatives, and agencies; aligns joint work plans; supervises MoUs/data-sharing; co-develops multi-partner proposals; connects National Nodes with external partners. Dissemination Officer Ensures ERGA outputs are FAIR and visible; coordinates publications, datasets/DOIs, licences, and metadata; works with Comms, website/newsletter/social channels; supports GoaT alignment and cross-committee showcases. Scientific Officer Leads scientific direction and harmonisation; maintains roadmap from sampling to analysis; oversees SOPs, benchmarking, and compliance (open data, licences, ABS/Nagoya); coordinates across SSP, SAC, DAC, and ITIC.

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. If you have been following our Connections series so far, you have learned that barcodes help us recognise which “book” of life we are holding, while reference genomes let us read every page. Today, we follow those pages out of the lab into the places where decisions are made. Biodiversity genomics has matured from proof-of-concept to a toolkit that can inform, for example, monitoring, species risk assessment, and management, and even market rules, by turning reads and assemblies into actions that matter for species, habitats, and the people depending on them. The impact pathway usually begins with identification and baselines. DNA barcodes establish who is where. This matters when regulators need quick and reliable evidence to tighten protection for a declining bird population in a wetland. Or when managers must separate look-alike pest species in aquaculture, or when coastal engineers test whether a beach-nourishment scheme is compatible with an endemic fish. Reference genomes deepen the story. They reveal how a species works, what its population structure is, connectivity, and adaptive variation. All clues that tell us if a population can, for instance, cope with heatwaves, if a corridor is worth restoring, and which individuals should contribute to an ex-situ programme. In other words, barcodes inform us of their presence, and genomes explain how they function. Consider fisheries and seafood safety. Genomics applied to widely fished pelagic species can clarify stock boundaries, helping fish stock management plans align with biology rather than old assumptions. At the same time, genomics in commercially harvested clams can support contamination assessment risks more precisely, so that consumer guidance and coastal policies rest on data rather than speculations. In both cases, genomics can improve sustainability and trust: what gets caught, what gets sold, what gets eaten, and what the sea can afford to give. Public health is another frontier where decisions move at the speed of evidence. Genomics of mosquito complexes that transmit West Nile virus allows us to identify cryptic lineages and chemosensory genes tied to behaviour, turning a confusing species complex into a map for outbreak monitoring programmes. From these insights, SNP panels for routine surveillance, early detection of resistance to control measures, and area-specific interventions mandated by regional authorities can be designed. On land, genomics can inform connectivity, reintroduction, and hybridisation policies. For example, in a rare Central European small mammal, its genomic structure showed how a modern drainage canal severed gene flow. The management recommendation is to restore corridors before populations slip past recovery. Alpine chamois and butterflies reveal country-level patterns of diversity and endemism. These data now feed directly into status reviews and legally binding conservation lists. In lowland wetlands, a long-distance migratory passerine with low diversity but ongoing gene flow gains a genetic monitoring plan that guides translocation choices and post-release tracking. Where climate change pushes related hare species into contact, genomic portraits of introgression help hunting and wildlife agencies adjust seasons and safeguards to protect vulnerable mountain lineages. Plants illustrate the same arc from data to decision. Herbs harvested from the wild, dune shrubs that stabilise coasts, and aromatic species adapting to new climates all benefit from genome-enabled surveys that distinguish clonal spread from sexual reproduction, estimate contemporary effective size, and pinpoint variants tied to heat and frost. These findings shape seed-sourcing, habitat management, and Europe-wide genetic monitoring comparable across borders, museums, and herbaria. What ties these stories together is not a single technology, but a way of working. Barcodes and genomes are generated in collaboration with end-users, including park services, fishery bodies, health authorities, farmers, and NGOs. Data are paired with training, screening tools, and communication adapted to local contexts. This results in a lasting impact that takes many forms, from field measurements to management plans, from genome browsers to policy briefs, and from classroom demonstrations to community-run surveys. The book metaphor keeps us honest. Barcodes still tell us which titles we are holding, and reference genomes still let us read every page. But conservation impact starts when we file that book in the right library. We share it with the people who need it and use it to guide choices about land, water, and livelihoods. Biodiversity genomics is now doing exactly that, moving from pages to policies, with benefits that go far beyond the lab bench.